BECKET, Mass. - Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market launched a 10-week pilot season this week. The market aims to bridge the gap between food producers and community members.
Dozens of Becket residents stopped by on Thursday in its first week.
What You Need To Know
- The Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market is doing a 10-week Pilot Season to bring fresh, locally-grown food to areas in the county of low income and/or low access
- The Mobile Farmers Market will be at MCLA in North Adams on Tuesday mornings, 18 Degrees Family Services on West Street in Pittsfield on Wednesday afternoons and Becket Town Hall on Thursday mornings
- Funding for this program provided in part by the USDA Regional Food Systems Partnership Grant. Community partners include Berkshire Grown, Berkshire Bounty, CHP, the Southern Berkshire Rural Health Network, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and Berkshire United Way
- The market offers tiered pricing through a FairShare pricing system
“I think it's a great idea," Becket resident Andy Ziegler said. "I am learning more and more about the benefits of eating local. And, you know, my hope would be that it grows.”
“I thought that it was a great opportunity," said another resident named Susan. "Because the nearest grocery store is about 12 miles away.”
The mobile farmers market is also making fresh food more affordable with a FairShare pricing system.
“It's kind of like a pay what you can approach," market manager Alyssa VanDurme said. "It's part of our food access initiative. So, we have three different tiers - radish, watermelon and fava beans. The radish folks are people who shop at grocery stores or farmer's markets regularly, and so they pay the full retail price. Watermelon, those are folks who have like SNAP or HIP, other assistance programs just if money is tight and you need a little extra support.”
The fava bean pricing offers gift certificates for free locally grown food.
The solar powered electric van is what's putting the mobile in this Berkshire farmers market. It'll be stopping in North Adams on Tuesdays, Pittsfield on Wednesdays and Beckett on Thursdays from now through mid-November.
VanDurme said it's all made possible through community partnerships.
“This is huge," VanDurme said. "So, we're a grant funded program and per the stipulation in our grant, we had to lease the vehicle. And so, we are partnering with Roots Rising. They got a regional food infrastructure grant for their farm, and they were able to purchase this vehicle through that grant. It is 100% solar powered, the solar power actually does the refrigeration. And they were happy to lease it to us for this fall pilot that we're doing.”
VanDurme said the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market has six community partners in total who all work to support regional agriculture and food accessibility.
“We're very fortunate to have such an abundance of food and farmers and producers, and it's just getting out to areas like here in Becket, where the nearest grocery store is like a 20-minute drive and half the year you're in inclement weather," VanDurme said. "We're all playing our unique part and just making the food accessible for the people.”