Cafeteria, Classroom, & Community
May Harvest: Leafy Greens
Squash Recipe
Freshampton Brings Food Education to the Classroom! Both In School and Field Trips!
Flex Farm - Indoor Hydroponic System
The Flex Farm is the most efficient, scalable, and transformative indoor, vertical hydroponic technology on the planet. By carefully controlling everything plants need to thrive, each Flex Farm can grow more than 394 pounds of produce annually. They’re portable and only require a standard electrical outlet and less than 10 square feet of space.
Link to Learn more about Fork Farms Flex Farm Tower
The amazing team at Freshampton researched the innovative company, Fork Farms, and invested time and valuable grant writing talent to secure two Flex Farms Grow Towers. Freshampton partnered with NHS teacher Megan Murphy, to bring one of the hydroponic towers to her classroom for school year 2024-2025. The second grow tower will be located in the cafeteria for the fall of 2025. It will be exciting to grow our own lettuce and serve it right on the line. This is as local as one can be, traveling only a few feet to the serving line.
Photo Below: From NHS Growtower to NHS Salad Bar! May 2025...Northampton Public Schools Grows their own Lettuce!
Take a Look at some of the Amazing Local Farms and Vendor’s the
Northampton Public School’s Nutrition Department, Freshampton,
uses to source items served in all our schools.
Ten generations of farming. Warner Farm is proud to be one of the oldest and longest running family farms in New England.
Food is our passion, equity is our mission. At CommonWealth Kitchen, we believe in the power of inclusive entrepreneurship to change the world. In fact, we prove every day what is possible when we level the playing field: talented, passionate entrepreneurs prosper and move society to be more equitable and just. Our powerful network shares a passion for people, a hunger for equity, and a love of food. Together, we are unstoppable.
At Red Fire Farm, we are deeply committed to rich soil & healthy plants that feed the people in our community Located in Granby, MA, Red Fire Farm is a year-round local source for high-quality food and garden plants using organic principles that result in safe food and a healthy environment.
Little Leaf Farms was founded to make locally grown, great-tasting lettuce that’s available year-round. Taking inspiration from the best produce-growing systems in the world, we started developing our first 10-acre greenhouse in 2015 to make this vision a reality. Today, we’re proud to share with you our fresh, crisp and sustainably grown baby lettuces.
Delivering fresh, high-quality produce, flours and grains, dairy, meats, cheeses, and specialty foods every day. We put our trust in people who run farms and food businesses in Western Massachusetts, Vermont, the Hudson Valley of New York, Connecticut, and Maine.
This farm was founded by Joe’s grandfather, John Czajkowski and carried on by Joe’s parents John and Angie Czajkowski. Originally the farm grew tobacco, potatoes and cucumbers. Since then changes have been made. Both brothers Wally and Joe Czajkowski have created their own farms. Joe specializes in organic and conventional fruit and vegetables, servicing schools, universities, farms and grocers.
Pine Hill Orchards is open year round! We are a family owned and operated farm in beautiful Colrain, Ma. On 80+ acres we grow apples, peaches, plums, blueberries, pumpkins, and more!
Welcome to Sidehill Farm Yogurt Sidehill Farm Yogurt is a small family-owned creamery producing fresh, delicious, certified organic yogurt from the milk of grass-fed cows. We began as farmers, and for nearly 15 years, we made Sidehill Farm yogurt from the milk of our own grass-fed herd of cows. In 2020, we decided that we could do more good for our community, and the community of local dairy farmers, by purchasing milk from a handful of small family farms who treat their cows the same way we did. Now more cows live satisfying lives grazing grass and acting like cows, more soil biology improves and gains fertility, more dairy farmers receive a high pay price for their milk, more yogurt makers make yogurt and provide for their families, and more loyal customers get to buy fantastic organic, grass-fed yogurt made here at Sidehill Farm.
Stop by Plainville Farm any morning and you’ll be offered a cup of coffee and a pickle. “We take our pickles seriously,” says Wally Czajkowski, owner and founder of Plainville Farm, “and who doesn’t like a good pickle?” It is this enthusiasm for food and generosity towards friends and visitors that makes Plainville Farm a hub of the agricultural community.
Mighty means stone-milled. We always suspected that industrialized bread and bagels couldn’t be good for us. But, the more we researched and talked to health leaders, the clearer it became that decades of harsh farming and industrial milling wasn't good for the planet or it's people. We see a future in which people have access to real, nourishing bread, bagels and tortillas. That's why we are standing up to the industrialization of food by building our own healthy stone-milled food systems.
Bardwell Farm is committed to growing a quality product that has a positive impact on the environment and local community. Growing food here in the healthy soil of the Pioneer Valley is just as important to us as educating the public about the benefits of eating and shopping close to home.
Klein’s Kill Fruit Farms is a vertically integrated farm that has provided quality fruit to its customers large and small for over 100 years and is packed under the “Bartey Brand” name.
It takes a certain spirit to grow this berry into the super-fruit powerhouse it can be. Ocean Spray was built on the maverick mindset of three bold farmers. Today, we’re a vibrant agricultural cooperative of around 700 family farmers. A unique little fruit. A rich history. The cranberry might be a little offbeat. With its bold, bitter taste, the cranberry might be a little offbeat. But then, so are we.
In the bustling chaos of the 1980s, our founder stumbled upon the perfect intersection of opportunity and necessity. Recognizing a gap in providing wholesome, nutritious options for school districts nationwide, Sky Blue Bakery was born out of a visionary quest to transform surplus commodity programs into delicious solutions.
Duva Distributors is one of the largest independent distributors of high-quality breads and rolls, serving Central and Western Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Conveniently located at 983 Millbury St, Worcester, MA, we proudly deliver daily to restaurants, hotels, schools, and institutions.
From December to March, Winter Moon offers premium quality, organic carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, and radishes. Winter Moon’s goal is to produce quality winter root vegetables while minimizing the farm’s carbon footprint. The farm’s storage facility requires minimal electricity and that which it does use, is provided for 100% by solar power. Winter Moon also delivers over 25,000 lbs of roots each year by bicycle. Produce is available at Northampton Winter Farmers’ Market as well as River Valley Co-op, and Whole Foods. We also supply many area restaurants directly as well as through local distributors like Myers Produce and Marty’s Local.
All Star Dairy Foods, Inc. is celebrating over 60 years in the dairy business serving Southern New England. In 1987, the company built a new distribution center dedicated to delivering the finest milk products, ice cream and frozen products in Southern New England. In addition to dairy products we also sell goods such as New York Style Bagels. We also offer a range of the highest quality cheese and egg products.
The farm families who own Cabot Creamery Cooperative love what they do. And they’ve been doing it for a long time—every single day since 1919. Over 100 years later, we’re proud of our thriving farms, strong communities, and happy, healthy cows that produce the rich, buttery milk that we use to make Cabot’s award-winning cheese and dairy products. Of course, you’re a big part of this too. You inspire us to keep doing what we do for generations to come.
Here's a more detailed explanation of Farm to School:
Focus on Freshness and Local Sourcing:
Farm-to-school initiatives aim to provide schools with fresh, locally-grown, and seasonal produce. This means that the food should be sourced from farms that are relatively close to the school, reducing transportation distances and ensuring optimal freshness. For farm-to-school programs, the ideal distance between a farm and a school is generally considered to be within a 400-mile radius to ensure the freshness and sustainability of the food supply.
Benefits of Local Sourcing:
Local sourcing has several benefits, including supporting local farmers, reducing transportation costs and carbon emissions, and promoting a deeper understanding of food systems and seasonality among students.
Farm to School Benefits:
Farm to school initiatives can lead to increased fruit and vegetable consumption, increased physical activity, healthier food choices, improved willingness to try new foods, and increased food system knowledge.