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One month until the Clarkdale Cider Run!
Registration is open for the third annual Clarkdale Fruit Farms 12K Cider Run! Join us on November 12th at Clarkdale Fruit Farms in Deerfield to celebrate the fall, drink some freshly pressed sweet cider, and support CISA on a scenic course that includes some rolling hills and one tough climb. We're also looking for some enthusiastic volunteers to help us pull it off -- please contact Lisabeth if you're interested.
Sign up here.
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What's in season?
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| | Meadowbrook Farm, East Longmeadow |
Juicy apples and pears, sweet (and decorative!) pumpkins galore, cabbage and carrots and spinach, and still plenty of summer veggies like tomatoes and eggplant to be found! This is also the exact right time of year to go pick-your-own, go to farm festival, and otherwise get out to a farm! See CISA's events page for ideas.
Find local food and farms in our online guide.
Get inspired by CISA's "Valley Bounty" column.
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HIP tip: pick your own apples!
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| | Park Hill Orchard, Easthampton |
Learn more about HIP here.
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Help for farmers in Puerto Rico
The devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico has hit close to home for us at CISA and for so many people in our local community. The New York Times reported that 80% of the crop value cultivated on the island's small farms has been lost, and they need direct support to rebuild. Here are some ways you can help:
Farm Aid's Family Farm Disaster Fund
Visit Rico's "Rebuild the Chain" campaign
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Back to school and harvest season
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Westfield State University,
Leslie Lynn Lucio photo
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A sustainable, egalitarian local food system includes making healthy local food available to the youngest members of our community, and school lunch programs offer a pathway to make that possible. We explored farm to school connections in CISA's monthly column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Read the whole thing.
We're honored to be partnering with the Franklin County Community Development Corp and Massachusetts Farm to School on new work that will expand seasonal availability of local food and build farm to school relationships.
Read all about the USDA grant here!
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Local Hero Profile: Fungi Ally
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Willie Crosby, Fungi Ally
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Willie Crosby, owner of Fungi Ally, is busily growing mushrooms, teaching classes on mushrooms, and setting up farmers and home growers for mushroom production, all out of an unassuming building in Hadley! CISA intern Diana Laurenitis talked to him about his complex and growing business, mushroom production, and the "incredible, necessary" role of mushrooms.
Read all about Fungi Ally.
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Thanks for a successful Taste the View!
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Elizabeth Solaka photo
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On September 28th, we hosted our annual harvest celebration and fundraiser at Quonquont Farm. Our thanks to everyone who joined us, all of the generous sponsors and donors who made the event possible, and Smith College Dining Services for catering. Thanks to all of you, we celebrated in (local!) style and reached our fundraising goal for the night!
See some photos from the evening here.
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Fall workshops for farmers
Farmers, we've got some excellent learning and networking opportunities coming up this fall! Workshop topics include crew management, "lean" farm management principles, and customer behavior at farmers' markets -- join us! Details here.
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Quick Links
Check out our press page for news stories about local farms and local agriculture, along with our weekly interview series on WRSI, monthly column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and more! Go to press pageFarm tours, film screenings, workshops, special local meals -- there's always something happening in the Valley! Go to events listingJob opportunities, land, equipment. Go to classifieds |
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Please do not take images or content to use on your own site or project without CISA's explicit permission. Please feel free to link to our newsletter. Archives can be found at buylocalfood.org.
Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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