Want to try a Free Harvest Supper in your own community? Check out our handy How-To run a Free Harvest Supper Guide.
The Free Harvest Supper of Locally Grown Food is a great community event each August held on the Greenfield, MA Town Common. The Supper features a free bountiful meal of locally grown food prepared by local chefs, live music, children’s activities, educational displays, and a Really, Really Free Market.
The Free Harvest Supper has three goals:
- to encourage everyone to eat locally grown food;
- to support local agriculture; and,
- to raise money for Farmers’ Market coupons distributed by the Center for Self-Reliance Food Pantry.
While the Supper is free to all, donations are accepted and are used for the coupons which help achieve the supper’s goals. Local residents in need of food get coupons from the Food Pantry, use them to purchase locally grown food at the Greenfield Farmers’ Market, and then Food Pantry staff pay the farmers for the coupons they have accepted. It’s a win-win system. Food Pantry Director Dino Schnelle said, “In 2008, we redeemed over $3,000 in Market coupons (benefiting over 350 families) and we will start distributing $2,450 worth of coupons on July 1, 2009 to low-income Franklin County families.”
The Really, Really Free Market has been a huge success at the Free Harvest Supper. Gardeners and farmers are welcome to bring the overflow of extra produce they have to share with the community. The Really, Really Free Market is just like its name says: free. All are welcome to take home some of the donated produce. The Really, Really Free Market has included peaches, apples, eggs, tomatoes, squash, greens, flowers, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers and more. There is no need to sign up to donate to the Really, Really Free Market – just bring your produce to the supper.
To make financial donations to the Free Harvest Supper:
Send checks made out to Center for Self-Reliance to Dino Schnelle, Center for Self-Reliance Food Pantry, 3½ Osgood Street, Greenfield, MA 01301. Please note “Free Harvest Supper” on the check. For more information about the Center for Self-Reliance and the Greenfield Farmers’ Market Coupon project, please call (413) 773-5029.
[...] seventh annual Free Harvest Supper of Locally Grown Food is this Sunday, August 21 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the Greenfield Town [...]