A total of $788,051 is coming to Franklin County businesses and nonprofits to support infrastructure upgrades for local food systems.
Atlas Farm in Deerfield has been awarded $233,250 to support the construction of a crop storage room as an addition to an existing crop storage building; Stone Soup Café in Greenfield is receiving $81,098 to purchase a refrigerated vehicle, which is also what Sunderland’s Teddy Smiarowski III Farm intends to use its $138,374 grant for; the Franklin County Community Development Corporation is being awarded $205,899 for kitchen upgrades; and Chase Hill Farm of Warwick will spend its $129,430 on a tractor and baler.
In a statement, Gov. Maura Healey said the funding would help ensure local food systems remain sustainable and continue the work of keeping Massachusetts residents fed.
“No family should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. Local food banks and community organizations are on the front lines of fighting hunger, and they are seeing more people asking for help,” Healey said. “These grants will help them purchase the refrigerators, kitchen equipment and delivery vehicles they need to get more fresh, healthy food to families across Massachusetts.”
The grants are awarded through the Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Awards range from approximately $10,000 to $500,000. Across the state, nearly $7 million was awarded to 72 farms, fisheries, food banks and other community organizations.
“The Food Security Infrastructure Grant program is a critical bright spot that empowers our farmers, fishers and local food organizations to build robust, long-term and resilient supply chains,” MDAR Commissioner Ashley Randle, a South Deerfield native, said in a statement. “We are especially proud that 60% of this year’s awardees are first-time grant recipients, representing a diverse cross-section of the food system and ensuring that these grants reach deeper into our communities to bolster food security while supporting local producers.”
Farm & Food Products Program Director Kate Minifie at the Franklin County Community Development Corporation in Greenfield said its $205,899 will be used to purchase several pieces of equipment, as well as upgrade infrastructure at the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center on Wells Street to improve and expand its ability to process produce.
For example, Minifie said the processing facility currently has the ability to cut cucumbers into slices, but farmers have expressed a desire to have spear-shaped cucumbers to sell to customers. The grant will allow the Franklin County CDC to purchase the equipment necessary to meet that need.
“It sounds silly, but it’s something our farms have said they wanted,” Minifie said of the spear cutters.
She added that the Franklin County CDC will also get a bag filler that will allow staff to fill bags with tomato sauce, rather than just putting sauce into jars. She explained that the food service industry and businesses and organizations like schools and hospitals typically use bagged sauce rather than sauce that comes in jars. With this equipment, farms will be able to sell their produce in new ways.
“One of the goals is to help our local farms access new markets,” Minifie said.
Other equipment, such as a commercial food mill, will allow the organization to increase its capacity and the amount of produce that can be processed for farms.
“Right now we’re able to support 20 farms,” Minifie said. “We’re hoping to increase that to 35 farms.
Kirsten Levitt, executive director and chef at Stone Soup Café, said its $81,098 grant will help the organization better ensure food safety by purchasing a refrigerated van, which will be used to make pickups at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts in Chicopee.
“We are members of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and we have been using personal vehicles to go down to the food bank,” Levitt explained. “During the summer months, we’re putting food systems at peril by not having it in a refrigerated vehicle. … This vehicle will solve that issue.”
Levitt said Stone Soup Café, operated out of All Souls Church, has wanted to upgrade its transportation methods for a while to ensure frozen foods stay cold on the drive back to Greenfield. The refrigerated van will better comply with transportation requirements.
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts does not allow food to be transported more than 30 minutes away without refrigeration. Freezer blankets or insulated coolers are acceptable, but food should not go more than four hours without refrigeration, and any frozen foods showing signs of thawing should be thrown out.
“We’re extremely grateful,” Levitt said. “Feeding our community is paramount.”
State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Food System Caucus and serves as vice chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, said in a statement that the Legislature is committed to continuing to work with the executive branch in supporting farmers and food security.
“Delighted to cheer the steadfast partnership between the Healey-Driscoll administration — especially the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources — and the Legislature, which continues to invest in building and strengthening food and farm security infrastructure,” Comerford said. “The transformative FSIG grants are lifelines for farms and organizations across western and north central Massachusetts. A shared commitment to FSIG means stronger farms, more resilient supply chains and a future where everyone in Massachusetts has access to nutritious, local food.”
