DeWitt Thomson and Doug Coldwell farm together as Full Bloom Farm based in Whately. They grow mixed organic vegetables on about 110 acres and produce greenhouse tomatoes and bedding plants in one-half acre of green-houses. Full Bloom has been a regular vendor at the Northampton and Amherst farmers’ markets for 14 years, and also sells at markets in Boston. DeWitt and Doug market wholesale through an organic growers’ cooperative – Happy Valley Organics – that they co-founded with two other growers (Paul Maiewski and Dave Jackson) in 1996.

DeWitt Thomson co-founded Full Bloom Market Garden in 1989, becoming sole proprietor in 1992. The mixed vegetable, bedding plant, and greenhouse tomato operation grew from seven acres to 60 acres before becoming a joint venture with Doug Coldwell. Doug Coldwell founded Coolwater Farm in 1996, specializing in sweet peppers, zucchini, and summer squash. DeWitt and Doug are both first-generation growers, each farming independently in the area before joining forces in 2001.

Kathy Bowler, director of the Holyoke Council on Aging (COA), worked with CISA in 2005 to implement the first Senior FarmShare program in Holyoke. Twenty-five low income seniors took part. COA Health Promotion Coordinator Stephanie Bozigian-Merrick created a cookbook, a full-color calendar, and coordinated a day-trip to Riverland Farm in Sunderland to meet farmers Scott Reed and Ferdene Chin-Yee. Kathy and her staff coordinate “Senior Day at the Farmers’ Market,” and sponsor a CSA distribution site for city employees. By strengthening the connection between farmers and elder residents of Holyoke, Kathy is strengthening our local economy and community.

The board and staff of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts are attending to the hungriest among us. They distribute six million pounds of food a year in four counties of western Massachusetts. In 2005, more than 450,000 pounds of that food was fresh produce, most from local farms. The Food Bank gleans excess fruits and vegetables from more than a dozen local farms. During the past two years, we have collaborated to link CISA’s Senior FarmShare program with the Food Bank’s Brown Bag program, which reaches low-income seniors. In addition, Food Bank nutritionists have led workshops and cooking demonstrations at urban farmers’ markets for CISA’s Farm2City program.