Search Results

By Line search: By LISA GOODRICH

By LISA GOODRICH

Upon walking in the door at Puza’s Pure Food Market in Southampton, a commitment to fresh, local produce is on display. Visually, produce appears to fill a substantial portion of the store. As the harvest season eases toward the holidays, bins and...

By LISA GOODRICH

As National Farm to School Month unfolds during October, the Connecticut River Valley puts the idea in action. Nationally observed since 2010, the month highlights the collaboration between farms and local schools.Simply feeding children is the root...

By LISA GOODRICH

School is back in session, and the emblematic apple is in season at local orchards. Courtney Basil, co-owner of Apex Orchards in Shelburne Falls, reports “beautiful, bountiful peach and apple crops this season.”Apex planted several new varieties in...

By LISA GOODRICH

Sunset Farm in Amherst is a neighborhood farm that emphasizes the social aspects of farming in community. Owners Connie and Bill Gillen grow vegetables and flowers on 10 acres, within walking and biking distance of the University of Massachusetts...

By LISA GOODRICH

Fitzwilly’s Restaurant offers seasonal, local food in an iconic downtown Northampton location. As summer explodes with local crops on the farm stands, a revised menu at Fitzwilly’s bursts with local tomatoes, corn, fruit, and much more.Locals may be...

By LISA GOODRICH

After much anticipation, peaches are ripe and now available on farm stands and at farmers markets in the Valley. Ben Clark, fourth generation farmer and owner/operator of Clarkdale Fruit Farms, explains that western Massachusetts is generally the...

By LISA GOODRICH

After the cold of winter in New England, spring on our region’s farms is a treat for the senses. While locals may argue over whether asparagus or strawberries declare the arrival of spring, Meghan Hastings, owner and farm manager of Dave’s Natural...

By LISA GOODRICH

Nick Martinelli, CEO of Marty’s Local, began his career with a stint at the Farm School in Athol, hoping to learn how he might participate in the local agricultural economy. While conducting market research in 2015, he recognized there was a lot of...

By LISA GOODRICH

Samaita (Sam) Newell is a first-generation immigrant from India. She met Jared Newell as a student in the five-college area. Following graduation and getting married, the young couple dreamed of buying a farm with a store.Without collateral, their...

By LISA GOODRICH

Though more weeks of winter lie ahead, National Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) week — Feb. 19-25 — marks the symbolic start of the CSA cycle, when member sign-ups start rolling in and participating farmers begin planning for the coming growing...

By LISA GOODRICH

Farms are the foundation of our local food system, with farmers markets, farm stands, and community markets providing the predominant means of providing local food to customers. And for some members of the community, the ability to order fresh, local...

By LISA GOODRICH

For many local people of Polish and Eastern European descent, pierogies are the ultimate comfort food: little pockets of dough wrapped around cheese, potato, cabbage or fruit fillings that bring warmth and satiety, especially during the cold New...

By LISA GOODRICH

Farms within the three counties of the Connecticut River Valley feed our local community while supplying food to our Commonwealth and the New England region. With farmland concentrated on the western side of the state and the population densest on the...

By LISA GOODRICH

Erica Goulding and Kelcie Hillard had a vision of sustainable farming rooted in humane practices for animal care. Together, the co-owners built Crooked Trail Farm approximately five years ago in Orange.While neither grew up farming, the pair had a...

By LISA GOODRICH

It’s apple season and owner-operators Matt and Brady Shearer of Pine Hill Orchards in Colrain are gearing up for a vibrant fall.Like many farms in our three counties, the orchard offers a wide array of products and activities for visitors that reflect...

By LISA GOODRICH

For Big Y, the commitment to serving neighbors food from local farms started at the beginning. In 1936, Paul D’Amour and his brother, Gerry D’Amour, used their family savings to purchase the Y Cash Market. The business grew, and in the 1950s the...

By LISA GOODRICH

Bob Bergeron, of Bergeron’s Sugar House in Leyden, has been sugaring for over 50 years. He first got hooked on maple during high school, at his grandparents’ sugarhouse in Whately, and learned through experience.“While I try to make a few dollars,...

By LISA GOODRICH

At first glance, Charlemont may seem an unlikely place to open a restaurant that features New Orleans cooking. When the pandemic offered a chance to try something new, Wesley Janssen and family saw the opportunity for a homecoming.The Northfield...