It’s hard to imagine that in the abundantly beautiful region of Southeastern Massachusetts access to local food is not created equal. While many of us can jump in a car, drive down a country road, and pick up a few things at a local farm stand, if you are living in a city it becomes more of a challenge: in an urban environment such as New Bedford, where do you get fresh and local foods?

Eight years ago, a nonprofit organization spearheaded work on these issues by talking with the urban community of New Bedford. The larger question was where do people who live within an urban landscape access food from local farms? In 2017, the Coastal Foodshed (CFS) was formed with a mission to make local foods accessible to everyone and to become southeastern Mass’s local food hub. In the years that followed, with her hand at the helm, Stephanie Perks, one of the CFS co-founders, has accomplished much more than that.

The idea of a food hub existed before we even thought of it,” says Stephanie. “Our goal was to form one in our region of Massachusetts. The hub would be in New Bedford and stretch throughout the South Coast from there.” Her awareness of the importance of access to local food stems from her time with Mass in Motion, a statewide organization that promotes healthy eating and active living throughout the Commonwealth.

With a background in food culture and nutrition, Stephanie wanted the food hub to become more than simply a place to find local foods. She wanted people to feel connected to the foods they eat—for that to become a part of their everyday life. However, to create such an organization she needed the help of the community and its partners.

Creating a Network

The Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP) is an organization that supports and connects local farmers to resources that educate the community about the value of local food. They play a vital role in establishing a connection between farmers and the CFS. Initial grant funding for CFS came from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR, CFS’s biggest supporter) and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare. This funding supplied CFS with the capital needed to establish the New Bedford Farmers Market (NBFM). In addition, those who were food insecure could use their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase local foods available at the NBFM.

Chris English of Groundwork Farm in Westport is a vendor at the New Bedford Farmers Market. He attests that having CFS open markets in cities like New Bedford creates a tremendous opportunity for farmers like him who lack a permanent site.

It gives farmers access to a huge demographic of people who want to buy local,” Chris says. “We get to meet and interact with our customers, broadening our experience with the people that we serve, while also reaching our main points of sale.” Chris goes on to describe how farming allows him to use methods derived from permaculture, a form of regenerative agriculture. Small-scale farming helps him keep the farm healthy, creating a robust ecosystem that produces nutrient-dense foods. He’s happy that this is the quality of the food that reaches the NBFM community.

Rhonda M. Fazio closes the gap between language and food with her cooking demonstrations featuring local seasonal fresh food available at the Farmers’ Market.

The early days of the farmers’ market in downtown New Bedford validated the decision to create a regional food hub. Food producers began small businesses selling honey and baked goods. I was one of them, selling my own jams, and sourcing ingredients locally from the CFS to make the best quality product possible. Then Stephanie asked if I wanted to do a cooking demo, an educational component of the food hub. So, there I was, out in the street at a CSA housing site flip-ping veggies, giving out free samples, working side by side with community health worker Jamie Barberena, closing the gap between cultures with language and food. It was working. Local food was getting into the hands of the community at last.

Navigating the Pandemic

As the demand for local food grew, people wanted more choices. Funding was consistent, coming from bank sponsors like Bristol County Savings, private donations from the South Coast Community Foundation, and public donations, which led to a truck for a mobile food stand, another market, and more food demos. CFS was moving along at a productive pace when the pandemic hit, abruptly killing the momentum in all directions. In response to the closings of the in-person markets around the city, the CFS was forced by the circumstances to create a virtual market. Customers, including SNAP recipients, could now pick up their food or get it delivered.

The new 5,500 square foot space at the Kilburn Mill, referred to as a “Farmer Food Hub” and headquarters for service to the South Coast region.

Now, on the other side of the pandemic, building a hunger relief program funded by federal Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) grants administered by the Mass Department of Agricultural Resources helps address the ongoing issues of food insecurity. Just as CFS built relationships with farmers, partner organizations such as Coastline Elderly, PACE (People Acting in Community Endeavors), Around the Bend Farm, YWCA, and the newly formed Sacred Birthing Village, are direct points of contact with the food-insecure populations of New Bedford. Working together, they distribute food throughout the city, closing the gap yet again, and bringing nutrient-dense food to the community as a whole.

Dan King, procurer of local food at the CFS and owner of King Farm in South Dartmouth, works directly with the farmers. “The relationships that we have with the farmers have grown over the years,” he says. “There is a much broader set of farmers that we work with and a much larger set of produce that we are bringing in and sending back out into the community.” Of the 75 farmers in the hub, socially disadvantaged farmers also have become part of this generative system.

The CFS customer base is as varied and diverse as the demographic it serves. In total, the organization reaches 19 different towns and cities in the Greater New Bedford area, including Acushnet, Berkley, Dartmouth, Dighton, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Lakeville, Little Compton, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Rochester, Somerset, Swansea, Taunton,

The Coastal Foodshed…

Tiverton, Wareham, and Westport. That means everyone has access to the same quality of food because all food coming from the food hub has been grown and sourced with the same shared goals.

A Place to Call Home

Recently, Coastal Foodshed moved into its 5,500 square-foot offices at the Kilburn Mill, a space now referred to as a “Farmer Food Hub” and headquarters for service to the South Coast region. DoCo (short for Dough Company), a restaurant in the Mill, has been serving up local fare since opening in 2020. They are a customer and vendor of the Virtual Market. So is Coastal Provisions, a boutique general store in New Bedford’s West End dedicated to providing quality products to the community. And then there is me, Stephanie reminds me during our conversation—La Rhonda, the South Coast Sicilian! Besides making craft jams, I am a zero-waste caterer and food preserver. Through another MDAR grant, I teach the community how to preserve food each month at the NBFM. “We have never had a home before or a place to invite the public in,” Stephanie explains, “We want folks to understand the importance of local foods. We want to educate people. Food is at the center of life. Knowing the connection to your food is power. The farmers’ food hub is a place where everyone can visit, where you can know your farmer, and feel connected to your food.” And that’s a pretty good thing.

The Coastal Foodshed
127 W. Rodney French Boulevard
New Bedford, MA 02744
(508) 259-2647
CoastalFoodshed.org

Rhonda M. Fazio is an artist, writer, and traveler. Owner of Dyer Maker Studio and Interwoven, Rhonda divides her time between the South Coast and the rest of the world, always researching and teaching her curriculum on food and fabric. www.RhondaMFazio.com.