Food for sale at the Medford Farmers Market, which brings fresh produce and other goods from local providers directly to consumers. (Photo: insidemedford.com)

The state has established a committee to create its first Food System Plan in more than three decades, according to a press release issued by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.

According to the council, the committee’s work will include planning for an ecologically stable network of food producers, consumers, processors, retailers and distribution hubs. Groups “working toward greater social equity, health and sustainable water use” will also be considered.

The council is collaborating with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Franklin Region Council of Governments and Massachusetts Workforce Alliance to create a Food System Plan to “help Massachusetts to be more self-sufficient when it comes to producing and consuming our own food, to plan for more equitably distributing our food and to prepare for climate change and other evolutions in our food system.”

Over the next year and a half, the team will meet with farmers, the food industry, distributors, residents, waste handlers and others to “produce a comprehensive assessment of the food system and to issue recommendations for strengthening the state’s food economy.”

A version of this story appeared on InsideMedford.com.