term partnerships and collaboration are necessary for success in implementing regional food strategies. because of the critical role of multi - sectoral partnerships, i am heartened to see so many of you here today to talk about the current state of regional food system investment in new england, to build new relationships, and to strengthen existing ones. it is this ongoing commitment to working together that will carry you through to the next stage of regional food systems development. later today, i will be meeting with several local organizations that not only bring important resources and expertise to their communities, but also exemplify this important dedication to partnership and cross - sector collaboration. 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches the urban farming institute of boston demonstrates dedication to cross - sector collaboration through their farmer training program, many of whose graduates go on to work for or start up regional food enterprises. they also advance the broader regional food system by co - hosting an annual conference that brings together farmers, policymakers, investors, and other stakeholders. likewise, commonwealth kitchen has emerged as an important hub where farmers, entrepreneurs, universities, investors, and other stakeholders come together in ways that not only advance regional food systems, but also increase access to economic opportunity for people impacted by racial, social, or economic inequality. in this way, commonwealth kitchen is dedicated to addressing greater boston ’ s growing wealth divide by promoting inclusive entrepreneurship through an integrated approach that links education, training, and manufacturing to a strong network of industry partners, including anchor institutions. these are just two examples of the great work going on in new england, and i look forward to visiting both organizations later today. this morning, i am eager to learn about the work of the many organizations represented here, especially the barriers and opportunities you face when trying to invest in this sector, and how your investments are linking more families and communities to meaningful economic opportunities. attending events like this and visiting communities around the country provide me with opportunities to speak with families, farmers, small business owners, investors, bankers, and other community members about their experiences in the economy. these conversations help me to develop a granular and very human understanding of the economy that, when combined with the information provided by our traditional research and data collection efforts, are important considerations informing judgments about policy. a community - level understanding of the economy is especially important in today ’ s economy, where we see welcome strength in the aggregate statistics coexisting side - by - side with important disparities at the community and family levels. in addition

study found that the critical determinant of success was the ability of leaders in those cities to collaborate across sectors around a long - term vision for revitalization. 5 to encourage such collaboration, the boston fed has facilitated working cities challenges in massachusetts, rhode island, and connecticut that reward effective public – private collaboration to reach communitywide goals. for instance, one of the winning cities, lawrence, massachusetts, set goals of increasing the income of parents with children in the lawrence public school system by 15 percent, dramatically increasing parental engagement in the schools and tracking the impact of these efforts on student achievement. a cross - section of partners from the public, private, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors sought to achieve this, in part, by embedding family resource centers within the lawrence public schools. to - date, these efforts have placed over 200 parents in new positions paying 25 percent higher wages on average than their previous jobs, with 200 more parents in the training pipeline. learning about what works reinforces for me the importance of events like this one : events that bring together different stakeholders to talk about the future of their communities and how they can work together to advance common goals. thank you for being our valued partners in this important work. 1 i am grateful to andrew dumont for his assistance in preparing these remarks. these remarks represent my own views, which do not necessarily represent those of the federal reserve board or the federal open market committee. 2 a. dumont, d. davis, j. wascalus, t. cheeks wilson, j. barham, and d. tropp. harvesting opportunity : the power of regional food system investments to transform communities ( st. louis : federal reserve bank of st. louis and board of governors of the federal reserve system, 2017 ). 3 p. ganong, and d. w. shoag. “ why has regional income convergence in the u. s. declined? ” national bureau of economic research working paper no. 23609 ( cambridge, mass : nber, 2017 ). 4 natalie holmes and alan berube. " city and metropolitan inequality on the rise, driven by declining incomes. ” ( washington : brookings institution, january 2016 ). 5 y. k. kodrzycki, a. p. munoz, l. browne, d. green, m. benton, p. chakrabarti, d. plasse, r. walker, and b. zhao. “ reinvigorating springfield ’ s economy