Locavore one who eats foods grown locally whenever possible.
Learn more...10 Steps to Becoming a Locavore.
Why Local Foods?
www.localharvest.org Most produce in the US is picked 4 to 7 days before being placed on supermarket shelves, and is shipped for an average of 1500 miles before being sold. And this is when taking into account only US grown products! Those distances are substantially longer when we take into consideration produce imported from Mexico, Asia, Canada, South America, and other places. We can only afford to do this now because of the artificially low energy prices that we currently enjoy, and by externalizing the environmental costs of such a wasteful food system. We do this also to the detriment of small farmers by subsidizing large scale, agribusiness-oriented agriculture with government handouts and artificially cheap energy. Cheap oil will not last forever though. World oil production has already peaked, according to some estimates, and while demand for energy continues to grow, supply will soon start dwindling, sending the price of energy through the roof. We'll be forced then to reevaluate our food systems and place more emphasis on energy efficient agricultural methods, like smaller-scale organic agriculture, and on local production wherever possible. Cheap energy and agricultural subsidies facilitate a type of agriculture that is destroying and polluting our soils and water, weakening our communities, and concentrating wealth and power into a few hands. It is also threatening the security of our food systems, as demonstrated by the continued e-Coli, GMO-contamination, and other health scares that are often seen nowadays on the news. These large-scale, agribusiness-oriented food systems are bound to fail on the long term, sunk by their own unsustainability. But why wait until we're forced by circumstance to abandon our destructive patterns of consumption? We can start now by buying locally grown food whenever possible. By doing so you'll be helping preserve the environment, and you'll be strengthening your community by investing your food dollar close to home. Only 18 cents of every dollar, when buying at a large supermarket, go to the grower; 82 cents go to various unnecessary middlemen. Cut them out of the picture and buy your food directly from your local farmer. Eat Seasonal www.sustainabletable.org (www.eatwellguide.org) An important part of buying local is making an effort to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season in your area. Although today's global marketplace allows us to buy foods grown virtually anywhere in the world all year round, these options are not the most sustainable. By purchasing local foods in-season, you eliminate the environmental damage caused by shipping foods thousands of miles, your food dollar goes directly to the farmer, and your family will be able to enjoy the health benefits of eating fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Buying seasonal produce also provides an exciting opportunity to try new foods and to experiment with seasonal recipes. And it simply tastes better! Even if you don't want to change any of your eating habits, you can at least make sure to buy local produce when it's available, rather than purchase the same type of food from 3000 miles away! For an added challenge, try to eat most foods only when they are in season, or can seasonal food in order to eat and enjoy it all year round. Late September - MA Apples, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Eggplant, Onions, Oysters, Eastern, Peaches, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Raspberries, Snap Peas, Spinach, Squash, Tomatoes, Turnips, Watermelon Lancaster Farmers' Market Town Green, Lancaster, MA 01523 Dates & Times: July 7 to September 29 - Thursday, 3:00 pm - 6:00pm Harvard Farmers' Market Hildreth Elementary School, 27 Mass Ave, Harvard, MA 01451 Dates & Times: August 13 to October 29 - Saturday, 9:00 am - Noon Acton-Boxborough Farmers' Market Pearl St-West Acton Village, Acton, MA 01720 Dates & Times: July 10 to October 23 - Sunday, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm Maynard Farmers' Market Main St & Sudbury St-Clock Tower Place, Mill Pond Parking Lot, Maynard, MA 01754 Dates & Times: June 1 to October 25 - Saturday, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Sterling Farmers' Market 1 Park St.-In front of Butterick Municipal Building, Sterling, MA 01564 Dates & Times: May 27 to October 30 - Friday, 3:00 pm - 6:30 pm Sudbury Farmers' Market Longfellow's Wayside Inn, 72 Wayside Inn Road, Sudbury, MA 01776 Dates & Times: June 18 to October 8 - Saturday, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Ayer Farmers' Market Depot Square, 70 Main St, Downtown, Ayer, MA 01432 Dates & Times: July 16 to October 29 - Saturday, 8:00 am - 1:00 pm Leominster Farmers' Market St-Sholan Farms, 1125 Pleasant Street, Leominster, MA 01453 Dates & Times: July 31 to October 30 - Sundays, Noon - 3:00 pm WIC & Senior Coupons Accepted at all of the above markets Farmstands within 5 miles of Bolton, MA (2011) (Printable document attached below.) Bob's Turkey Farm Inc
181 Old Common Road, Lancaster, MA 01523
Phone: (978) 365-9271 Fresh or frozen turkey, turkey roasted & stuffed, pies, sausage, patties, ground, cooked turkey meat, party trays. Balance Rock Farm
104 Highland Street, Berlin, MA 01503
Phone: (978) 838-2024 Former dairy farm that has transitioned over to homegrown meats. Offer variety of cuts including beef, veal, pork, lamb, and chicken. Also carry locally produced milk, cheese, and ice cream. Petting zoo, compost. Flintlock Farm 327 Still River Road, Harvard, MA 01467
Phone: (978) 456-8253 Flintlock Farm is an authentic 225 year old colonial-era New England plantation (Circa 1782) that was built by Captain Pollard; a minuteman and soldier in the American Revolution. The site, which has been nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, comprises the Captain Pollard dwelling house, an 1830’s era double English barn, the fourth oldest American Sycamore in the Commonwealth (The Whipping Tree) and surrounding fields and pastures of nearly 20 acres. Producer of herbal plants and related products. Run a “Lost Arts Cooperative” which provides artisans and herbal crafts people with a site from which they can educate the general public on farm practices and historical crafts such as candle and soap-making, historical presentations and living history demonstrations. Berlin Orchards
310 Sawyer Hill Road, Berlin, MA 01503
Phone: (978) 838-2400 Berlin Farms
200 Central St., Berlin, MA 01503
Phone: (978) 838-2714 Historic farmstead with a large indoor farmer’s market & traditional products. PYO blueberries, raspberries, pumpkins & corn. Fresh eggs for sale. Pancake house, bee observatory, ice cream windows, corn maze & heritage barnyard. Available for school tours, private & corporate functions. Adult Farmer’s Apprentice program.
Applefield Farm Route 117 -722 Great Rd., Stow, MA 01775
Phone: (978) 897-2699 Retail Farm, 2 Farmer's Markets, and Farmstand. We have 8 greenhouses and sell lots of bedding plants and potted flowers. Appleview Farm
11 Brewer Road, Berlin, MA 01503
Phone: (978) 838-2012 Old Frog Pond Farm
38 Eldridge Road, Harvard, MA 01451
Phone: (978) 456-9616 Small certified organic family farm with PYO raspberries and apples in the Fall. North Brook Farm
96 South Street, Berlin, MA 01503
Phone: (978) 838-7391 Breed and raise alpacas and process their luxurious fleeces into yarns, socks and hand made hats, scaves, sweaters, etc. Custom orders available. Westward Orchards Farm Store Massachusetts Ave. (Rt. 111), Harvard, MA 01451
Phone: (978) 456-8363 Fourth generation family owned farm offering our own quality apples, peaches & pears, along with vegetables, cider, cheese, gourmet foods, lunches, and unique gifts. Special events. PYO apples, blueberries, and pumpkins in season. wagon rides, weekends only during pick your own pumpkin season. Small Farm
184 Gleasondale Rd. (Rt. 62), Stow, MA 01775
Phone: (978) 897-5996 Family farm producing fresh vegetables grown without pesticides, including tomatoes, lettuce, greens, onions, garlic, and hot peppers. PYO flowers and herbs are popular. Families welcome. Derby Ridge Farms 438 Great Road, Stow, MA 01775
Phone: (978) 897-7507 We are a fourth generation family farm. We are an I.P.M orchard which means minimal pesticide application. We press our own cider and add no preservatives. We grow over 30 varieties of apples, peaches and pears. We also grow pumpkins, gourds and squash. We offer many varieties of native vegetables and christmas trees, which are all available at our farmstand. We offer PYO apples in season in our orchard on Pompasittcut St. in Stow. George Hill Orchards
582 George Hill Road, Lancaster, MA 01523
Phone: (800) 699-4331 PYO blueberries, peaches, raspberries, apples, pumpkins; home of the Apple Tree Theatre, providing educational programs (weekdays, app.only). New Farm Flavors Kitchen and outdoor barbecue, large eating deck with panoaramic view, seasonal hayrides and pony rides. Indian Head Farm
232 Pleasant Street, Berlin, MA 01503
Phone: (978) 838-2942 Pick your own strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in season. Farmstand offers a wide variety of vegetables from asparagus in May to pumpkinsa in the fall. Cut and dried flowers, homemade jam. Christmas trees and wreaths in December. http://www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/map.htm Learn About Local Food
Bolton Agricultural Commission http://boltonag.com Local Foods Directory http://www.jlesites.com/harvardlocal Local Milk Is a Keeper http://www.keeplocalfarms.org/ Growing Places Garden Project http://www.growingplaces.org Local Harvest Information http://www.localharvest.org
Massachusetts Food Co-Op http://www.massfoodcoop.org/
Sustainable Table http://www.sustainabletable.org New Entry Sustainable Farming Project http://nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu
Cape Ann Fresh Catch http://www.capeannfreshcatch.org/ See Aug. 31, 2009, Time Magazine article, The Real Cost of Cheap Food.UMass Extension http://www.umassextension.org/index.php/about-extension |