We hope your holiday season is off to a great start and that you are shopping local when doing any gift giving (see our 2025 Holiday Gift Guide below for inspiration and to support our clients). As we reflect on a year that brought vast changes to this country, we take solace in the community we are co-creating with you. Thank you for reading this newsletter and for being part of our community. Here's to a joyous and prosperous New Year for all!

Design software platform Canva can do a lot! For small business owners with limited marketing budgets, Canva's DIY flyers, websites, and social-media-ready files can really sing—if you know what you're doing. Want to up your Canva game? Register now for this three-part class, presented by Codeforce.Us. Classes are in person at the Franklin County CDC Venture Center, 324 Wells Street, Greenfield. Please bring your laptop and have signed up for a free Canva account before the first class. (This class is filling up fast so act now.)

Print magazines feel so perfect right now! Sitting down under a blanket with a cup of cocoa and reading something that's not glowing, that's not noisy, that's thoughtfully written and beautifully presented--and is about food, no less? That's why we love the new Edible Berkshires issue! And we're on page 5! Check out the story about our Western MA Food Processing Center and keep an eye out for Edible Pioneer Valley, coming soon!

Are you a farm or food business looking to get your name out to magazine readers through print and digital advertising? We are exploring joining forces to do a group ad buy. Contact Kate Lawless to learn more.

As we move through the holiday season and reflect on the kind of world we want to see, we can't think of a better way to take action to make a positive difference than investing in what matters: farms and food businesses that feed our communities.

If community investing is on your radar and you want to learn more about parking your dollars where they'll do the most good, while earning interest, join our PVGrows Investment Fund information session on January 21, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. We are proud to be a flexible source of funding for farms across western Massachusetts--and the only community investment fund solely focused on Massachusetts farms. Join us to learn how, for as little as $500, you can invest in your values.

We are so pleased to welcome Finance Specialist Anna Halpin-Healy to our administrative staff. Anna has been passionate about supporting small businesses and local economies since her high school job at a “mom and pop” sandwich shop in New York City. Food and community have been the throughline to her career and prior to joining our team, she managed operations at Cricket Creek Farm, a small dairy farm in Williamstown, MA. Anna holds a Master of Business Administration with a Focus on Entrepreneurship from University of Massachusetts Amherst's Isenberg School of Management. She is a knitter and potter and loves running with her dog, Cirrus. 

You’ve heard the line, “Build it and they will come.” Kate Stillman of Stillman’s Quality Meats is doing some serious building with an eye to filling a need for up to 300 regional livestock farms. About three years ago, she started planning and designing an 8,000 square foot two-story facility that includes a 4,000 square foot USDA smokehouse and value-added processing facility in Hardwick.

“This facility is really the next step for livestock farmers,” Kate says. It will process both poultry and red meat (beef, pork, and lamb), which is rare in New England. The facility was designed to complement services of other meat processing facilities, rather than compete with them. Here, producers can make bacon, pot pies, meatballs, stock, jerky, and other value-added and ready-to-eat items, helping them (and Kate’s farm) increase their income and sell to the wholesale market.

“This is changing the game in our area for sure, to have access to this capacity,” she says.

The Franklin County CDC provided partial funding for the multimillion-dollar project through its Massachusetts Food Trust Program, and served as one of many technical advisors along way. Kate also credited Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture and Berkshire Agricultural Ventures as major collaborators on the project, as well as the Commonwealth, which awarded the project a Food Security Infrastructure Grant.

“We’re talking about investing in rural communities here,” she says, adding that her business will create highly skilled, high paying, year-round jobs.

Read the full story.

Cheers to everyone who ran, jogged, or walked to support the Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage earlier this month, including Anna, Kate, and Kwaku (top right photo) from the FCCDC staff. The Franklin County CDC’s Western MA Food Processing Center crew, including Jason Noyes (top left photo) was up at 2 a.m. turning local milk, cocoa, sugar, and vanilla into 500 gallons of delicious hot chocolate for all the participants who took a stand against domestic violence. We were proud to be a Blue Ribbon sponsor of the event.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and long-time volunteer, Rick McKelvey in October. A Conway resident and veteran of the food and beverage industry, Rick brought decades of knowledge and generosity to our community. As his obituary noted, “he and co-author Bob Burke literally wrote the book on all facets of sales and marketing within natural foods,” the Natural Products Field Manual, a guide he regularly updated through nine editions.

He most recently served for more than 13 years as VP of Sales and Marketing for Dough’s, a Toronto-based gluten-free baked goods company.

Rick provided in-depth mentoring to countless early-stage food businesses in the natural products sector, sharing his expertise, steady encouragement, and belief in the potential of emerging entrepreneurs. His influence is woven throughout our community, and his legacy will continue to support and inspire food business owners for many years to come.

We were honored that many of Rick's friends and family have donated to the Franklin County CDC's Western MA Food Processing Center, where he served as a volunteer mentor to many of our clients. If you'd like to make a gift in Rick McKelvey's memory, you can do so here.

The Gift Guide that breaks the Internet every year is back!

Look, we know you want to support local small businesses...but do you also want to give functional, fun, and delicious gifts? Our clients have you covered! From mushrooms to meats, merch to mouth-watering condiments (and even live elves for your seasonal party) you'll find something for everyone here. These are just a sampling of the 373 innovative, passionate entrepreneurs we were proud to work with this year.

In order to reach businesses owners closer to where they are, Business Assistance Manager Angela Varilly will be meeting clients in the Greenfield Business Association (GBA) location at 278 Main Street on Monday mornings. Thanks to this new partnership with the GBA, Angela will be taking 30-minute free appointments with residents who would like to discuss their business or business idea from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Send her an email to make an appointment, angelav@fccdc.org.

Thank you for reading this newsletter, where we report to you many of our activities each month. What you don't see is the day to day. Our staff works diligently to serve our clients respectfully, providing accurate and relevant information, reducing barriers to accessing capital, and boosting their businesses so they can rocket to success. In effect, we are lighting the way for business owners and building community wealth locally.

This season of giving, you can make your end of year donation now to support small business development in the region by making a secure gift to the Franklin County CDC. We are incredibly grateful for your support! If you give $1,000 or more, you may receive half back as a tax credit through the Community Investment Tax Credit program.

To those who have already given, thank you! Each gift, large or small, demonstrates your care for the community we share.

It was a pleasure to host Common Capital's staff this month and give them a tour of our Western MA Food Processing Center. A fellow community lender, Common Capital, based in Springfield, provides some similar services to the Franklin County CDC, including lending, small business technical assistance, and encouraging entrepreneurship. This meeting of the staffs allowed us to check in and compare notes, plus discuss how to better serve small businesses throughout western Massachusetts.

We welcomed visitors Deb Esposito, Senior Vice President, Business and Commercial Services, and Jay Seyler, Vice President, Commercial Lending, from Greenfield Cooperative Bank this month. They were one of the first to see the new blast chiller nearly up and running. GCB has been a wonderful partner, providing both financial support to the FCCDC, and complementary lending services for small businesses.

Deb Esposito, FCCDC Production Supervisor Jason Noyes, and Jay Seyler

Check out one of our free virtual information sessions to Get Started at the FCCDC! Find all our information sessions on our website at fccdc.org/get-started.

Our Grow Your Business session welcomes businesses of all types at any stage. Zoom with an expert who has worked with hundreds of businesses over the years and can answer questions and offer resources. This is a great way to get started with the Franklin County CDC. Join us on the first Monday of the month at 11 a.m. Sign up. Upcoming session is on January 5.

Are you dreaming of launching a packaged food product? Are you a farmer looking to turn your harvest into a value-added food product, but not sure where to begin? We can help! Zoom with a food product expert from the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center to begin a conversation about your food product idea. Discussion topics will include product development, shelf life, packaging, labeling, food safety, regulatory compliance, manufacturing, and distribution. Additionally, we have flexible financing available for farm and food entrepreneurs using locally grown ingredients. Join us on the third Tuesday of the month at 10am to learn more! Sign up here. Upcoming session is on January 20.

Learn how some common words and expressions in use today have origins in slavery and racism. We'll talk about how to recognize these words and what to do when you hear them said by others. By understanding the resonance and eliminating these phrases, we can foster environments where everyone feels welcome.

Join us bimonthly (February, April, June, August, October, December) on the third Wednesday of the month at 2 p.m. to learn more. Sign up here. Upcoming session is on February 18.

Workshops

Berkshire Agricultural Ventures

An upcoming free virtual workshop is designed to help farmers and market managers strengthen their marketing and boost sales at farmers markets. Presenter Zoe Richardson of Good Roots will cover signage, QR codes, engaging customers and staying in touch, and printing and layout for flyers. January 28, 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Zoom. Register here.

Grants 

Harold Grinspoon Foundation

The Local Farmer Awards are back. Find out more about awards up to $2,500 intended to help farmers purchase capital equipment used as an ongoing part of farm operations with a life expectancy of more than five years. Applications open January 1, 2026 and the deadline is January 31.

Jobs

Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture

CISA's job board is a great resource for those looking for career opportunities in farm and food businesses.

Thanks for reading!

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