Shop the local harvest at Berkshire Farmers Markets!
by Martha Jackson Suquet
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Image courtesy of Pittsfield Farmers Market |
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As a farmer and a market vendor, and the Manager for Berkshire Grown’s Winter Farmers Markets - farmers markets are a big part of my life. I often wonder -- what draws people to a farmers market? When I look around a busy market in summer, I see visitors being pulled in for many different reasons. Of course, there’s the food: corn and tomatoes are finally here, along with sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, fresh greens, and so much more. Grab some of those veggies along with some locally-raised meat, maybe some bread and cheese for an appetizer and you've got yourself a meal. If you’re too hungry to wait until you get home, most markets can also feed you on the spot. Grilled sausages, dumplings, egg sandwiches, tacos – yes, please! Maybe you're there to fill up your basket with fruit (that your kids will eat before you even get home – or is that just me?), or you enjoy chatting with your favorite farmers and neighbors. Maybe you’re taking advantage of the Market Match for your SNAP dollars, or maybe you like to sit and take in the live music. Or you love all of it, the combination of food, activities, and your community.
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Image courtesy of West Stockbridge Farmers Market |
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I’m sure you don’t need reminding that we live in an area rich in farmers markets. You can visit one of the larger Saturday markets or pop into a smaller weekday venue. You can dash in and grab what you need or linger for hours, enjoying live music, kids’ activities, and more. Our local farmers markets have been full of unique activities this season. The Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market recently hosted a performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night by the Rooted Voyageurs. At the Bennington Farmers Market, recent events |
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included book signings and readings by local authors, yoga classes, and a “Kids’ Market” where young entrepreneurs could sell their own products. Roots Rising’s teen-run Pittsfield Farmers Market held a Cupcake Showdown where local bakers entered their best cupcakes. The Sheffield Farmers Market celebrated “Zuke Fest”, including a zucchini car derby. The Great Barrington Farmers Market offered a kids’ cooking tent with free cooking lessons. If you missed any of these happenings, you still have many opportunities to join the fun:
Roots Rising will feature another Cupcake Showdown this season, on October 8. Enter as a contestant or buy a judging ticket to weigh in on the cupcake offerings.
For those of you who love to bring your canine family members to the market, the Millerton Farmers Market will feature the Dog Days of Summer festival on August 20, including all sorts of activities for dogs and their humans. Free dog treats, veterinarian dog care advice, and even a dog/owner photo contest are on the schedule.
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Some markets offer recurring events for shoppers to look forward to each week. The Roeliff Jansen Community Library brings its Farm Market Kids program to the Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market every Saturday through September 3. The program features themed read-alouds, craft projects, and the chance for kids to earn Market Bucks. At the North Adams Farmers Market, visitors can drop off food scraps with Second Chance Composting to reduce food waste. And check your local market’s schedule for live music – many markets have a rotating selection of great local musicians. |
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Image courtesy of North Adams Farmers Market |
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Our Berkshire farmers markets work hard to make local food even more accessible across communities. Most markets accept SNAP, either at the market manager's table, or through individual vendors selling eligible products. Many farmers at Massachusetts markets participate in the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), which gives SNAP customers money back on their EBT card when they purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at a Massachusetts farmers market. And in the Berkshires, most markets also have some form of Market Match, helping customers make their SNAP dollars go even farther. |
Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market |
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Berkshire Grown and other organizations offer tools to help you find your local farmers markets and learn more about their events, vendors, and food access programs. Use our Food and Farms Map to find markets, farm stands, CSA farms, and more. The Berkshire Farmers Markets map sites farmers market locations on a map, and the Berkshire Grown website can direct you to local markets that offer Market Match programs for SNAP. On the road this week? You can use the Eat Local MA app to help you find local food and farms all around the Commonwealth!
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What We Are Reading:
BIPOC vendor fund launches at Pittsfield Farmers Market
The Berkshire Edge / Business Briefs
August 15, 2022
Roots Rising and the Berkshire Black Economic Council are partnering to launch the BIPOC Vendor Fund at the Pittsfield Farmers Market. The fund will support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) farmers and entrepreneurs, and is funded thanks to the support of Greylock Federal Credit Union.
For some, the cost of getting a business off the ground plus the cost of vending at markets is too large of a burden. The BIPOC Vendor Fund aims to reduce the barrier to participation at the Pittsfield Farmers Market, by waiving the vendor booth fee and providing additional financial support for business start-up costs, such as supplies, permits, and business development. In that way, the Pittsfield Farmers Market will be more accessible, more equitable, and better reflective of our community.
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As a pilot program this season, the award will provide a half season booth fee ($300) plus a maximum of $500 towards supplies, permits, or business development. A limited number of awards are available, and the maximum grant award is $800. Individuals can learn more and apply at farmersmarketpittsfield.org/bipocvendorfund.
“Through this fund, Roots Rising recognizes that there are institutional barriers that farmers of color have endured for centuries, ”said Jess Vecchia and Jamie Samowitz, Co-Directors of Roots Rising, a food- and farming-based youth empowerment program which runs the Pittsfield Farmers Market. “From discriminatory practices at the USDA to unequal access to credit, land and resources due to systemic racism, we know that the tools required to build a fair livelihood and generate wealth are not equally available to all members of our community. As such, this fund is meant to be a concrete step towards remedying that injustice by expanding access to sales channels for BIPOC farmers and entrepreneurs,”
Roots Rising partnered with the Berkshire Black Economic Council (BBEC) to pilot this program. BBEC’s objective is to foster Black businesses and introduce policies to spur economic development in the Berkshires and the Commonwealth. Learn more about BBECat www.berkshirebec.org and learn more about Roots Rising at www.rootsrising.org.
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The Field Report: What the Historic Climate Bill Means for Farmers and the Food System
The Inflation Reduction Act includes billions for sustainable agriculture and a last-minute provision to provide debt relief to farmers.
By Lisa Held, Civil Eats
August 9, 2022
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On Sunday, after a marathon session that spanned the weekend, Democrats in the U.S. Senate passed the country’s most significant climate bill to date. While lawmakers made controversial concessions that will expand oil and gas drilling to secure the support of Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will incentivize unprecedented shifts toward renewable energy, electric vehicles, and curbing methane emissions from fossil fuel production.
For farmers and the broader food system, experts say the climate bill does not go nearly as far but will still have far-reaching implications. Action to curb emissions from any sector will benefit farmers struggling to grow food as weather extremes and disasters increase, and the legislation directly earmarks about $40 billion for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs—many of which incentivize climate-friendly practices such as reducing tillage and the planting of cover crops—renewable energy infrastructure on farms and in rural communities, and climate-smart forestry.
Read the entire article here. |
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Bears and Chickens -
How to Protect Your Chickens and Bees
Bears Live Closer Than You Think - The state’s bear population is estimated at over 4,500 animals. Common in central and western Massachusetts,
Bear-chicken interactions are by far the number one sources of conflict with black bears in Massachusetts. MassWildlife and the Environmental Police receive calls daily about bears breaking into chicken coops. Almost every bear in Massachusetts has learned this behavior. As back yard chicken farming has increased in popularity conflict with black bears has greatly increased. Please help us prevent this type of conflict and protect your chickens by using electric fencing. Electric fencing is the only way to prevent bears from learning this behavior and to adequately protect your chickens. Electric fencing is easy to set up and safe around kids and pets. Please see link below for a complete electric fencing guide, that provides recommendations of how to build and maintain the most effective fencing to protect your chickens, including baiting the wires. As always, please to do not feed bears. Remove bird feeders and secure other potential food sources around your homes.
Updates and additional guides to protect your chickens and bees from bears here. For more information contact Dave Wattles, Black Bear and Furbearer Biologist at MA Wildlife, 508-389-6359, Dave.Wattles@mass.gov.
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Shining a Light on Dual-Use Solar
UMass Amherst Helps Farmers Catch the Sun
August 16, 2022
Dual-use solar is making waves around Massachusetts, the country, and the globe – and CAFE’s own Clean Energy Extension (CEE) and its partners within UMass Extension and throughout the state are making a difference on two important fronts: helping to advance dual-use solar research and supporting the state’s solar incentive program. For those new to the concept, dual-use solar refers to both agricultural production and electricity production from solar photovoltaic (PV) panels occurring together on the same piece of land. These combined dual-use systems are sometimes also referred to as agrivoltaics, agrisolar, orco-location of solar and agriculture.
The concept of putting solar and farming together has been around since the 1980s but interest is expanding rapidly, driven by state and local clean energy and climate goals, concerns around food security and farm viability, and a growing interest in diversifying farm revenue sources.
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As with any new solar application, farmers and others have questions: What kinds of crops do (and don’t) work well with dual-use solar? What about grazing animals under the panels? Will my equipment fit between the poles supporting the panels? Will shade from the panels affect my soil? How will installing a dual-use system affect my farm’s finances?
Read the full article here.
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Berkshire Grown - Share the Bounty
has been selected to receive $1
from every Bloomin' 4 Good bouquet sold
during the month of September 2022
at Hannaford, 32 State Route 82, Hudson NY
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Berkshire Grown's
Every time you buy directly from a local farmer, you eat the freshest farm products and you support local agriculture as a vital part of the Berkshires economy.
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This 2022 Guide to Local Food & Farms is the region’s most comprehensive guide to local farms, farmers markets, and restaurants offering local foods - use it to find farm stands, CSA farms, pick-your-own farms and orchards, as well as locally sourced value-added products like charcuterie, preserves, and fermented foods and locations and hours of food pantries spread across the county. Within these pages and online at BerkshireGrown.org/Find-Food-and-Farms, you will find descriptions, addresses, and a detailed map.
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Berkshire Grown connects you with local farmers, restaurants, and food producers. DONATE TODAY to celebrate local farms and food, sustain our Berkshire food economy, and Keep Farmers Farming! Support your favorite local eating establishment.
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To pay via check or phone, make payable to Berkshire Grown, mail to:
PO Box 983, Great Barrington, MA 01230 or call (413) 528-0041.
Contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
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Stay in Touch
Berkshire Grown's e-newsletter comes out monthly.
Margaret Moulton, Executive Director
Jordan Archey, Program Manager, Business Members
Bart Church, Local Food Access Program Manager
Martha Jackson Suquet, Winter Farmers Market Manager
Sharon Hulett-Shepherd, Membership and Office Manager
Join Berkshire Grown here.
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