Hannah Sobel joined the Franklin County CDC in October. She is the Program Manager for the Pioneer Valley Grows and Massachusetts Food Trust programs. In that role, she works with farms and retail food businesses to secure funding and technical assistance to strengthen local agricultural economies and improve the nutrition access of low-income communities. Among its many programs, the FCCDC administers the PVGrows Investment Fund—where community members invest in local farm and food retail businesses—and the Massachusetts Food Trust Program—a statewide initiative that provides financing to food retailers in low-income, low-grocery areas. Hannah will lead these programs.

Prior to joining FCCDC in 2023, Hannah worked throughout the food system, from farming and urban agriculture to municipal food truck policy and nonprofit meals programs. She has an M.A. in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning and an M.S. in Food Policy and Applied Nutrition from Tufts University. She is excited to draw from her food systems and community development experiences in order to help create equitable, sustainable, and healthy communities throughout the Connecticut River Valley. Welcome, Hannah!

Africana Villa–a food market, West African restaurant (the first in the city of Springfield), and clothing store–opened its doors earlier this month at the corner of Locust and Dickinson streets in Springfield.

When Roseline and Obioma Chiuwa first reached out to FCCDC in the spring of 2022, it seemed like a logical progression to grow their Afro-Caribbean food buying “club” to a retail storefront in the Springfield neighborhood they called home.

The FCCDC was able to use Massachusetts Food Trust Program's low-interest loan funds to assist in their dream of creating a grocery store in a neighborhood served primarily by convenience stores. Additionally, Roseline has carved out a corner of the grocery store for some clothing and fashion items. A related West African restaurant, Africana Bowl, opened in the adjacent storefront in the building they purchased and rehabilitated for the past year and a half.

Africana Villa held its grand opening on October 7, a day proclaimed “Africana Villa Day” by Mayor Domenic Sarno, who was at the ribbon cutting (pictured above, with Roseline). The project turned a 6,000 square foot vacant building into a neighborhood asset providing healthy food that also meets the needs and tastes of a culturally diverse population.

"Thank you City of Spring and FCCDC for your support and financial assistance to Africana Villa," Roseline said at the opening. "Your belief in our vision is not only appreciated, it is a testament to the power of diversity and inclusion in shaping a brighter future for African Descent Americans. Thank you for standing with us."

We are very excited about this addition to the city of Springfield and wish the Chiuwas every success imaginable as their venture serves the people of Springfield and beyond. Do stop in to check out the store and restaurant when you are in the area!

What a joy to welcome to the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center (where hairnets are mandatory) Good Girl Snacks' Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bajhtiar, as well as Evolve Food Consultants' Andrea Blanco and Esther Levy.

Andrea and Esther flew in from Miami to check us out. Leah and Yasaman, who are from Florida and California, respectively, have been developing their pickle product and will manufacture it here in western Massachusetts. A new chapter in pickling begins!

From left: Liz Buxton, WMFPC Operations Director; Andrea Blanco, Leah Marcus, Yasaman Bajhtar, Esther Levy

Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) and the Franklin County CDC have extended the deadline to apply for the Emergency Farm Fund (EFF) to December 1. The fund offers zero-interest loans of up to $25,000 for Massachusetts farms in Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties affected by fluctuating winter temperatures in February, the deep freeze of May 18, and widespread flooding and excessive rain in July. Click here for more information.

The EFF is a resource for farms struggling to meet their immediate financial needs because of income, crop, or equipment loss due to these weather events. The goal of the fund is to respond to critical, time-sensitive needs by helping farms recover from their losses, continue farming, and/or build resilience for future extreme weather events. If you are a farmer who has experienced these losses, apply here.

The Franklin County CDC's PVGrows Investment Fund is one of the sources of funds for the EFF. The fund's investors are community members who invest as little as $500 toward a more resilient food system. Interested in becoming an investor? Find out more at the link below.

Clients Nostalgia Scratch Pastry in North Adams got some great coverage in the Berkshire Eagle earlier this month. Take a look at how two old friends transformed their passion for baking into a booming business selling pastries wholesale throughout Berkshire County.

Photo by Gillian Jones-Heck for the Berkshire Eagle

FCCDC Racial Justice and Community Engagement Leader Traci Talbert will be presenting a program on Linguistic Bias at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) conference Equity in the 413. The October 24 all-day event, to be held at the Sheraton Springfield, "is a convening to support relationship building across several industry areas," according to the CFWM. "This call-to-action will help attendees from our region align our readiness and efforts to advance racial equity in the workplaces and organizations across western Massachusetts."

Recent events Traci organized to recognize the contributions of Black women in academia got some press attention: See stories about the Seventh Annual African American Female Professors Award event and the Second Annual University and College Presidents' Ball on 22 News!

Are you a farmer diversifying into value-added production or an entrepreneur developing new and exciting products? Do you have questions about how to integrate food safety and quality into the development of your products? If so, this course is for you! Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) is collaborating with UMass Amherst, The University of Rhode Island, Commonwealth Kitchen, and the Western MA Food Processing Center at the Franklin County Community Development Corporation to offer this virtual program designed specifically to address food product development and food safety issues faced by small farmers and food producers. It includes a self-paced online course with homework followed by a 4-hour virtual/online session and office hours that dive deeper into relevant topics.

Classes and Workshops

Western Mass Means Business

An overview of how the Western Mass Means Business Collaborative—Common Capital,

MA Small Business Development Center, SCORE, Franklin County CDC, and Valley Community Development—can support your small business. Topics covered will include programs, resources, and loan and grant opportunities available. Register at Valley CDC.

• November 1, 5 to 6:15 p.m. on Zoom

Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)

CISA's Session II fall workshops are geared to food businesses. Find out more about the three remaining sessions and register on their website.

Women Business Owners Alliance

WBOA Social Media Bootcamp, a jam-packed day of presentations, networking, and more! Use code FCCDC50 to get $50 off the $129 registration fee. Register at the WBOA website.

• October 28, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., University of Massachusetts Springfield Campus, Tower Square, 1500 Main Street, Springfield.

Verizon Small Business Digital Ready

Free classes for business owners are online.

Legal Resources

Need legal help? These two sites have listings of lawyers who may be able to assist.

Lawyers Clearing House

Legal Food Hub

Are you a consultant who works with small businesses? Let us know.

Grant Opportunity

The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) announces the availability of funds through the Massachusetts Co-Packing Start-Up Grant program. This 6-month grant program will provide funds for either (1) dairy farmers located in Massachusetts forming a new partnership with a processor co-packer or (2) for a licensed dairy processor forming a new partnership with at least one Massachusetts dairy farmer to launch a farm-branded value-added product line. The deadline to apply is November 16. Learn more.

Fellowship

The Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Fellowship (CAMF) is now accepting applications from farmers and service providers interested in taking action to address the challenges presented by climate change in their region. Beginning in winter 2024, participants will attend cohort meetings to learn about climate-adaptive strategies and will meet in pairs to develop adaptation and mitigation plans for their own farms. 2024 cohorts will include a group for diversified agriculture and agroforestry producers, and a group for women and non-binary vegetable and small fruit producers. The fellowship application will close November 11. Apply here. 

Survey

Rural LISC’s Workforce team wants to inform rural employers on how they can best support their employees through the Rural Workers: Amplified survey. This survey is for anyone living, working, or looking to find work in a rural area. The survey is open through the end of October.

Just a reminder that we gratefully accept donations to help us deliver services to low and moderate income entrepreneurs and small business owners! Every gift is appreciated, and donations over $1,000 are eligible for a 50% tax credit (so you can double your impact!).

You can set up a monthly, quarterly, yearly, or one-time donation securely on our website. Thank you to everyone of you who supports this work financially and in countless other ways!

Grow Your Farm with Value-Added Food Products

We'll guide you through the food business roadmap!

Fourth Wednesdays at 11 a.m.

Upcoming virtual session is on October 25.

Grow Your Business

For businesses of all types at any stage

First Wednesdays at 2 p.m.

Upcoming virtual session is on November 1.

Financing Farms and Healthy Food Retail

Professional guidance on local food businesses

Second Wednesdays at 11 a.m.

Upcoming virtual session is on November 8.

Starting a Food Product Business

Got a dream product? We can help!

Third Tuesdays at 10 a.m.

Upcoming virtual session is on November 21.

Franklin County CDC | 324 Wells Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 | 413-774-7204