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Growing the Region's
Food Economy
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BAV supports farmers and food entrepreneurs in the Berkshires including adjacent areas of Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut by providing low-interest loans, technical assistance and grants.
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ThinkFOOD 2019 at Bard College at Simon's Roc
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BAV co-sponsored this year’s ThinkFOOD conference held on April 13, 2019 at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. This year's conference theme was
Berkshire Pollinators
. The day featured a series of hands-on workshops followed by a keynote from Dr. Thomas Seeley, the Horace White Professor in Biology at Cornell University specializing in the behavior, social life and ecology of honey bees.
The workshops featured topics such as "Systems & Methods of Regenerative Growing Practices" with Jen Salinetti of Woven Roots Farm, and "Connecting Students to Farms and Farms to Students", co-lead by Will Conklin of Greenagers and Heather Meehan, class of 2014. Other highlights included a preserves making workshop with Brigid Dorsey of
les collines
, a honey tasting with Marina Marchese of the American Honey Tasting Society, and a presentation from BAV's own Emil Ghitman Gilkes on BAV's services and controlled environment agriculture for season extension.
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Featured Grant Project: Northwest CT Food Hub
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The Northwest Connecticut Food Hub, a program of Sustainable Healthy Communities and the Northwest Hills Council of Governments (NHCOG), launched in 2017 in Litchfield, CT. The Food Hub is now picking up food grown on 20 local farms (in Roxbury, Washington, Kent, Litchfield, Harwinton, Cornwall, and Warren) and delivering it to 20 food buyers (customers) including restaurants, schools, and grocery stores. Local farmers are involved in all aspect of the Hub's operations.
The Hub is working to add 20 more customers in 2019 and came to BAV for financial support toward this objective. It has ample supply of locally grown food that farmers would like to sell through the Hub, but needed supplemental funding to support the staffing necessary to grow their customer base.
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The Hub will also be actively involved over the next year in helping interested farms meet new food safety regulations and participate in farm-to-school programs. For more information please contact
Jocelyn
at NHCOG. To donate directly to the Food Hub
click here
.
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Thanks to the Hughes Foundation for Two Years of Support for Our Community Revolving Fund. You can help grow this fund too!
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Our deep gratitude to the Hughes Foundation for their generous two-year contribution to growing our Community Revolving Fund loan program and to our wonderful donors who are helping build this fund. Farms and food businesses throughout the region have benefited from our low interest, flexible term loans. And demand is growing exponentially. For more information about how you can help grow an sustain our Community Revolving Fund, please contact
Cynthia
or
Gena
or
donate today
!
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Featured Loan Project: Marty's Local Expansion
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Marty's Local, a Pittsfield, MA-based local foods distribution service company, recently acquired Squash, Inc with financial support from BAV's Community Revolving Fund. Marty's Local has strong partnerships with over 70 local farms while also offering a broader selection from farther afield to satisfy customer needs. Founded in 1973 in Belchertown, MA Squash, Inc. has played a similar role to date from the Pioneer Valley to Boston.
This acquisition will provide a much larger platform for the purchase, sale and distribution of local and regional foods by making more Berkshire and Hudson Valley food available in the Pioneer Valley and Worcester areas. It has also expanded Marty's Local from one Berkshire-based hub to two, with a second now in the Pioneer Valley.
For more information or to contact Marty's Local visit their
webpage
.
Photo Provided by Mary's Local
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BAV 0% Interest Bridge Loans for
Reimbursable Grants
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Are you a recipient of an MDAR or other reimbursable grant and unsure how to cover the initial costs until you can submit receipts and request reimbursment? Through our Community Revolving Fund, BAV offers short-term, 0% interest Bridge Loans for reimbursable grant recipients with only a small, flat rate administrative fee required. These loans of about 4-6 months in duration can help keep the upfront equipment or other purschasing costs from restricting your business cash flow. A 0% Bridge Loan for this purpose would be due in full upon receipt of grant funds - there are no installment plans required. Please
contact us
for more information and to request an application!
Photo Credit: Don Perdue
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Featured Technical Assistance Project:
Random Harvest Market
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Random Harvest Market in Craryville, NY opened at the end of 2018. It is a worker-owned local market and cafe operating on a consignment model featuring over 80 local producers. The business also includes a shared commercial kitchen and community event space.
Random Harvest approached BAV for assistance with a community outreach and marketing plan for the market launch in late 2018. BAV connected Random Harvest with a local marketing and branding consultant through our free one-on-one technical assistance program.
Random Harvest is open Monday through Saturday 11am-7pm and Sunday from 11am-6pm. Learn more about their market and community events on their
website
and follow them on
Instagram
to stay up to date!
Photo Credit: Lawrence Braun
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BAV is Key Partner in New Berkshire Blueprint 2.0
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BAV is proud to be the Key Partner with 1Berkshire to help implement strategies from the new Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 for the Food and Agriculture cluster with other partners and stakeholders. The Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 is he regional economic development roadmap for the Berkshires that centers on five key sectors that drive the economy, with Food and Agriculture as one of them.
Key action steps identified include expanding food processing and distribution capacity to grow markets; sparking the next generation of entrepreneurs and social innovations in farm/food businesses; and building the Berkshire brand as a destination for food, culinary and farm-to-table authenticity.
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This weekend the Great Barrington Farmers Market will present "Farm Market Table: A Night of Storytelling Celebrating the Power and Purpose of Food." The event will be held on April 27th, from 5 to 7 pm. Farmers, cooks, local food heroes, and your neighbors will share their stories about the power and purpose of food! All ticket sales will benefit the Market's SNAP, WIC, and Senior Check doubling programs. Doubling at the Market is one step towards a more resilient, accessible and sustainable local food system. Full price tickets are $25, Use code
gbfm
for half price tickets and SNAP card holders get in for free.
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Berkshire Agricultural Ventures | info@berkshireagventures.org | www.berkshireagventures.org
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