AMHERST — A recent visit to Brookfield Farm gave Bronx, N.Y., teens Emily Robinson and Royale Cash Panchoo an opportunity to see baby pigs, pick blueberries and make flower bouquets, one of their several excursions around town and the region while staying for a week with an Amherst family.

“It’s been fun,” Robinson, 14, said of her time being hosted by Jeanne Esposito’s family as part of the Fresh Air Fund program.

While this was the first time she’s been a Fresh Air kid, arriving via bus, a brother and sister previously participated.

Like, Robinson, Cash Panchoo, 13, is new to the program but familiar with it from a sibling.

“My oldest brother went when he was younger, and my mother said I should experience it, too,” Cash Panchoo said.

What struck her immediately about being in Amherst is there being far less hustle and bustle. “It’s more quiet than I’m used to,” she said.

Yet despite the continued interest from families in the five New York City boroughs in having their children get out of the city for one- and two-week vacations to more rural areas, within three hours’ drive, Esposito and Susan Morrello are having challenges finding host families as the longtime organizers of the local Friendly Towns program.

At its peak, about 60 children ages 8 to 14 from the city would spend time with families in Hampshire and Franklin counties. But then the program faced significant disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, going on hiatus in both 2020 and 2021, and since returning has been greatly reduced, with only a handful of city children coming the past three summers.

On a recent afternoon, with Esposito away for the day, Morrello took Cash Panchoo and Robinson to the Town Beach in Belchertown, where the girls could lounge on the beach, play on the swing set and swim in Arcadia Lake. Once in the water, the girls joined other children, some of whom were holding nets, getting the sensation of having fish bumping up against their feet and legs, and occasionally pecking at them.

Morrello said that families interested in being hosts in 2025 are encouraged to fill out an application. The program does require a background check and a home visit, along with additional questions from Fresh Air Fund.

Morrello, who’s hosted city kids for more than 20 years, like Esposito, said when she started she had children similar in age to those of the visitors.

This has led to enduring relationships, with Fresh Air Fund children welcome to participate through their 18th birthday, if the children and their families are both receptive to continuing.

“A good percentage come back year after year,” Morrello said.

Fresh Air Fund pays for all start-up costs, security checks, home visits and the bus ride, and each child is also insured.

Founded in 1877, the nonprofit youth development organization offers what it describes as free life-changing outdoor experiences during the summer:

“We believe that investing in a child’s journey through life provides an opportunity for young people to learn, grow and thrive in our city and beyond. The magic of a Fresh Air summer, full of new experiences and new friends, is simple yet transformative.”

Two years ago, one of the Fresh Air participants who had aged out of the program returned to Amherst for what has become an annual alumni pool party at Esposito’s home, before starting her basic training in the U.S. Army. She cited the importance of returning to Amherst and what she saw as her vacation home outside of Brooklyn.

If she hadn’t come to Amherst, Robinson said she would probably have been relaxing at her Bronx home before her family departs for a trip to Costa Rica before thenew school year starts.

Cash Panchoo said she would be spending time with friends if she hadn’t decided to be in Amherst.

“It’s been good, a new experience,” Cash Panchoo said. “Going to different places, seeing new things.”

Go to freshair.org/ for more information.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.