Thank you to everyone who donated to the FCCDC in 2022. During our end-of-the-year drive we received more than $90,000 from the wonderful people in our community! Thank you for helping us serve more businesses that turn to us for support.

The Greenfield Recorder ran a front-page story about our work with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. We received a $94,000 Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program award for the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center to continue and expand our work with both the Franklin and Hampshire County houses of correction and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Kimball House Program. The grant will bolster those existing partnerships while also fostering new partnerships with Stone Soup Cafe’s Culinary Institute, Working Fields Staffing Agency, and Community Action Pioneer Valley.

“This is more formalizing the program and coming up with goals,” Liz Buxton told The Recorder. “This brings it all together. … It’s definitely going to help us grow a little more.”

Pictured: Gigi Gomes, Shift Supervisor, and Liz Buxton, Director of Operations. Photo credit: Paul Franz, The Recorder

Do you have a business idea or are you in the early stage of starting a business? Want to present your idea and compete for cash prizes? Do you know someone who would love to enter a friendly shark tank?

GCC is launching its next Take The Floor pitch contest, which will kick off tonight, January 19! The winner in the Food, Beverage and Agriculture Entrepreneur category will get help with their product from FCCDC experts and prototyping time in our Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center, along with a $3,000 cash prize!

Our own Executive Director John Waite will be one of the judges during tonight's event at 5:30 p.m. at Greenspace CoWork on the third floor of Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center (weather permitting, but it's on for now!). The next events will be on March 23, and May 18, with winners from each event coming together for the final, nail-biting pitch-off on June 29. Be sure to mark your calendar.

Read The Recorder's coverage of Take the Floor and register to make your pitch!

Pictured, from left: Mickey Balsavich, Tabitha Rantanen, and Max Fripp of Greenfield Community College, a Franklin County CDC board member. Photo by Chris Larabee, The Recorder.

Are you–or do you know–an experienced business advisor or entrepreneur with a passion for food and farms who wants to use their financial skills to support sustainable, equitable, and robust regional food systems? The Franklin County Community Development Corporation (FCCDC) is looking for a Financial Business Advisor (Farm & Food) to join our team. Read the full job description with directions on how to apply at our website.

Quabbin Harvest Food Co-op (QH) in Orange, Massachusetts, is a grocery store and so much more for the community it serves. The store has received a grant, loan, and business assistance through the Massachusetts Food Trust Program (MFTP).

QH offers a full range of groceries for local shoppers as well as “Community Shares” programs that help to make food affordable to low-income customers.

It buys fruits, vegetables, meats, and other products from the small farms that dot the rural North Quabbin region, giving those farmers a predictable market for their goods. But, as the store’s Board Chair Cathy Stanton notes, the co-op most importantly provides a community gathering space for locals and pulls economic activity to the heart of Orange.

“The goal is to be a lively anchor for downtown,” said Stanton, who, in addition to serving on the QH board, is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at Tufts University. “We hope it will help bring life and commerce to the businesses around it.”

The co-op is still working to reach profitability, but it is on a much firmer financial footing now than it was back in 2018, when it faced bankruptcy. “We were going down for the third time,” Stanton said. Having launched in 2014 with insufficient capital, and experiencing significant staff and board turnover, the business was struggling. Precisely because it was a for-profit enterprise, funding streams were limited.

Stanton learned about MFTP, co-administered by the Franklin County CDC, in 2018 and applied. The venture met the program’s criteria and already participated in the state’s Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), which gives those who qualify for federal SNAP benefits additional monthly dollars toward healthy, local fruits and vegetables.

Read the full story on our website. 

Are you an early stage, but established, food entrepreneur selling a Consumer Packaged Good (CPG)? Are you primarily selling direct to consumer (D2C) and ready to begin selling to stores in your region? Join us between February and April 2023 to learn from industry experts and entrepreneurs like you who have grown their CPG brands in the Northeast.

This program is hosted by the Franklin County CDC and the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts and funded by the USDA Local Food Promotion Program. Find out more and register at our website.

The Franklin County CDC was involved in a pretty sweet fundraising effort to raise money for kids in the foster care system. Our Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center made cookie dough, based on recipes from Small Oven Bakery, Ashfield Lake House, Blue Door Gatherings, and Woodstar Café. Stir Up Some Love, this year's fundraiser by the Treehouse Foundation, sold cookie dough, and raised nearly $45,000. All proceeds benefited the Treehouse Foundation, an intergenerational community in Easthampton where families adopting children from foster care live side-by-side with older adults in a close-knit neighborhood.

“The grant must be matched dollar-for-dollar through a crowdfunding campaign that is planned for mid-January through mid-March, or the village loses the entire amount,” said Whit Sanford, who is coordinating the fundraising effort. She said she hopes that people who love and care about Shelburne Falls will contribute online. Sanford noted there will be a public information meeting in January for those interested in learning more about the project. Watch our social media channels for more information about that meeting.

The Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) is updating the 2023 Franklin County Long Range Transportation Plan (RTP). What do you think is important now and in the future when it comes to improving how people and goods move around the county?

To provide input check out these links:

For more information or questions about the RTP update, contact Beth Giannini, Transportation Program Manager, or go to FRCOG's website.

Do you have customers or employees with hybrid or electric vehicles? Does your business have vehicles you would like to shift to electric? Private companies are eligible for some subsidies to help fund charging station infrastructure and electric vehicles fleet. Information can be found from the following sources:

For questions about electric vehicle programs, contact Laurie Scarbrough, FRCOG Transportation Planning Engineer.

Positive Google reviews help the Franklin County CDC present itself in the best light. We invite you to think about what you love about this organization and write a Google review (or just give us 5 stars!) using this link. The Food Processing Center also has a link for Google reviews! Feel free to share these links with others who know about us.

Attention farmers and food entrepreneurs! Do you want to showcase your business—and fine-tune your approach to marketing and distribution? Sign up to be an exhibitor for the Local Food Trade Show, hosted by the Sustainable Business Network on March 1. Register by February 12! When you register, you can sign up for some great virtual workshops leading up to the event, including Speed Trading, one-on-one consultations on February 28, and a Wholesale Marketing Workshop on February 21. Register online.

Investing in Your Farm: Accessing Grants and Loans for Growing Your Business

Beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers struggle to access land and capital to build infrastructure and assets critical resources to operate economically viable farms. With the workshop series, Investing in the Farm: Accessing Grants and Loans for Growing Your Business we are offering trainings to producers on record-keeping and financial management strategies to improve access to grants, cost-share, and loan programs. First class Grant Writing for Farmers 101, is tonight, January 18. Information here.

A free program for small businesses and worker co-ops, with a priority for Massachusetts-based enterprises with 2-20 employees. PMI is designed to help strengthen democratic workplaces through systems for HR, communication, and financial transparency. Online training sessions will be available in both English and Spanish, starting in January 2023. Learn more and apply online.

Business Basics Classes, various days/times

Free webinar to help entrepreneurs start a business plan and provide structure to starting and managing their venture. Topics will include:

Registration is required. This workshop is offered on several dates. A Zoom link for the webinar will be emailed to you after registration. Details are online.

Exploring the Small Farm Dream

Tuesdays, February 2–23, 6:30-9 p.m., Zoom

If you considering launching a small farm enterprise, but are not sure where to start, this 4-session series will give you the tools to start making choices to determine if farming is right for you. Fee: $75 per family, includes a workbook valued at $25/extra workbooks can be purchased for $25. Pre-registration and pre-payment is required. For more information call (607) 584-5007 or email lw257@cornell.edu.

CITC Credits help us maximize your gifts, while you get 50% back in state tax credits! Email John for details.

Upcoming virtual session is on January 19.

Upcoming virtual session is on January 25.

Upcoming virtual session is on February 1.

Second Wednesdays at 11 a.m.

Upcoming virtual sessions is on February 8.