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Library Bites - Eating Local in NE in Winter
What does eating local look like in the winter time in New England? Not long ago, everyone *knew* that New England only grows good food in the summer. But just a little earlier than that, nearly all food was local food. Now, with so much shipped in from thousands of miles away, where do you get local food? Is it worth the bother? And what does a winter holiday look like with local food at the center?
Kerry Kokkinogenis, Local Food Program Manager at SBN, will explore what eating local in the winter in New England means. Leave hungry and with a few recipes and ideas for your own table.
Thanksgiving Harvest Festival
Every November, local family farms and businesses come together at Red Apple Farm to offer all the best fixings for your Thanksgiving table and home. The festival features delicious food, The Brew Barn, face painting, pony rides & hayrides, blacksmith demonstrations, local live music, PYO ornamental corn, guided nature hikes, and more! Come share and taste New England’s bounty, and bring Thanksgiving to your home from the North Quabbin Region. Discover local vendors selling fresh crops and unique products from all over New England. Bring non-perishable food items to support our local food pantries (enter to win great raffle items for every 5 food donations)! There’s so much to do at the Thanksgiving Harvest Festival, you just have to come see for yourself.
Gardner Thanksgiving Market
Thanksgiving Market: indoor market Nov 23, the Saturday beforeThanksgiving, for a Fill Your Pantry event from 10am-1pm at Perry Auditorium(Gardner City Hall). We have already confirmed 2 turkey farms, and expect tohave a great turn out!
Thanksgiving Harvest Festival
Every November, local family farms and businesses come together at Red Apple Farm to offer all the best fixings for your Thanksgiving table and home. The festival features delicious food, The Brew Barn, face painting, pony rides & hayrides, blacksmith demonstrations, local live music, PYO ornamental corn, guided nature hikes, and more! Come share and taste New England’s bounty, and bring Thanksgiving to your home from the North Quabbin Region. Discover local vendors selling fresh crops and unique products from all over New England. Bring non-perishable food items to support our local food pantries (enter to win great raffle items for every 5 food donations)! There’s so much to do at the Thanksgiving Harvest Festival, you just have to come see for yourself.
Opportunity to Showcase Massachusetts Products at State House
Opportunity to Showcase Massachusetts products at Annual State House Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and Holiday Open House with Governor Healey and Lt. Governor Driscoll.
Wednesday, December 4th – The Healey-Driscoll Administration is proud to host the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony at the State House which will take place December 4th, 5:00pm, on the steps of the State House with remarks from Governor Healey and Lt. Governor Driscoll and holiday songs followed by a reception with warm treats and more music inside. Local food and agricultural businesses and associations are invited to showcase their uniquely Massachusetts products during the reception inside the Great Hall! This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase your business or organization by bringing seasonally appropriate "MassGrown" goodies or creating festive activities for kids.
If you are interested in tabling and have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Phu Mai at Phu.Mai@mass.gov.
Central Mass Grown - From Field to Customer: Marketing Strategies for Beginning Farmer
Are you a beginning farmer selling directly to customers through farmers markets, a CSA, farmstand, or events? Join us for an interactive online webinar, From Field to Customer: Marketing Strategies for Beginning Farmers, on Monday, December 9 from 6-7:30pm. This free, interactive webinar will be presented by Myrna Greenfield of Good Egg Marketing.Learn how to grow your customer base while maximizing your marketing efforts. From crafting a compelling story about your farm to building stronger relationships with your customers, we’ll help you stand out from the crowd. You’ll leave with a simple, actionable marketing plan to help you attract new customers and increase sales. Don’t miss this opportunity to take your farm business to the next level. Register here:
Perfect Your Presentation for Buyers
Preparing for the trade show and all wholesale buyer conversations. VIRTUAL
Virtual 1-on-1 Consultations
Meet with up to six industry experts in Marketing, Sales, Finance, Legal, Food Safety, or Working with Distributors.
Preparing for Wholesale: Cost of Goods, Contracts, and Distribution - Friday, January 24th, 9-10:30am
A quick rundown of the most important numbers and information you want to know and be able to articulate before you sign a wholesale contract. VIRTUAL
SBN's 2025 Local Food Trade Show
Last year’s trade show was a sun-kissed celebration of our local food community, hosted by Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland, MA. We are thrilled to return there again this year on Tuesday, January 28th! We have a snow date on Tuesday, February 4th.
Spots sold out early last year, and we expect them to again! Plus, from now until December 1st, we have an Early Bird Discount — Save $25 off your registration fees!
WHO IS AN EXHIBITOR? Farmers, fishing folks, food makers, and value-added producers based in New England. If you have your wholesale license* (if/as needed for your product and state) and are ready to grow your wholesale presence, we are looking for you!
WHO IS AN ATTENDEE? Calling all wholesale buyers! Big grocery stores and distributors, specialty food stores and specialized distributors, cafes and restaurants, K12 through college dining halls, farm stores, and CSA managers — We invite you to meet some of the best local food producers and new-to-the-scene products!
Virtual Wholesale Matchmaking Webinar
Based on your capacity, product, and location, be matched up with up to 4 wholesale buyers. This workshop will take place later in the spring (in May).
New England Producer Distributor Buyer Forum
The Grocers Project of Farm to Plate & Small Bites E-news hosts this conversation on the variables of selling food brands. Our small but mighty panel includes a wealth of knowledge about the food industry: Greg Esslinger formerly of UNFI on distributor deduction impact on brands, Joe Dickson formerly of Whole Foods & currently with Lot 49 Advisors on organic compliance & differentiation, Shad Christopoulos covers distribution as an employee of Rainforest Distribution & formerly Associated Buyers. We have representatives from food production to retail grocery digging deep into pertinent retail & regional topics on growing your food brand from the farm through to retail.
All food businesses are encouraged to attend and share first-hand insights on selling and purchasing strategies. Bring your questions, share your experiences on this engaging day. Consider this a first conversation that cracks into the nature of successfully selling our regional brands and supports the goals of New England Feeding New England. We get down to business, learning about the businesses across the food industry.
All businesses and organizations that hold a place in the New England food shed are welcome to attend.
10th Annual Ecological Gardening Symposium: Rooted in Place
We need acts of restoration, not only for polluted waters and degraded lands but also for our relationship with the world. We need to restore honor to the way we live so that when we walk through the world we don’t have to avert our eyes with shame, so that we can hold our heads up high and receive the respectful acknowledgment of the rest of the earth’s beings.
— Robin Wall Kimmerer, “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants”
In collaboration with Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), Berkshire Botanical Garden presents Rooted in Place, our annual ecological symposium. This year we will inspire participants with insights into our ecological past, present and future. We will explore the impact of pollutants in the Berkshires and beyond and reflect on what is classically known as the Four Elements of Nature: earth, water, air, and fire. The event will take place on Sunday, Nov. 10, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., here at BBG.
Country Roads Christmas
Nov 9 – Dec 8, 2024
This holiday festival is a month long event, held the first weekend in November through the first weekend in December, and provides an opportunity to visit and shop in local country stores in the North Quabbin Region, including Red Apple Farm. Take a weekend drive down old, New England country roads shopping at unique stores for one-of-a-kind gifts where folks are truly glad you came by! Relax and avoid the hustle and bustle of the mall. Complimentary refreshments are available at each stop. Pick up a free card for a chance to win great prizes from participating country stores.
Nasami Seed Hub Workshop
Interested in learning more about native seed production? Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at how standard agricultural practices can scale small amounts of wild collected seed into the larger quantities needed for habitat restoration and horticulture.
Library Bites - Eating Local in NE in Winter
What does eating local look like in the winter time in New England? Not long ago, everyone *knew* that New England only grows good food in the summer. But just a little earlier than that, nearly all food was local food. Now, with so much shipped in from thousands of miles away, where do you get local food? Is it worth the bother? And what does a winter holiday look like with local food at the center?
Kerry Kokkinogenis, Local Food Program Manager at SBN, will explore what eating local in the winter in New England means. Leave hungry and with a few recipes and ideas for your own table.
Harvest Home Festival & 5K
Join Community Harvest Project to celebrate the end of another successful season providing more than 250,000 pounds of healthy produce for hunger relief! The annual Harvest Home Festival & 5K features a 5K race and kids fun run, kids activities, bouncy house, online auction and raffle, food and drink, live music, beer trailer, apple tastings, local vendors, pumpkin trebuchets, apple cannons, hayrides for all ages, and more – fun for everyone!
Fiber Festival of New England
Fiber enthusiasts are coming together at the Mallary Complex on the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds for the annual Fiber Festival of New England to promote the use of wool and other natural fibers and related products to the general public. Details here.
Fiber Festival of New England
Fiber enthusiasts are coming together at the Mallary Complex on the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds for the annual Fiber Festival of New England to promote the use of wool and other natural fibers and related products to the general public. Details here.
Diwali
Often called the "Festival of Lights," Diwali celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.
It is marked by lighting lamps, sharing sweets, and enjoying special meals.
2024 Boston Local Food Festival
New England's masterful food makers – chefs, fishermen, farmers, and food artisans -- join culinary craftsman for the 2024 Boston Local Food Festival on Sunday, September 15th! From 11-5 on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, we will savor the flavors of Massachusetts and beyond! From chef demos to a Family Fun Zone and a thrilling Seafood Throwdown, there's something for everyone! Don't miss out on our Early Bird vendor discount – reel in this amazing deal before May 31st! Save the date and get ready to savor the flavors of our region! *Rain date: September 22nd.
Food Preservation
September 14, 202410am – 2 pm with a pot luck lunch at noon Price: $50 - $100 – sliding scale Presenters: Julie Rawson, Jennifer Peck, Marissa Gabriel and, Paula Bowie We preserve hundreds of pounds of food each year enough to fill 7 freezers, 400 mason jars, a root cellar, and cupboards with dried foods. Join us at the height of the food preservation season to preserve our way through the day. We will freeze vegetables, can tomatoes and grape juice, make applesauce, start some lacto-fermented sauerkraut, dry some herbs and garlic and discuss best methods for canning freezing drying, and root cellaring. At lunch time we will share a pot luck lunch. Details here.
Farm Festival
Family friendly and kid’s activities include bouncy house, hay rides, face painting, arts & craft projects, and more. We’re thrilled to be hosting some amazing local breweries and cideries in our Beer Tent. Beer tasting tickets will be available for purchase in advance. Along with sampler tasting tickets, your purchase will also include a Medway Community Farm souvenir cup. Beer tasting tickets also give you access to purchase full pour tokens of your favorites. Details here.
Topsfield Fair
We pride ourselves on being the quintessential county fair – traditional agriculture, big entertainment and good food! The Topsfield Fair is open eleven days prior to Columbus Day each year, as Columbus Day is always the last day. October 4th - 14th, 2024
Sunset Music at the Vineyard
All shows are 6pm - 8pm
except for Saturday, September 7th and Saturday, September 15th which are 5pm -7pm.
Music line up here.
Environment to Plate: Duck Island Shellfish sampling & "UNFILTERED" showing
Get ready to embark on a captivating journey into the world of oysters! Meet Corey from Duck Island Shellfish, a proud member of the Wampanoag tribe, as he shares his personal story and experiences as a third generation oyster farmer. Corey weaves his indigenous heritage into sustainable farming practices, using traditional ecological knowledge passed down through generations.
Joining Corey are Josh McLawhorn (Director) and Gabriela Rodeiro (Co-Editor) of the Emmy Award-winning documentary "UNFILTERED: The Truth About Oysters." This groundbreaking film unveils the intricate connections between the environment and the oyster industry, providing a unique perspective on these extraordinary shellfish and our local shoreline ecology.
Corey's inspiring journey, complemented by themes from "UNFILTERED," highlights the resilience and innovation required to thrive in oyster farming amidst climate challenges. The evening will culminate in a delightful (and free) oyster tasting, where you will have a chance to chat with these esteemed professionals.
Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the profound impact oysters have on our environment, economy, and culture, and their role in the local food scene. Join us for an evening of storytelling, discovery, and delectable tastes.
Visit the UNFILTERED website to view the trailer.
To get tickets, click here!
Sunset Music at the Vineyard
All shows are 6pm - 8pm
except for Saturday, September 7th and Saturday, September 15th which are 5pm -7pm.
Music line up here.
Chocolate Picnic on the Greenway
Join the foodie fun as small groups are guided through an outdoor chocolate tasting of craft made, small batch chocolate–including some made right here in New England! Gain some history and insight on the neighborhood, and be sent home with a special chocolate treat from a local shop. Featuring collaborative partners of the Small Business Network, as part of their Eat Local Always campaign. #eatlocalalways #eatlocalma #supportlocalfood
More details here!
Chocolate Picnic on the Greenway
Join the foodie fun as small groups are guided through an outdoor chocolate tasting of craft made, small batch chocolate–including some made right here in New England! Gain some history and insight on the neighborhood, and be sent home with a special chocolate treat from a local shop. Featuring collaborative partners of the Small Business Network, as part of their Eat Local Always campaign. #eatlocalalways #eatlocalma #supportlocalfood
More details here!
Whim Farm to Table Dinner
Whim Dinner Series
OffThe Vine Catering
Learn More | Buy Tickets
Butterfly Experience and U Pick Sunflowers
As August approaches, anticipation blooms on our farm, promising an enchanting dance of butterflies amid the sunflower fields. With the golden hues of sunflowers and the fluttering grace of butterflies, our farm will transform into a captivating haven, a magical experience awaiting its moment in the late summer sun. Details here. https://visitbutterflies.com/
Building Immersion, Life Tool
Learn to use a variety of hand and power tools, and gain or expand your building knowledge, so helpful to farmers, artists, or to increase your own DIY skill set. Proper tool use and techniques can inspire you to make furniture, a shed or studio, or even a tiny house! Plenty of hands-on experience and community building in a beautiful setting. Facilitator/teachers for this popular weekend workshop are Seeds of Solidarity founders Ricky and Deb, and farmer/builder Emi. Sliding scale $75- $175. ($250 value). Lunches included, rustic on-site overnight camping possible. Pre-registration required, capped at 20. Email deb@seedsofsolidarity.org to register. Details here.
Sunset Music at the Vineyard
All shows are 6pm - 8pm
except for Saturday, September 7th and Saturday, September 15th which are 5pm -7pm.
Music line up here.
Farm Tour with Allandale Farm
Welcome to Allandale Farm!
Join us for an incredibly fun and educational tour of Allandale Farm, a historic gem in Brookline, MA. From tomatoes to lettuce, kale to sweet potatoes, hot peppers to melons, their produce is harvested and washed every morning, providing unmatched freshness, flavor, nutritional value, and shelf life. If you've ever wanted to see how your food goes from ground to plate, this is the perfect opportunity to learn how a farm operates and maintains its commitment to sustainable agriculture.
This tour offers a unique perspective into Allandale Farm's growing practices and how they are deeply linked to their role as land stewards and neighbors. They prioritize the long-term health of their land, employees, and customers through agricultural methods that improve soil health, combat weeds, diseases, and pests naturally. Their techniques include crop rotation, cover cropping, natural barriers, beneficial plants and insects, and disease-resistant plant varieties. They never use herbicides or conventional pesticides, ensuring a healthy and safe environment for all.
New England boasts a rich community of high-quality food crafters, and they proudly collaborate with small businesses to preserve New England foodways and introduce innovative ideas to their food system. They can't wait to welcome you to their farm!
Tour Details:
The tour will start at 6 PM, followed by a Q&A session with light refreshments on the patio.
The tour will cover approximately 1 mile over flat, gravel terrain, so they recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes.
Sign up here!
Farm to Table Lunch Series
Join chef and author Miriam Rubin for this Farm-to-Table cooking class series. In this once-a-month series, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., participants will work with the BBG’s vegetable garden to harvest fresh vegetables, then will head into the kitchen with Miriam to make a multi-course meal.
Details here.
Brookfield Agricultural Fair
Ag Commission will be hosting youth centered activities topromote the opportunities in the agriculture industry and have some fun. All young people are welcome to participate. Brookfield is unique in that it has a Montessoristyled farm and forestry themed preschool, Willow Brook Academy, where asmany as 125 young people attend. While the students interact withanimals, grow crops and other related activities this fair looks to expandthese young people’s horizons to what is possible in the Ag industry. The Ag Commission is encouraging all young peopleto attend to share in this activity. As the Ag workforce ages thisactivity is focused on promoting the coming generations to consider Agvocations.
For additional information contact Shelby Hill wbrookacademy@gmail.com AgCommission member or Clarence Snyder crsnyder3@hotmail.com.
Sunflower Fest
Summertime festival comes at the peak of sunflower season. Join us for a fun, family-friendly day of pick-your-own sunflowers and other sunflower-themed festivities over two weekends! Past activities have included hula hooping, tie dye, live music, and a craft fair of unique arts and jewelry. You might even win a prize for finding the largest sunflower of all. Sunflower Fest 2024 is planned for August 10-11th and August 17-18th - Details here.