Their fields may be frozen, but winter is still a busy time for farmers, who use the break between last year's harvest and this year's sowing to order seeds, plot out their fields and otherwise prepare for the coming growing season.
This winter, the South Deerfield-based Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, or CISA, has been busy as well, working to save a program that provides free, fresh, local produce to low-income seniors in the Valley. The Senior FarmShare program suffered a huge hit last summer, when its state funding was completely eliminated from the fiscal 2010 budget. The previous year, the program had received $25,000 in state funds, a 50 percent reduction from fiscal 2008.
That relatively small amount of money went a remarkably long way. The program, which began in 2004, has provided $150,000 worth of produce to about 1,200 seniors in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties, according to CISA. It also supports the local farms that grow the food, part of CISA's larger mission of promoting local agriculture.
In 2009—even with its dramatically reduced state funding from the previous year—the program served about 300 seniors, who picked up their weekly haul of fruits and vegetables at one of 14 Valley farms or 17 distribution centers, such as senior centers. According to CISA, in 2008, a seasonal share amounted to $100 to $120 worth of produce.
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Not surprisingly, CISA is not letting Senior FarmShare die without a fight. "We refuse to let this vital program just disappear," Philip Korman, CISA's executive director, said in a recent press release announcing a fundraising effort to save the program.
Support for the program so far has been impressive; as of last week, Korman said, $25,000 in donations had been received. (That includes a large chunk from Whole Foods Market in Hadley, which earlier this month picked Senior FarmShare for one of its "5% Days," when it donates a portion of its sales to a non-profit, and also donated an additional $5,000.) The money, Korman said, will allow about 225 seniors to participate in the program, as well as pay for outreach and training at the farms that provide the food.
CISA still hopes to raise more money for the program by Jan. 31. "At that point we need to commit to our farmers to plan accordingly for the summer harvest," Korman told the Advocate. (For more information about the program, or to make a contribution, check out CISA's website at www.buylocalfood.org or call 413-665-7100.)
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Senior FarmShare fills a crucial need in the Valley. According to 2006 federal Census figures, 9.6 percent of seniors in Hampden County live below the poverty line (including 13.2 percent in Holyoke and 11.7 percent in Springfield). In Franklin County, 10.4 percent of elderly residents fall below the poverty line, including 11.1 percent in Greenfield. The statewide figure is 8.9 percent.
"You're feeding a lot of people, and they're people who are really relying on you to keep their table full," Gloria Wilson, director of the Mason Square Senior Center in Springfield, reported in a participant survey conducted by CISA after the 2008 season.
Senior FarmShare also serves a population likely to be struggling with health issues, and in particular need of nutritious food. According to a questionnaire CISA distributed to participants from the 2009 season, 39 percent of the seniors reported being on a special diet for health reasons, such as diabetes. And 82 percent reported that they ate more fresh vegetables thanks to Senior FarmShare.
"On Social Security only, I cannot say enough how much this program meant to me," one participant told CISA. "I've always tried to eat and live in a healthy way, and on a limited budget, this free program made that possible."
