As part of our mission to Keep Farmers Farming, Berkshire Grown works to connect local farmers with a range of market channels, from farmers markets to CSA programs, to low income/low access community programs. By strengthening local food access as a market channel for our farmers, we aim to improve the stability of their businesses while also supporting the right of all community members to access local food.

Our existing food access programs include Farm to Food Access and Share the Bounty. For Farm to Food Access, Berkshire Grown makes large-scale crop purchases from local farmers and distributes it to food pantries. Share the Bounty focuses on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) - Berkshire Grown purchases CSA shares from local farms, and those shares are donated to programs that serve community members facing food insecurity: food pantries, community meal programs, and subsidized low-cost CSA shares. Both of these food access programs are supported by foundation grants and individual donations to Berkshire Grown.

We are excited to have received two government grants recently that allow us to strengthen and expand this work and to continue our inspiring collaborative work with other Berkshire nonprofits. The first, a Local Food Purchasing Assistance Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture (MDAR), is funding a partnership between Berkshire Grown, Berkshire Bounty, and Community Health Programs to enable significant purchases of locally grown food from area farmers for distribution to food pantries and community meal sites throughout the region. The second grant, from the USDA’s Regional Food System Partnerships Program brings in two additional partners: the Southern Berkshire Regional Health Network and Berkshire United Way. This three-year grant supports the creation of two mobile farmers markets that will source 100% of its products from the Berkshires, bringing locally grown food to low income/low access community members throughout Berkshire County.

“These grants are game changers — both for farmers and low-income/low-access shoppers — that will expand and strengthen the local food web,” explains Margaret Moulton, executive director of Berkshire Grown, noting that both awards encourage collaborative partnerships in the work of feeding the community at large.

Each of the organizations in this partnership brings something different to the table: Berkshire Bounty has a deep pool of volunteers and relationship capital with Berkshire County food pantries, CHP offers extensive expertise in community outreach, and Berkshire Grown has built strong connections with local farmers.

Jenny Schwartz, who serves as the operations manager for Berkshire Bounty and the food access coordinator for Southern Berkshire Rural Health Network, understands the benefits of engaging food pantries and the communities they serve in conversations about demand, in particular for fresh, locally sourced food. “Recipients truly appreciate the increase [in] quality of foods which offers a glimmer of hope and inspiration in an otherwise stressful situation,” says Schwartz, who also oversees weekly food distribution at the People’s Pantry in Great Barrington.

Many pantry clients cook, “so to offer a wide variety of ingredients can not only offer necessity but even a dash of creativity” — a sentiment shared by Morgan Ovitsky, executive director of Berkshire Bounty.

“For us, the most notable change that will happen with these grants is shifting our focus from simply supplying produce to providing locally grown produce, increasing the nutritional value and freshness of our offerings while also supporting the local food economy,” said Ovitsky, who cites improving the quality of food in the emergency food system as a core tenet of the organization.

For Berkshire Grown, it’s important that these grants will benefit farmers as well as consumers. “Food access is a complicated beast and as a farmer it’s not always easy to navigate how we can make an impact,” farmer Anna Houston of Off the Shelf Farm says. Food access programs such as those funded by these grants are integral to keeping farmers in business while chipping away at local barriers to food access.

“We appreciate that Berkshire Grown understands the need for farmers to be paid the full value of their crops,” said Laura Tupper-Palches of Full Well Farm. “It's a way for us to build food security without sacrificing our revenue — because in the end, farms staying afloat is crucial for food security.”

Two relatively recent additions to Berkshire Grown’s staff are taking on the work of facilitating these grant-funded projects. Maeve Dillon joined Berkshire Grown in 2022 as the Food Access Program Manager. She manages the storage and aggregation of the local crop purchases by Berkshire Grown in our 40 foot walk-in cooler and two walk-in freezers, as well as the complex logistics of moving thousands of pounds of local food from local farmers to local pantries each week. She appreciates the “boots on the ground” nature of food access work that, while often physically challenging, allows her to see first-hand the communities and families that are gaining access to local food. “We’re doing food access work through the lens of creating a more equitable food system for our local farmers,” says Dillon, noting that this is a unique angle. “While some organizations focus on gleaning, Berkshire Grown's focus is to Keep Farmers Farming, so we make a point to pay farmers a fair market price for their food.”

Alyssa VanDurme recently joined Berkshire Grown as the Mobile Farmers Market Manager. She will manage the two mobile farmers markets which will launch this fall, and her work includes building a small mobile market business that sources local food and distributes it to low-income/low-access consumers in a welcoming, stigma-free shopping environment.

As we move into the peak season for fresh local food, we look forward to the many ways that food from local farms will be available for local consumers. With our partner organizations, we are proud to be doing work that both supports farmers and improves food access for our communities.

In response to the COVID 19 public health emergency, Massachusetts households have been getting extra Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits since April 2020, also known as SNAP Emergency allotments. Due to recent action by the federal government, these extra payments are ending.  Starting in April, SNAP recipients will only receive one SNAP payment a month in the amount of their regular benefit award. By telling the Department of Transitional Assistance DTA about certain expenses, SNAP recipients may be able to increase their regular SNAP benefit award. To learn more visit the State's newly launched website: Mass.gov/ExtraCOVIDSNAP that can help residents plan for the end of the emergency allotments.

If you receive SNAP benefits, you're automatically enrolled in the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP). HIP works on a monthly basis and starts over on the first of each month. Using HIP provides an instant rebate of up to $80 per month onto your EBT card depending on the size of your household.

Berkshire Grown’s Winter Farmers Market Match program matches your SNAP dollars up to $25 per market. Shop the Berkshire Grown Winter Farmers Market and stop by the Market Manager's booth this Saturday to increase your lcoal food purchasing power!

Berkshire Grown seeks an experienced fundraiser to join the team as Development Director. The Development Director will be a thought partner with the Executive Director and Board to envision immediate and long-term development strategies for the growing nonprofit organization. This job requires residence within or close to Berkshire County, MA.

READ MORE HERE. To Apply: email current resume and a cover letter describing your interest in joining the Berkshire Grown team to: jobs@berkshiregrown.org No phone calls, please.

Program Manager for Farm and Food Business Members is a year-round 30 hour/week salaried position that reports to the Executive Director. The Program Manager is the principal liaison between area farmers, local food producers, and Berkshire Grown. This job requires residence within or close to Berkshire County, MA. READ MORE HERE. To Apply: email your current resume and a cover letter to: jobs@berkshiregrown.org. No phone calls, please.

Berkshire Grown is hiring a Livestock Working Group Coordinator to facilitate a livestock working group based in the general Berkshire/ Taconic region, with the goal of improving communication between producers, processors, and service provider organizations in the region while identifying next steps for long-term solutions. The Livestock Working Group Coordinator will serve as liaison between Berkshire Grown, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, and project stakeholders the livestock supply chain. READ MORE HERE. To Apply: email current resume and a cover letter to: jobs@berkshiregrown.org. No phone calls, please.

Watch all five short videos here:

This 2022 Guide to Local Food & Farms is the region’s most comprehensive guide to local farms, farmers markets, and restaurants offering local foods - use it to find farm stands, CSA farms, pick-your-own farms and orchards, as well as locally sourced value-added products like charcuterie, preserves, and fermented foods and locations and hours of food pantries spread across the county.

You can also find the best in locally grown food and products near you on Berkshire Grown's searchable map!

Keep your Guide to Local Food & Farms handy and use it frequently!