The other day, I was talking with a client, Ian from Five Fig Farm about some of his worries about his business as he adapts during COVID-19. On the one hand, people will still need fresh vegetables. On the other …
This article is written by guest contributor, Holly Fowler, Co-founder and Managing Director of Northbound Ventures, a sustainability consulting firm based in Somerville, MA and focused on developing sustainable communities, regional food systems, and institutional procurement practices. Directly or indirectly, …
Last month, Noelle and I had the pleasure of attending the SBN Local Food Trade Show. Fifty vendors and hundreds of other food producers and buyers were in attendance for a lively day of networking and discussions focused on buying and …
As you may have read in the paper a few weeks ago, Blood Farms just burned down. Why is this a big deal? They were one of only three slaughterhouses in Massachusetts who service the nearly 100 livestock producers in the area. All of these farmers rely on this limited number of slaughterhouses to process their animals, so the loss of just one facility puts the local meat industry in a tight situation.
If you’re already producing food in a licensed environment, such as a restaurant or catering business, becoming a wholesale producer could be the next step for you to increase revenue by adding a new sales channel. You’ve already got the …
by Lisa Sebesta How can we finance a sustainable food system in New England? In late January, 125 people gathered for a one-day session to tackle this question. Obviously, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to answer this in a single day. …
I’ve been hearing a lot about food hubs lately, but it wasn’t until Iattended a workshop at NESAWG this past February that I fully understood what they are. What I’ve been calling aggregators (companies like Farmers to You and Boston Organics) are, in fact, …
Already at the forefront of the local food movement, Boston continues to become a better city for restauranteurs committed to sourcing foods locally and sustainably. The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), in conjunction with the Mayor’s Food Council and Office of Food Initiatives, is hard at work developing plans to modify the city’s zoning regulations to permit and even encourage urban agriculture.
During high school summer vacations, I worked in a gift catalogue warehouse. I loved climbing up the racks to pull inventory off the shelves and then packing them in boxes. The machine that filled the boxes’ empty space with peanuts …
Last week I attended a farmer to farmer conference put on by the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. During the lunch break, I listened in on a conversation between two farmers discussing the challenges of selling to restaurants.