Summer Collaborative Effort Launches Mobile Market Pilot Program

by Martha Jackson Suquet

Beginning in September, three locations in Berkshire County welcomed a unique new visitor: the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market van loaded with fresh, locally grown food. A collaboration between six Berkshire nonprofit organizations, the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market made its debut for a 10-week pilot season focusing primarily on low-access locations in the Berkshires, as well as low-income shoppers. Inspired by research showing that location and transportation, alongside economic disparity, factor into food access, the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market aims to improve food access to areas like the Hilltowns and parts of Pittsfield by bridging the gap between farmers and customers.

For the fall pilot program, the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market will serve three locations, which the team identified through USDA Low Income/Low Access census data. On Tuesdays, the market will visit the MCLA campus in North Adams. On Wednesdays, 18 Degrees Family Services will host the market in Pittsfield, and on Thursdays the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market will travel to the Becket Town Park Pavilion. The goal of the pilot program is to fine-tune the market setup and work on any sticking points before a full roll-out in the spring, while also beginning to serve customers and build interest in the market. Following the pilot, the organizing partners will review the successes and challenges, and apply those lessons learned to an expanded operation with more locations in the spring of 2024.

The Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market is a collaborative partnership managed by Berkshire Grown. Funding comes from a three-year USDA Regional Food Systems Partnership grant, as well as from local foundations and individual donations. The Berkshire Regional Planning Commission received the USDA funding, and Berkshire Bounty, Community Health Programs, the Southern Berkshire Rural Health Network, and Berkshire United Way all bring their specific expertise to the project. Alyssa VanDurme, the Mobile Farmers Market Manager, sources fresh produce, bread, meat, eggs, milk, honey, jam and dairy products from farms in the Berkshires, as well as the Hudson Valley and southern Vermont. The logistics of coordinating purchases from many farms are challenging, but the result is a market that offers shoppers a wide variety of options. Products offered in the first few weeks include seasonal fruits and vegetables from seven different local farms, as well as pork, beef, chicken, eggs, bread, honey, milk, cheese and more.

With over 50 different items, VanDurme says it’s hard to track what’s the most popular so far, but as one volunteer noted, “it’s so rewarding to see families leaving with so much healthy food.” The market served over 150 shoppers in its first three days in operation, and the team hopes that word will continue to spread and draw more customers throughout the pilot season.

In addition to making food more accessible by bringing it to low-access areas, the market aims to improve food access for shoppers across the economic spectrum, in a stigma-free shopping environment.

To that end, the project partners crafted a Fair Share Payment System, in which shoppers choose one of three categories and goods are priced accordingly. 

A shopper in the in the “Radish” category can pay full price for their food and is not experiencing economic hardship. The “Watermelon” category is for shoppers who receive public assistance or earn wages below the poverty level, and customers in the “Fava Bean” category can use free mobile farmers market gift certificates, ensuring that its products are truly accessible to everyone. The pricing structure differentiates the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market from other food access programs: it serves both shoppers who can afford to pay full price but may live far from a traditional farmers market as well as lower-income shoppers who benefit from free or low-cost local food. "It's a paradigm shift,” says Morgan Ovitsky, Executive Director of Berkshire Bounty. “We’re changing the way things are done.”

For more information on the market schedule, pricing system, available products, volunteer opportunities, and partner organizations, visit the website at berkshiremobilefarmersmarket.org, sign up for the BMFM Newsletter, and follow the market on social media.

Learn more about volunteer opportunities with the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market.

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What we are reading as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

RFK and Cesar Chavez

American Experience/PBS

Michael Rougier/Time Life/Getty Images

One of Robert Kennedy's least glamorous assignments in the Senate was a seat on the Subcommittee on Migratory Labor. He was appalled to learn of the miserable working conditions endured by farmworkers, at the mercy of big agricultural businesses. But with a lot of issues on his mind — Vietnam, and the new Bedford-Stuyvesant renewal project in his own state — it hardly seemed like one he could take on.

Indifference to Labor

So when labor activists and some of his aides prevailed upon Kennedy to show support for striking farmworkers in March of 1966, he resisted. "Why am I dragging myself all the way out to California?" he complained on the plane to Peter Edelman, his point man on the issue.

Inspired

Then he spent a day with Cesar Chavez. "By the end of the day, Kennedy had embraced Chavez and La Causa," writes biographer Arthur Schlesinger. RFK was so angered by what he saw, and so impressed with Chavez, that all doubts about getting involved with the farmworkers were erased.

From Worker to Organizer

Cesar Estrada Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona, in 1927, to a farm-labor family of Mexican descent. When his successful father suffered a financial reversal in 1937, the family was forced to join the roughly 300,000 migrant workers who followed the crops to California every year. Growing up in a succession of overcrowded migrant camps, Cesar managed an eighth-grade education. He served for two years in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then returned to migrant work in the Southwest and California.

Worker Literacy

Chavez and his new wife, Helen, began teaching their fellow farm workers how to read and write in the hope that they might lobby for better working conditions and fairer wages. After being recruited by the Community Services Organization (C.S.O.), Cesar started part-time work as a labor organizer, overcoming his own shyness in the process. Chavez rose to general director of the C.S.O. in 1958, but resigned after four years to found a new organization, the National Farm Workers Association (N.F.W.A.).

Read the article here.

A Proclamation on National Hispanic Heritage Month, 2023

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we honor the diverse history of generations of Latinos, whose aspirations and achievements have shaped the soul of our Nation.

I have often said that America can be defined in one word: possibilities. The Hispanic community has always embodied that ideal. It lives in the dreams of those who have only just arrived here and in the legacy of families who have been here for centuries. Latinos have helped chart America’s course since our start — as doctors and engineers; artists and entrepreneurs; and leaders in science, business, labor, government, and military and across grassroots movements. Their faith and drive have pushed our country to grow, prosper, and pursue its highest ideals. 

Read President Biden's proclamation here.

What's Happening:

8TH Annual MA Cheese Festival, ThinkFOOD Conference, and Rooted in Place

8th Annual Cheese Festival at High Lawn Farm, Lee

On Saturday, September 23 award-winning artisan cheesemakers will sample and discuss their products and dozens of Pairing Partners will showcase culinary products to accompany all that wonderful local cheese. Local chefs and cheesemakers will offer workshops and demonstrations throughout the day. Admission is Adults $30; Cheese Guild Member FREE; Children (under 12) FREE. High Lawn Farm, 535 Summer St., Lee, MA. Tickets and more information here.

10th Annual ThinkFood Conference-Making local farms work

Bard College at Simon's Rock, Great Barrington

The Center for Food Studies at Bard College at Simon’s Rock presents it's 10th annual ThinkFOOD conference on Saturday, November 4. ThinkFOOD will give you new perspectives on food, farming, and resiliency offering interactive sessions with practical takeaways and new ideas from experts in the Berkshires and beyond.

Ashley Randle, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) will give the keynote address.

The conference is free for all students. Tickets are $25 for access to all sessions, $15 for half day, or $10 for keynote only; lunch tickets are $10. Discount tickets available; please email thinkfood@simons-rock.edu for details. Register to attend the Conference.

Berkshire Farmers Markets - over 20 different markets continue to offer fresh local produce throughout the seasons!