ASC Milestone Check-in & Data Share

A letter from Director of Operations Sam Guerin, Amherst Survival Center.

Hey Rick, Harrison, and the rest of the Bardwell Farm family and crew,

The Amherst Survival Center is round about halfway through our Farm to Pantry project funded by MDAR’s Local Food Purchasing Agreement—a great moment to share the enormous impact that you’re making in our community by partnering with us.

In the first 9 months of this project , the Amherst Survival Center’s Food Pantry has distributed over 1 million pounds of food directly to 7,000 plus unique individuals in Hampshire and Franklin counties. In fiscal year 2024 we distributed more than 1.7 million pounds in the pantry: that’s 30% more food than in our previous fiscal year, and 175% more food than we distributed in 2020.  We couldn’t do it without the local food that we receive via donations or purchase from farms like yours.

"Thanks to MDAR’s grant program, we’ve been able to invest in our local farm communities and purchase more than 100,000 pounds of fresh, local produce, meat, and dairy from 30+ Massachusetts farmers and producers and distribute it directly to your communities."

This local food has been instrumental in helping us bridge the gap to meet the record need that we’re seeing, as well as just being, well, incredible product. From your lettuces, to your broccoli, to your hearty greens, your produce has allowed us to offer consistency, stability, and choice, in an emergency food system where those qualities are often treated as luxuries. Our participants have been ecstatic to have the opportunity to choose local when they shop, and our produce displays have never looked more abundant. Your fresh onions in particular have been a real hit, enabling folks to choose culturally relevant foods: for some, the difference between a fresh onion and a storage onion helps to create a real sense of belonging. It's also just great to watch a family head out the door with a produce bag brimming with fresh green stalks. 

This project has really been an incredible boon for us, and we hope that it has benefited you as well! If there is anything that we could do to be a better purchasing partner, we’re all ears. Additionally, any input that you can give from the farmer side of things would go a long way to helping us contextualize the impact of this project on the larger valley food system (and to advocate with MDAR to try and keep a good thing going!) And, as always, our doors are always open if you want to swing across the river and see your stuff in action. 

Looking ahead to the dog days of summer, the fall, and onward, we’re excited to keep pushing towards making a stronger food system for all: farmers and the folks they feed.

Cheers,

Sam Guerin (he/him)
Director of Operations
Amherst Survival Center
www.amherstsurvival.org
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