GREENFIELD — The Harvest Supper, brought back to town by a group of volunteers, was a sight to see, smell and taste on Sunday evening for the hundreds of people from around the valley who sat and ate with each other in the Greenfield Town Common.
The sounds of live music and chit chat and the aromas of five trucks’ worth of prepared food lifted into a sunny August sky as attendees formed a line that wrapped around the common for the local meal and community event.
Well over 600 people were served from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. by about 250 people who volunteered over several days. The event had been held for 11 years before last year, when there wasn’t the volunteer interest to host the event. This year, Kirsten Levitt, executive chef at Stone Soup, revived it with a group of volunteers.
The supper is a completely free meal for anyone interested. The meal is made out of entirely local food, except for some salt, pepper, ginger and canola oil, according to Levitt. She said the food came in on trucks on Saturday.
This year’s event featured face painting, live music and free take-home produce from local farms. It serves anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people every year and all of the tables were packed, with many also opting for seats on the grass, benches and curbs in the area as well.
Those involved and those who attended had a common thread of being unable to find the words for an event that they said brings the community together in a way that creates a lot of joy.
As Levitt looked over the crowds of volunteers and those enjoying the meal, she teared up as she struggled to find the words for her emotions.
“I’m so grateful,” she said. “My heart beams with gratitude.”
She said they started planning in March, and held weekly meetings to organize and learn how to host the event, which didn’t come with an instruction manual.
Beyond the volunteers that help prep and serve the meals and the donations from farms, the event takes an incredible amount of support from the town and other local social service organizations to help coordinate. She said that everyone from licensing to police and fire to food safety was very helpful and kind to organizers.
Levitt added that people who may come from different viewpoints or different styles of activism or work find a way to collaborate for the event.
“There’s not an us vs. them,” she said. “There’s us. There’s all of us.”
Greenfield Police Chief Robert Haigh was one of the volunteers serving food on Sunday. He said he got a call about the event and was immediately interested. He said serving at the supper allows him to meet new people. He credited the other volunteers and organizers and was happy playing a small part in a big event.
“For me to come down here, it’s very little, it’s everyone else that’s done everything,” he said.
The Free Harvest Supper was started in 2005 by Juanita Nelson as a way to celebrate the local harvest and encourage people to eat locally grown food.
“We did it for 10 years, and in the winter between 10 and 11, Juanita passed away, so we had the 11th (be a) memorial for her and at the end of that year, all of the old guard said, ‘We just can’t do this anymore,’” Levitt said.
This year, many who had previously attended the event were excited to return.
Cassidy McDonough, 15, came to the event with her grandmother, Mary McDonough. She said she attended the event frequently growing up, and the event allows people to connect with each other and the farms in the area.
“It’s just a wonderful sense of community, bringing together a ton of different people from the town,” she said. “It’s fun to see people you might not see on a regular basis.”
John Bailey of Greenfield said this is his eighth Harvest Supper and he was excited when he saw that the event would be hosted again. He said the event is one of a kind in the way it celebrates local food, while bringing people together to eat and also volunteer.
“This is the most beautiful thing that happens in the Pioneer Valley,” he said.
Reach Miranda Davis at
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