In March 2020, in response to the needs of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, Grow Food Northampton and Northampton Survival Center partnered with other local organizations such as Community Action Pioneer Valley, the Northampton Housing Authority, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the City of Northampton, and Northampton Public Schools to swiftly launch the Community Food Distribution Project (CFDP). The CFDP ensures that members of our community who are experiencing increasing food insecurity in the pandemic have access to nutritious food on a weekly basis.

Grow Food Northampton’s role in the project is unique: we are purchasing fresh produce, winter-storage crops, and other farm products from local farmers to keep them afloat during this time. This local produce serves as a staple in all of the food packages, along with other food items from the Northampton Survival Center, that are being distributed and delivered throughout the community. We are proud to have constructed this just and sustainable food system in Northampton; we are keeping our local farmers whole while feeding members of our community!

We are especially grateful to the local funder collaborative, Local Roots Care, that came together to provide the very generous seed funding necessary to ensure that Grow Food Northampton could procure produce and other products from farms around Northampton. Thank you Marty Wohl, for your initiative and all of the other funding partners that joined you!