The Food For All Garden produces organically grown vegetables herbs and flowers for local relief organizations. In partnership with the Amherst Survival Center and Not Bread Alone we provide accessibility to healthy food as well as opportunity to connect with nature and learn garden basics. This year, we are hosting VOLUNTEER WORKDAYS every other week on […]

The Springfield Food Policy Council will host a series of free community gardening workshops for those interested in learning about urban agriculture and starting a community garden.  This session will focus on working with transplanted plants in your garden.

SAGE‘s Mission is to educate and train students and community members in sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and energy efficiency. SAGE serves as a hub for professional development and community engagement. SAGE fosters active citizen participation in food and energy decision-making and production. The Time to Act is Now. SAGE students at GCC explore diverse approaches […]

The FCCDC is pleased to announce that Valley Venture Mentors, Springfield's highly-regarded entrepreneurship program, will be returning to Franklin County next week! Register Here! The FCCDC, and InCommN, LLC, will co-sponsor the event featuring a  VVM-style program for the first time in the Franklin County. A key component will be a "pitch camp" event, in which entrepreneurs […]

Have you ever wanted the nitty-gritty on serious bulk food storage? Putting food aside in times of plenty has a rich human history, and makes great sense contemporarily in terms of frugal home economics, preparedness, and charity. We’ll look briefly at cyclical (year-to-year) low energy food storage- covering garden produce to dehydrators, root cellars, lactofermentation, […]

Experience our farm, home and education center that integrate solar greenhouses, energy efficient buildings, abundant market gardens, solar electric and hot water systems. Free tour, no pre-registration. Donations to support our youth and community programs appreciated. If you wish, bring a potluck dish for lunch to share. You may plan to stay to take our […]

On Saturday August 8 at 10am, Seeds of Solidarity on Chestnut Hill Road in Orange offers an inspiring tour of their farm led by founders Ricky Baruc and Deb Habib. Visitors will gain ideas for their own lives as they learn about Seeds of Solidarity’s solar greenhouses, no-till cardboard methods for abundant low maintenance gardens, […]

The Springfield Food Policy Council will host a series of free community gardening workshops for those interested in learning about urban agriculture and starting a community garden.  This session will focus on the things needed to be able to garden reliably and effectively.

The Food For All Garden produces organically grown vegetables herbs and flowers for local relief organizations. In partnership with the Amherst Survival Center and Not Bread Alone we provide accessibility to healthy food as well as opportunity to connect with nature and learn garden basics. This year, we are hosting VOLUNTEER WORKDAYS every other week on […]

Even if you're not planning to register for the NOFA Summer Conference workshops (see more below), you can still participate in one of the most fun parts of the conference at no cost. Just come over to the NOFA Summer Conference Fair at the UMass Campus Pond from 3:00-6:00pm, this coming Saturday, August 15. See […]

Join us as we partner with two local farms and prepare an exquisite garden-fresh harvest dinner.  Along with the dinner, enjoy the sounds from local musicians who will play easy listening tunes. Musician for August 16 - Lara Tupper Menu: Appetizers Cucumber Sandwiches with Fresh Dill Cream Cheese Stuffed Corn Tortillas with Kale & Artichoke […]

This monthly plant swap is free and open to the public to encourage the exchange of plants and other garden related items.  You many bring as few or as many of the following items as you like: perennials, annuals, edibles, seeds, garden produce, tools or any other garden related items.  Please arrive on time, as […]

Participants will learn how to safely us a pressure canner and what foods must be pressure canned. They will be guided through the process and have an opportunity to sample home-canned food.   Visit the Taproot Commons website to register.

This workshop series and is for folks looking to expand their knowledge and confidence with wild food & medicinal plant I.D., wildcrafting tips, responsible harvesting, and preparation techniques. We finish each walk with a gourmet smorgasbord of seasonal wild food inspired drinks, salads, snacks, entrees, and desserts, featuring many of the plants you meet on […]

This hands-on course will take you through the jam-making process, from start to finish. Includes a basic introduction to water bath canning. Students will receive a recipe guide for making jams of all kinds and a jar of the jam we make in class to bring home. The kind of jam we make in class varies depending […]

The Food For All Garden produces organically grown vegetables herbs and flowers for local relief organizations. In partnership with the Amherst Survival Center and Not Bread Alone we provide accessibility to healthy food as well as opportunity to connect with nature and learn garden basics. This year, we are hosting VOLUNTEER WORKDAYS every other week on […]

August is the most wonderful month for cooking from the garden.  We are presented with a smorgasbord of ingredients to choose from, offering us every imaginable flavor, texture, and color combination.  We can walk out to the garden and find ingredients for meals from every cuisine in the world.  This class will focus on using […]

Food Preservation: Drying, Vacuum Sealing,Freezing Foods, Canning Foods (water bath and pressure cooker methods) Interested in putting up some of the fall harvest to have through the winter? Not sure which method might work best for your household? Come learn the ins and outs of drying, vacuum sealing, freezing and canning in a practical no […]

Sadly, there comes a time in the life of every chicken-raiser when you and your feathered friends find yourselves at a crossroads. Maybe you have a sick chicken threatening to infect your entire flock, an injured bird in need of a humane ending, an old hen who has stopped laying, or perhaps you're interested in raising birds […]

This Sunday, the Bullitt Reservation in Ashfield will be holding the last of this summer's gardening workshops: Soil Fertility will be an in-depth look at the molecular basis of fertility, including such topics as mycorrhizal relationships, ramial chipped wood, compost, mulches, cover-crops and other strategies to manage soil health. We will delve into remineralization, how […]

Have you thought about the birds and the bees recently? How about the butterflies, beetles, wasps, moths, and flies? Pollinators gift humans with every third bite of food that we eat by pollinating the majority of our food crops. Bees are keystone species in most terrestrial food webs ; without them,  80% of our planet’s […]

A comprehensive introduction to canning seasonal produce at home. Learn about hot water bath canning, pressure canning & when to use each method. Discuss safety precautions & the things the lend themselves best to being canned. Participate in a hands-on hot water bath canning demonstration & go home with a jar of what we make! Register here.

Learn how lactic acid fermentation works and make two ferments, one pounded (like sauerkraut) and one brined (like dilly beans). Specific recipes used will vary from class to class depending on seasonally available produce. You will have the chance to sample our homemade ferments and go home with one of the ferments we make in class. If you're intrigued by […]