Greenfield Winter Fare Changes in 2012!

From December 2011 to March 2012, area farmers and food producers have organized monthly Greenfield Winter Farmers’ Markets on the first Saturday of each month at the Second Congregational Church, Court Square in downtown Greenfield. The Greenfield Winter Farmers Market on Saturday, Feb. 4 will kick off a Week of Winter Fare Events throughout Franklin County from Feb. 4 to 12.

The volunteer Winter Fare Committee is organizing a 2012 Franklin County Week of Winter Fare Events to promote growing, cooking and preserving locally grown food and are organizing workshops and a barter fair at the February 4, 2012 Greenfield Winter Farmers’ Market.

HISTORY OF WINTER FARE

Juanita Nelson had the initial idea for Winter Fare, wanting to encourage people to eat locally grown food year round. You can read more in the March 2007 Press Release below. The first Winter Fare event was held in Greenfield in February 2008. That event was organized by Juanita and a small group of committed volunteer organizers and was a smashing success. Click here to read the Recorder newspaper article.

The goal of Winter Fare is to bring people a taste of the great locally grown food that is available year round and to educate people about ways they can incorporate more locally grown foods into their diets throughout the winter.

The first Winter Fare Market was held at the Second Congregational Church on Court Square in Greenfield in February 2008 and included displays, workshops, and a barter fair. In addition to the Winter Fare Farmers’ Market, Week of Winter Fare events were held across Franklin County, including local food potlucks, workshops, films, and discussions about growing, cooking and preserving locally grown food. The annual Greenfield Winter Fare Farmers’ Market and Week of Winter Fare continued until February 2011 and were held on the first Saturday in February at the Greenfield High School. Those Winter Fare Markets also included a soup café.

Other Winter Fare Markets

In 2010 and 2011, a Northampton Winter Fare Farmers’ Market was held at the Smith Vocational and Agricultural School, including a soup café, barter market and workshops. In 2011, a Springfield Winter Fare Farmers’ Market was held in Springfield, as well. Both the Northampton and Springfield events were organized by Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)

The 2012 Northampton Winter Fare Farmers’ Market will be held in January at the Smith Vocational and Agricultural School and is being organized by CISA.

WINTER FARE PRESS RELEASE
March 2007

Eating locally grown food is easy in August when area farmstands are overflowing and a Free Harvest Supper is served on the Greenfield Town Common. But what’s possible in the middle of winter? "Lots!" according to Juanita Nelson of Deerfield. She and some friends want everyone to eat locally year-round, so they are planning a week of Winter Fare, starting with an indoor farmers market in Greenfield on Groundhog Day, 2008. The farmers market will feature locally grown food including vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese, meat, honey, and maple syrup as well as workshops and informational displays about how to eat locally year-round.

Scheduled halfway between the first day of winter and the start of spring, Winter Fare will also include a week of meals featuring local foods, whether they are gatherings of friends or church-sponsored local food potlucks or special menus served at area restaurants. The Winter Fare organizers hope that their efforts will encourage everyone to include more local foods in their everyday life, whatever the season. Eating locally has many benefits, including saving energy, slowing global climate change, providing living incomes for area farmers, attracting new farmers to the area, and freeing far-away farms to grow food for their local residents instead of consumers in other countries.

Even though February 2, 2008 seems far off, the Winter Fare committee asks farmers, gardeners and everyone who likes to eat to plan now for what will be in local cupboards next Groundhog Day. The committee seeks farmers willing to grow extra storage crops to sell at the indoor farmers market and is looking into food storage facilities for those crops.

Committee member Ferdene Chin-Yee of Riverland Farm in Sunderland says, "For the market, we also are looking for people who make products such as pickles and preserves with locally grown ingredients. And we urge gardeners to plant lots of storage crops like potatoes, squash, and onions along with crops to preserve. Now is the time that home gardeners are buying seeds and planning this year’s garden. We hope they’ll plan for foods they can eat in the winter and include in Winter Fare week menus." Also from Sunderland, Aaron Falbel adds, "For people without vegetable gardens, maybe this is the year to liberate part of your lawn and turn it into a productive vegetable garden."

Actually, you don’t even have to grow your own vegetables to reap the year-round bounty of this area. Anyone who shops at summer farmstands, the summer farmers market or belongs to a CSA can stock up during the summer and fall harvest and preserve fruits and vegetables to eat in the winter. Mary McClintock, one of the Winter Fare organizers, knows she’ll have extra frozen pesto to trade at the barter mart section of the Groundhog Day market. She hopes others will bring their surplus to swap.