From the Catskills FOOD Lab · September 2026
A food system strategy: four dominoes
Everyone eats, so everyone has a stake in a system that reliably delivers nourishment. Stress on that system now shows up as risk on every balance sheet, and resilience has become a competitive question. The Lab agreed we don't need to fix everything at once. We need to push the right dominoes first, and not too many: four pillars, each tied to where capital flows.
- 01
Build and scale local and regional supply chains
Invest in the growing, processing, storage, aggregation and distribution infrastructure that lets regional producers reach both local and national markets, so a farmer can earn more and build long-term wealth.
Outcome Better infrastructure, better nutrition, and wealth that circulates closer to where it's made.
Who's doing it · first 90 days
Farms raising private capital to expand, states investing bond dollars in regional food hubs, and processors like CommonWealth Kitchen offering low-cost regional co-packing. 90 days: pull existing gap data, choose two or three candidate regions, then publish a first gap map or launch a pilot.
- 02
Leverage public institutional food procurement
Schools, health centers and community institutions feed millions every day with public money. Treat that as anchor demand, open long contracts to regional suppliers, and invest in on-site growing, cooking and education.
Outcome Guaranteed purchase contracts paid before seed goes in the ground, and generations of nutrition and food self-reliance education.
Who's doing it · first 90 days
Springfield, MA schools with CommonWealth Kitchen, Green Bronx Machine, Teens for Food Justice, Windy City Harvest, Michigan's “10 Cents a Meal”, New York's 30% local initiative and California farm-to-school grants. 90 days: inventory health and cost evidence, recruit one or two institutional partners, then lock baseline metrics and a pilot design.
- 03
Invest in the thousands already doing the work
Compost makers, local producers, aggregators, small markets, delivery and farm-to-table hospitality are proven but undercapitalized and disconnected. Build a dedicated small-business service for independent regional food enterprises and match their most urgent needs to existing capital.
Outcome A national network of regional ventures with the scale and expertise to last.
Who's doing it · first 90 days
USDA Rural Development and Agricultural Marketing Service, the SBA, CDFIs, state and local economic development programs, federal CDBG funds, and New Entry Farm at Tufts. 90 days: identify the practitioner networks worth backing, host a matchmaking session, then share an evidence summary and first connections.
- 04
Keep markets open, competitive and fair
When a few players control the chokepoints, from inputs to processing, manufacturing, distribution and retail, smaller producers can't get through the door and the whole system grows brittle. Convene legal scholars and publish a plain-language brief for each sector: meat and livestock, grocery mergers, and manufacturer pricing.
Outcome Small and mid-sized food businesses with a clear, current picture of the rules shaping their competitive position.
Who's doing it · first 90 days
Enforcement in all three areas is live and contested. HATCH's role is to be the fastest, most accurate source on what is actually in force versus proposed. 90 days: define one neutral question on market access, run the evidence review, then deliver the brief.
How the dominoes fall together. Infrastructure gives institutions something to buy from. Institutional demand gives producers a reason to scale. Investment in practitioners gives the system the people to deliver. Open markets keep the door from closing behind them. Tufts Food & Nutrition Innovation Institute has offered to help lead implementation. Leads for each pillar are still a draft for the cohort to confirm.