Lisa Fortin, founder of Bloom Woolen Yarns in Ashfield talks with Phil and Monte about:

• The parallels of food and fiber – twin products in our local food economy
• Gathering wool from farms through the western Mass “fibershed” to create yarn and other inventive wool products.
• What “fibershed” means anyways.
• And more!

Bloom Woolen Yarn’s wool sponges are just one of many amazing local farm products in CISA’s holiday tote bags on sale now! Support CISA, support local farms, and enjoy the best of what they grow and make – win-win-win. See them all a buylocalfood.org/giftbags.

Northampton Survival Center’s Executive Director, Heidi Nortonsmith and Pantry Manager, Alexander Léger-Small, talk with Phil and Monte about:

• New ways they’re serving the people of Hampshire County (like weekly deliveries!)
• How they work with local farms to give everyone access to fresh local food
• The symbiotic relationship between food pantries like them, and food banks like the Food Bank of Western Mass

Speaking of the Food Bank and fighting hunger, you can support their work by supporting Monte’s March 2022!

Franklin Community Co-op Outreach and Communications Manger Amy Britt talks with Phil and Monte about:

• All the ways their two stores (Green Fields Market in Greenfield, and McCusker’s Market in Shelburne Falls) are “more than just markets,” they’re community hubs.
• Ways the co-op makes food more accessible (lookin at you, Food For All and Working Members programs)
• And more – including LOCAL Thanksgiving turkeys from Diemand Farm! Order yours before Thursday November 17th here! (pick up at Green Fields Market).

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Derrick Turnbull, farmer and owner of Autumn Mist Farm in Feeding Hills talks to Phil and Monte about:

• Their newly opened farm-to-table restaurant and retail store
• Selling local beef to Big Y (a match made by COVID)
• Raising cows from 4H to now, and what they do different
• And more!

Visit their restaurant and store for breakfast sammies, burgers and dogs (made with all their own beef!), and finger lickin’ sides. Browse the store while you’re there and take home ingredients to make more of whatever tasty morsel you just enjoyed! Now open 7 days! Mon-Sat, 6a-7p, and Sun 6a-3p at 1157 North Westfield St.

Bella Foodie is “a personal chef and food educator making healthy food fun,” for kids, families, and groups of all sizes.

Ashley Tresoline, the woman behind Bella Foodie, talks with Phil and Monte about what they do, how delicious healthy food can be, and CISA’s Making Food Fun event for kids and families this Saturday at the Farmers’ Market at Forest Park in Springfield! Apple tasting, pumpkin painting, local cider, and Bella Foodie will be there too with a recipe demo!

Follow Bella Foodie at:
Facebook: @bellafoodie
Insta: @bellafoodie7
Website: bellafoodie.net

Phil, Monte, and longtime farmer and business owner Michael Docter of Mi Tierra Tortillas talk about why the Work and Family Mobility Act — which can be upheld by voting YES on ballot question 4 — is so important, and why it matters to farmers.

Learn more about the Work and Family Mobility Act and the Yes on 4 campaign at saferroadsma.com

Phil and Monte talk to Joshua Mason of Little Creek Farm in New Salem about how a trucker became a farmer raising Angus beef, local pork, chickens and turkeys.

Visit their farm store for all of it, and message them on Facebook to inquire about Thanksgiving turkeys!

Jake Mazar from Artifact Cider talks with Jacob and Monte about:

• Cider’s place as a traditional and modern embodiment of New England
• An apple’s travels from the trees at Pinehill Orchards to your glass.
• A new series of Feels Like Home cider varieties (with a portion of sales donated to Kestrel Land Trust

And more!

Visit their taprooms in Florence (where their cider is made) and Cambridge MA for fun event and a taste of fall.

Meg and Steve Lanphear of Sentinel Farm in Belchertown talk with Phil and Monte about:

• Why the Apple crop struggled this year, but peaches thrived.
• Pressing your own cider! (“A messy operation kids love,” says Meg)
• The orchard as a learning lab for folks of all ages.
• Secret identity revealed! Meg is the mystery bagpiper who often heralds Monte’s March in Amherst!

Deb Habib of Seeds of Solidarity Farm and Education Center – and one of the longtime community organizers behind the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival – talks with Phil and Monte about the roots of the festival, what it means to the community, and all the fun things on tap in their 24th year.

The festival returns to Orange, MA this weekend October 1st and 2nd for, “two days of peace, love, and garlic! The family friendly ‘festival that stinks’ is renowned for exceptional art, local farm products, fabulous food, endless entertainment, and inspiration for a hopeful future.”

Learn more about the festival here. And see you there?

WRSI, September 20, 2022. Courtney Basil and Tim Smith of Apex Orchards in Shelburne talk with Phil and Monte about this year’s super-sweet crop of peaches and apples, the exciting “Evercrisp” apple variety, the excellent teamwork that Courtney and Tim share, and the glorious views at Apex Orchards. This is the perfect time of year to visit, see the view, and pick your own apples! Find them here.

WRSI, September 12, 2022.  Matt Kushi, farmer and owner of Kushi Farm and The North Hadley Chili Pepper Company