A record 40% of Massachusetts households didn't have consistent access to food last year, a new survey from the Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Brigham suggests.

The big picture: The report estimates that over 1.1 million Massachusetts households experienced food insecurity last year, due to the state's high cost of living, inflation and the 2025 federal government shutdown.

State of play: The food insecurity rate has more than doubled since 2019, leading to increasing reliance on food pantries and other charitable organizations, per a survey of 3,000 residents.

By the numbers: 56% of insecure households relied on food charities last year, another record high, while the federal government has reduced food supplies to the GBFB.

• 25% of all Massachusetts households experienced "very low food security," meaning they regularly missed meals, the survey suggests.
• Households reported needing about $100 more per week to afford enough groceries without relying on charitable food assistance, or $3.3 billion a year across Massachusetts.

Yes, and: Food insecurity is likely worse than the report suggests.

• The survey was conducted before the new appropriations law and its stricter SNAP restrictions took effect.

Friction point: This increased need comes as nonprofits are stretched thin, between federal funding cuts and more competition for charitable funds, and as state and local budgets face their own funding gaps.

What we're watching: Food providers asked state lawmakers to allocate $58 million to the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program in the fiscal 2027 budget, $8 million more than last year.

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Massachusetts lawmakers will likely pass a cannabis reform bill this week.

Why it matters: The latest proposal makes several long-awaited changes to medical cannabis dispensaries, purchase limits and the beleaguered Cannabis Control Commission as wholesale flower prices hit an all-time low.

State of play: Lawmakers reached a deal yesterday on a compromise bill that would shrink the commission from five members to three, all appointed by the governor.

• The bill strips the treasurer and attorney general of the power to appoint commissioners.
• The bill would make the commission chair in charge of personnel and administrative matters, which includes overseeing the executive director.

Friction point: The bill lets cannabis business owners hold up to six licenses, up from three, a provision that has divided dispensary owners.

• A coalition of small dispensary owners says lifting the cap would oversaturate the market and harm small business owners, especially people of color.
• Some dispensary owners of color, however, say the current cap has prevented them from selling to larger cannabis companies that have the resources to acquire businesses in the current market.
• The bill would give equity business owners a one-year head start on the six-license cap, while all other cannabis business owners would be limited to five licenses.

The proposal also:

• Increases purchase limits from 1-2 ounces.
• Creates a medical dispensary license with no vertical integration requirement, meaning the business no longer has to grow and manufacture its own cannabis products to get a medical license.
• Creates a portal for anonymous tips on suspected illegal activity involving licensed cannabis businesses.

Keep reading: Rules for hemp, indebted businesses

🏟️ A round-trip train ticket to the World Cup matches at Gillette Stadium will cost $80 this summer. (WCVB)

• Train tickets for the first five matches will go on sale at 11am tomorrow.

📵 House lawmakers plan to vote on a bill tomorrow to ban phones in schools and bar children under age 14 from using social media. (CBS Boston)

• Gov. Maura Healey will announce her own bill restricting social media for children this morning.

💸 Mayor Michelle Wu proposed a $4.9 billion fiscal 2027 budget, which eliminates several vacant positions and cuts several city grants. (WBUR)

• Asked by a reporter if the cuts include the free bus program, Wu said she and the MBTA are in talks to see if they can keep it going.

⛔️ A pair of water main breaks shut down part of Kneeland Street in Chinatown and School Street yesterday. (NBC Boston)

🗳️ A multistate lawsuit Massachusetts joined last week is the latest legal challenge to President Trump's executive order limiting mail-in ballots to those on a federal "citizenship list." (Axios)

Massachusetts universities failed to top U.S. News & World Report's rankings of the best U.S. graduate schools in nearly every category.

Why it matters: The state touts itself as home to the world's best universities and research institutions.

Driving the news: MIT topped the rankings for best graduate engineering program, with Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley ranking second and third, respectively.

• No Massachusetts college topped the list of best graduate schools for law, business, education, nursing, fine arts, medical research or primary care.

Zoom in: MIT ranked No. 1 in six of the 13 ranked engineering specialties, including aerospace, chemical, material and mechanical engineering.

• MIT tied for first for computer engineering (with UC Berkeley) and for electrical engineering (with UC Berkeley and Stanford).

Harvard University moved up two spots in the business graduate school rankings, tying with Northwestern University for fourth place.

• Harvard again ranked sixth for its graduate education program and dropped seven spots to ninth place for graduate clinical psychology.

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🍸 Beyond Proof, Boston's first zero-proof bar, opens today in Jamaica Plain.

• The new concept comes from the owners of Ten Tables, who transformed the space after closing the restaurant months ago.

🇪🇸 Dalia, a Spanish-inspired restaurant by Chef Nicholas Dixon, opened last week in South Boston.

🦪 The Island Creek Raw Bar returns to the Seaport on April 20 (Patriots' Day). Find it at 99 Autumn Lane and Harbor Way.

🍕 The owners of Nantucket's beloved Stubbys will open Sugar's Hot Pizza & Subs in the Seaport in May. (Stubbys added a Boston location in 2023.)