Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting with Jim Ward and Peg Ventresco of Ward’s Berry Farm in Sharon, MA. Ward’s has been a long and committed partner of healthy food access in the Bowdoin Geneva neighborhood and they’re gearing up for another great year.
The greenhouse tables are covered with trays of seedlings, touting the coming of spring – meanwhile the fields were covered in a light dusting of snow thanks to last week’s gentle showers. There’s an undertone of unbridled excitement in Jim’s voice, like most of the farmers’ I’ve been talking to these last few weeks, that the off-season is about to end and the adrenaline rush that powers farmers through their incredible work is about to take hold. March is certainly an invigorating time.
Ward’s will be partnering with us again this season to provide the sponsor shares for our Farm to Family program, allowing us to distribute low-cost farmshares in Bowdoin Geneva. Each Wednesday throughout the season, they will be dropping of bountiful boxes packed full of farm-fresh produce for staff at the health center and at various hospitals in the Longwood Medical Area. While in Longwood, Ward’s sets up each week to sell additional produce at an on-site farmstand in the Kirkland parking lot of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (330 Brookline Ave.).
They will also be joining us as a guest vendor at the opening day of Bowdoin Geneva Farmers’ Market for our Healthy Summer Kickoff Event on June 28th and at a few other markets over the course of the season. Stay tuned for more details!
Mei Mei Street Kitchen – our awesome food truck pals – are visiting the market today complete with a menu focused on healthy food with the freshest local ingredients! Come check them out!
