An Act relative to establishing a food justice frontline

This bill creates a new state program called the Food Justice Frontline to help low-income residents in environmentally overburdened communities access better food and work. It directs the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to give grants of up to $500,000 to nonprofit organizations that provide land for farming or jobs in food production and distribution. To receive funding, applicants must show a clear plan to quickly create jobs paying at least half the statewide per capita income for people living in areas with high pollution and low household income. The law also requires that all grant money be spent on these specific job-creating programs for the targeted communities.