Pick your own blueberries and raspberries

Get outside and treat yourself to the freshest possible fruit! Strawberries are done for the year, but blueberries and raspberries are in full force.

Pick-your-own blueberries >

Pick-your-own raspberries >

Time to go get your summer favorites!



The real harbingers of summer are coming in on the early side: corn, early tomatoes, and peaches, and way too much more to mention!

Find it all -- farmers' markets, farm stands, specific crops -- in CISA's online guide to local food and farms >

Looking for HIP locations? We've got an updated list here.

Too hot to cook? Try a Local Hero restaurant!



Local Hero chefs shine this time of year, when the crops are pouring in and they can make the most of the local harvest. Take a break from the kitchen and check them out!

Local Hero restaurants >

On Tuesday, we joined forces with the Farmers' Market at Forest Park in Springfield for another edition of Making Food Fun, our kid- and family-focused event series. What a great time making bicycle smoothies with Homegrown Springfield, identifying plants with Mass Audubon, tasting blueberries with Red Fire Farm, and more!

If you want to be sure to hear about future Making Food Fun events and other kid-friendly farm and food activities, sign up for our brand-new Making Food Fun email newsletter!

Photo: Colton loved tasting blueberries at this week's Making Food Fun event in Springfield!

Hiring: Office Administrator



The full-time Office Administrator position is responsible for overall office systems and facilities for our 21-person hybrid organization with a physical office space in South Deerfield. Our ideal candidate is a self-motivated problem-solver, someone who enjoys helping set up and manage an array of systems, with a willingness to focus on the details. They provide critical support to the entire CISA team and are often the first interaction the public has with CISA.

Details and application materials >

NEPM: Birdhaven Farm

Long known for their blueberries, BirdHaven Farm in Southampton now also has raspberries ready for picking, and Asian pears, peaches, and apples coming soon! Owner Emily Endris joined us on NEPM to talk about:

• All the different types and varieties they grow (we didn’t know raspberries came in that many colors!)
• The magical pick-your-own experience
• Animals enjoy berries too! Birds, bears, and everything in between. This is a wildlife-filled episode.

Listen!

Valley Bounty: The Benson Place

“This is a farm, but it feels like a wild place,” says Meredith Wecker. “That’s why I fell in love with it.”

The Benson Place is a diversified farm that Wecker runs with her husband, Andrew Kurowski, and is best known for their fifty acres of certified organic low-bush blueberries. Now, they’re also growing some vegetables and have planted new groves of chestnuts and elderberries to eventually sell. Dairy goats also joined the farm a few years back. Tying it all together, they recently started raising pastured meat chickens, which are fed organic grain and goats’ milk whey while foraging freely in the chestnut and elderberry orchard.



Read all about them >

Photo credit: The Benson Place

More from CISA

Check out our press page for news stories about local farms and local agriculture, along with our regular segments with NEPM, regular column in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and more!

Go to press page

Job opportunities, land, equipment, and more.

Go to classifieds

Thanks to our sponsors!

Curran and Keegan Financial

Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee

Franklin First Federal Credit Union

Keiter Builders

Marty’s Local

Northampton Brewery

Point32 Healthcare

Toward Harmony Tai Chi & Qigong

Whalen Insurance



Broadside Bookshop

Davis Financial Group

Finck and Perras Insurance

Wright Builders

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, Inc is an equal opportunity provider and employer.