POR 2026-116 · Agenda item attachment · Jun 1 2026

POR 2026-116 FIRST IN COUNCIL June 1, 2026 City of Cambridge COUNCILLOR AL-ZUBI COUNCILLOR SOBRINHO-WHEELER COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN MAYOR SIDDIQUI WHEREAS: Equitable access to affordable, nutritious food is essential to the health, wellbeing, and economic stability of Cambridge residents; and WHEREAS: Despite Cambridge's status as one of the wealthiest cities in the Commonwealth, food insecurity falls hardest on residents of color, families with children, seniors, and people with disabilities, with Black and Latino residents experiencing poverty at two to three times the rate of white residents, and these disparities are closely linked to higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension; and WHEREAS: The 2022 Cambridge Food Action Plan (CFAP), produced by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council for the Cambridge Food and Fitness Policy Council, found that healthy and affordable food options are most limited in The Port and Mid-Cambridge neighborhoods, areas that overlap substantially with historically redlined districts, and that residents in these neighborhoods face significant transportation barriers to reaching preferred grocery stores; and WHEREAS: Neighborhood markets, which are often the most accessible food retail option for lower-income residents, are on average 50 percent more expensive than supermarkets and grocery stores, and the City's Healthy Markets Program lost funding for the supplies that most motivated store participation; and WHEREAS: Cambridge has a robust food pantry network, with the majority of pantries concentrated around Central Square and surrounding neighborhoods, and the network has experienced steadily increasing utilization over the past several years and limited physical capacity to keep pace with demand; and WHEREAS: Despite a nearly 48 percent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment gap, with roughly 7,000 Cambridge residents likely eligible but unenrolled, the City has limited capacity for targeted outreach, enrollment support, and bundled service connections for SNAP-eligible residents outside of the nonprofits and community partners already doing this work; and WHEREAS: Approximately one in five Cambridge rental households is severely cost-burdened, spending 50 percent or more of income on rent, leaving little for food and other basic necessities; and WHEREAS: The Cambridge Community Foundation has invested significantly in food access,

including a $1.9 million multi-year Food Access and Security Initiative launched in 2023 and a joint $500,000 emergency commitment with the City to support food pantries and grocery store gift cards for SNAP recipients during the 2025 federal government shutdown, which caused SNAP benefits to be suspended in November; and WHEREAS: Given the scale of public need and ongoing municipal and philanthropic investment, and continued uncertainty around the future of SNAP benefits, the City Council seeks a comprehensive accounting of existing programs, expenditures, outcomes, and unmet needs; now therefore be it ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to work with relevant departments and community organizations to provide the City Council with a comprehensive Food Access Report that includes, but is not limited to, an accounting of existing programs, expenditures, outcomes, and unmet needs to inform a public hearing on food insecurity and related City policies, programs, and expenditures; and be it further ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to engage with community organizations, food justice advocates, schools, healthcare institutions, and residents with lived experience of food insecurity during the preparation of the report; and be it further ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to provide the report to the City Council no later than four months from the passage of this Order. In City Council June 1, 2026. Adopted by a yea and nay vote:- Yeas 9; Nays 0; Absent 0.- Attest:- Paula M. Crane, Interim City Clerk A true copy; ATTEST:- Paula M. Crane Interim City Clerk

Vote Certification That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant departments and community organizations to provide the City Council with a comprehensive Food Access Report that includes, but is not limited to, an accounting of existing programs, expenditures, outcomes, and unmet needs to inform a public hearing on food insecurity and related City policies, programs, and expenditures. Adopted: Monday, June 1, 2026 RESULT: 9 TO 0 YEAS: Ayah A. Al-Zubi, Burhan Azeem, Timothy R. Flaherty, Marc C. Mcgovern, Patricia M. Nolan, E. Denise Simmons, Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, Catherine Zusy, Sumbul Siddiqui NAYS: PRESENT: ABSENT:

City of Cambridge That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant departments and community organizations to provide the City Council with a comprehensive Food Access Report that includes, but is not limited to, an accounting of existing programs, expenditures, outcomes, and unmet needs to inform a public hearing on food insecurity and related City policies, programs, and expenditures.