INSTITUTE 2017 PROGRAMS PROMOTE LOCAL BUSINESS SOURCING INITIATIVES
July, 2017 ---The Hispanic-American Institute carries on with initiatives to help local enterprises do business with anchor institutions, including hospitals, government agencies, and leading industries.
Under an agreement with the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation the Institute is providing training and assistance to small, woman, veteran and minority-owned businesses seeking to expand.
HAI is also in discussions with major hospitals in Massachusetts and New Mexico to line up local farmers, ranchers, and food producers as suppliers for their food services to patients, visitors, and staff. This is in followup to a Local and Sustainable Food Procurement Programassessment delivered by the Institute to Presbyterian Healthcare Services, the largest hospital chain in New Mexico.
"Local food sourcing by hospitals is an important community economic development tool", said Vicki Pozzebon, who works with the Institute in its local food procurement initiatives, pointing to a recent University of Vermont study. Local food procurement is a "safe harbor" Community Benefit activity for non-profit hospitals, reportable in Schedule H of their IRS Form 990 tax return.
The Local and Sustainable Food Procurement Program (LSFPP) was launched under a contract with Presbyterian Healthcare Services and with support from Rockland Trust, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and the Latino Diabetes Initiative of the Joslin Diabetes Center. For more information on the LSFPP contact Institute President Bruce Young-Candelaria at byc@hainst.org.
