Alyssa VanDurme: Cultivating Community Through the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market

Embark on a journey of agricultural passion and community empowerment as we sit down with the incredibly dynamic Alyssa VanDurme of Berkshire Grown and Manager of the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market. Alyssa, whom I affectionately refer to as the cultivator of change, shares her inspiring shift from the corporate world of marketing to the fertile fields of the Berkshires, where she and Berkshire Grown champion the crusade against food insecurity. Through our conversation, you'll uncover the innovative roots of the Mobile Farmers Market, conceptualized as a beacon of hope during the pandemic's peak, and how it continues to flourish with the help of a USDA grant and the unyielding spirit of local organizations. Alyssa also shares the market's fair share payment system—a model of inclusivity that ensures no one goes without fresh, locally grown produce. We'll unravel how this mobile marvel operates seamlessly three times a week,  Alyssa and I will reveal how you can extend your support, whether through contribution or patronage, and the lasting impact it has on fortifying local agriculture and fostering a vibrant, sustainable future for all.

Thank you Alyssa, Berkshire Grown and our Local Farms and Businesses of the Berkshires!!

To support please see link below!!
https://berkshiregrown.org/
Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market
https://www.berkshiremobilefarmersmarket.org/

Thank you to our listeners!!

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Intro/Outro Creator
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We are not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. This podcast is not intended to replace professional medical advice. The views expressed in this podcast may not be those of the host, guest or the management. All right reserved under Chef Sense Podcast and Chef Massey, LLC.

Transcript

Chef Massey: 0:14

Hey everyone, welcome to Chef Sense. I'm your host, chef Massey, alright. So in the studio today we have Alyssa Van Dermey from the Berkshire Mobile Farmers Market, which is a part of the Berkshire Grown program itself. So thank you for being here.

Alyssa Vandurme: 0:30

Thank you for having me.

Chef Massey: 0:31

So I think, as we kind of take a look at that program, it's amazing and if you could give kind of maybe even going into yourself, if you feel like, about you know how long have you been in the Berkshires and a part of the Berkshire Grown and kind of go from there.

Alyssa Vandurme: 0:44

Sure, I came to the Berkshires in 2018 to be a farmer Wow. First and foremost I consider myself to be a farmer, but before that I worked in marketing and business and sales, so I have these two unique skill sets. And, as you know, farming around here is a seasonal job and I was really looking to, you know, have a steady income.

Alyssa Vandurme: 1:09

Yeah 12 months out of the year, and I knew Berkshire Grown. I knew they're a great organization and really aligned with my interests and passions, and this is a new project that came about. Margaret Moulton, the executive director of Berkshire Grown, reached out to me and said I think this would be a great fit for you and it just so happened. I was looking for that type of opportunity and I started last February. So I transitioned into non-profit work. Yeah, but I still work very closely with farmers and I actually farm part time in the summer.

Alyssa Vandurme: 1:42

So I'm able to keep that going too, oh boy.

Chef Massey: 1:44

Wow, so you have your hands in a little bit of everything. That's so awesome. What do you grow and where do you do this?

Alyssa Vandurme: 1:50

at. I've done a little bit of everything.

Chef Massey: 1:52

Okay.

Alyssa Vandurme: 1:53

But my true thing that I really enjoy the most is diversified produce, so vegetables and berries and fruits got into some flowers and stuff as well, oh, those are great Yep. But I also helped take care of cows I've had pea hives. Okay, done a little raised chicken, so it's a little bit of everything.

Chef Massey: 2:12

So wow, what a mix. That is Okay, well, and then going into the Berkshire Grown and kind of how you stepped into that Since February. How has that been for you? And I mean, this is a big project to take on and you did it yourself.

Alyssa Vandurme: 2:24

Well, it's a big team of us that took it on, so it all came out of the pandemic. Obviously, when COVID hit, food security became a really critical issue, particularly for folks who are in low income or low access areas, which we do have several pockets here in Berkshire County, and so there was this need for increased food access, particularly in those areas. So these groups Berkshire Grown, berkshire, bownie got together and applied for a USDA grant at the Regional Food Systems Partnership grant and it was kind of a long shot. They didn't really think they were going to get it, but they applied to start a mobile. It kind of looked like a mobile delivery service at first but it's a sense evolved to a mobile farmers market.

Alyssa Vandurme: 3:17

Yes, so they were awarded that grant with it's a total of six organizations. So Berkshire Grown takes on the bulk of the grant administration through me, hiring me, that's how. I got involved, they got the grant and they're like, oh my gosh, we need someone to manage this now so they hired me with funding through this grant. And then Berkshire Bownie is a key partner in holding the vehicle leases, figuring out the locations the sorts of logistics as well as our volunteer.

Alyssa Vandurme: 3:47

Berkshire United Way is a big group getting volunteers to work with us for the program. Community health programs is involved through their nutrition education and outreach to those communities. The Southern Rural Health Network is involved also from a nutritional standpoint and the grant overseer. So the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is that six organization and they do all of the grant reporting and logistics because there's a lot involved. It's almost a million dollar grant that we got.

Chef Massey: 4:17

Oh, that's so great. Yeah, so that's how well those partnerships fit together.

Alyssa Vandurme: 4:23

The funding started October of 2022. It's a three-year grant, so we just kind of got started in our second year.

Chef Massey: 4:32

Okay. I'm funding for the grant. Now, how does that work? As this goes, when you hit that marker, do you start planning to reapply again? Hopefully Is that how that and it overlaps. Hopefully, yeah.

Alyssa Vandurme: 4:45

Given the significant cost to the administration. So our salaries, our cold storage site and the vehicles that we're using, that's all coming from this grant. However, this grant doesn't cover the cost of the food. Okay, it doesn't cover our marketing, much of our marketing and outreach. So we are still getting other funding sources through private donations and other grants, so it's a pretty significant investment to get this project.

Chef Massey: 5:16

Okay, well, and so if we were to look at the foundation, starting this out in kind of your steps, like planning it, how kind of, I guess, a day in the life of what that is for you, what does that look like and how did that start?

Alyssa Vandurme: 5:28

Yeah, I came on board, like I said, in February, and I drove headfirst into what is a mobile market.

Chef Massey: 5:36

Right, what does?

Alyssa Vandurme: 5:36

this look like and there are lots of mobile markets around the country. Okay, there's some in Boston and I just did a little bit of traveling to go see those mobile markets. I attended a virtual conference by the Veggie Van Training Center. Oh so they were formerly a mobile market and then transitioned their business model to become like the know-all resource for mobile markets. So I did participate in that and we just identified the key areas where we knew needed the most outreach.

Chef Massey: 6:10

Cool.

Alyssa Vandurme: 6:11

And you know it's a lot of talking to food pantries, talking to our partners. We didn't, we knew we didn't want to compete with any existing farmers markets or food pantries. We're really trying to reach the areas where there's not already services.

Chef Massey: 6:25

Mm-hmm.

Alyssa Vandurme: 6:26

And we realized that we had a lot to figure out.

Chef Massey: 6:30

Sure.

Alyssa Vandurme: 6:30

And so we put this target of fall 2023 on our calendar of like. We really want to test the waters with a pilot program.

Chef Massey: 6:38

Yeah.

Alyssa Vandurme: 6:38

So everything we worked on last year was just to get us to start a short-term pilot last fall which is what we were able to do.

Chef Massey: 6:46

Okay. So for an example, just my understanding, a farmer's market that you would see, you know your vendors apply, they get in there, they set themselves up, they get there 10 by 10, and they do their deal, follow health code, all that it's. This sounds very different to me, right? So what is that about?

Alyssa Vandurme: 7:05

Yeah, it is very different. We're calling it a farmer's market because it is 100% locally sourced food, but it really is just our vehicle with our few tents and tables.

Chef Massey: 7:19

Wow.

Alyssa Vandurme: 7:20

So we just go out to these sites that we've identified and we set up a mini market Right. So it has everything that you would essentially find at a farmer's market food-wise, but it's just in a condensed setting.

Chef Massey: 7:31

Sure, okay, that's really awesome. On this side of it, you're really doing quite a bit of going and are you going to the farms directly picking product up, going to your cold storage saying I'm picking up on this date before the market goes the mini market, then you get it there, then you pack it up and you go to the market set up it depends, it's a lot of different logistics.

Alyssa Vandurme: 7:55

So, we worked with over 25 farmers and food producers. We were carrying seasonal produce because we started in September for this pilot. We had, you know, the farm seasons dwindling at that point, so we had our apples, cabbages, potatoes and greens, you know that sort of seasonal food. Meat, we had beef, pork and chicken all these sorts of varieties of cuts Maple syrup, honey bread from Berkshire Mountain, bakery. Cheese from Cricket Creek up in Milliamstown honey jam.

Alyssa Vandurme: 8:27

We even got some peanut butter because you know we're trying to reach like families and things like that. So if you can get a loaf of bread and peanut butter and jam and some apples for your kids lunch like people were really happy about that.

Chef Massey: 8:37

Right.

Alyssa Vandurme: 8:39

So yeah, like I said, it totally depends Some farmers we did pick up from if they were en route to the market. Part of what I tried to do is really focus on the low, like being very local.

Chef Massey: 8:49

So when I went to North Adams.

Alyssa Vandurme: 8:51

we only we tried to supply from North Adams farmers when we went back. We got from a gay tunnels farm right next to our back at Town Hall. So that worked well for certain people. Other people brought it to me at Market. Some farmers from Eastern New York delivered to us in Pittsfield, so they just brought it right to the market.

Chef Massey: 9:12

Which is awesome Wow.

Alyssa Vandurme: 9:14

And then other. If it worked better. Say, if your harvest day was a Monday and our market was Tuesday, they would just deliver it to us Monday night at our cooler, and it would be there, ready and waiting for me, the following yeah, oh my gosh.

Chef Massey: 9:26

So yeah. So you have like a that's a lot. You have a centralized holding, you know cold storage or dry area. How is that strategically for you? I mean, you're, you're basically loading that vehicle and then there you know, others are going to meet you there. So you're like you're really it's like herding cats, right, I mean as a cat, yeah, so I'm very grateful we had such a robust team of volunteers.

Alyssa Vandurme: 9:49

So, cool, but you know, we had a solar powered electric vehicle that we released through a partner organization called Brutes Rising.

Chef Massey: 9:57

Okay.

Alyssa Vandurme: 9:57

Yeah, so we had a great vehicle. It was charged in Great Barrington so I'd go pick it up from that charging site I'd bring it over to our cooler site. I would load it up with our tents, tables, food signage, whatever. I'd drive to our market sites and then, luckily, there was a great group of people there to help me unload set it all up, run the market, they restocked, they greeted our customers, they cashed people out.

Alyssa Vandurme: 10:23

It was, from that side of things, a lot less on my end. But then we load up any leftovers and bring it back to the cooler and do it all over again.

Chef Massey: 10:34

the following day.

Alyssa Vandurme: 10:35

So it's definitely a significant labor. It was like an eight hour day to do some of those markets Wow Okay.

Chef Massey: 10:44

So, as you're kind of, you know building this what like currently, what locations are you at now or this last season?

Alyssa Vandurme: 10:51

So we identified three kind of spread out unique locations because I wanted to test the water, so we were up north in North Adams at. Mcla campus to reach the college students there, and then we were in Pittsfield on the west side at 18 degrees. Family services which is near BCC but also kind of near some elementary schools and housing complexes and out at Beckett town hall.

Chef Massey: 11:19

Okay.

Alyssa Vandurme: 11:20

And those three organizations did strongly advocate for themselves to be part of this pilot program because lots of places kind of fall into our demographic that we're trying to reach. But given what I just told you about the schedule and how long it is and the logistics, we could only start with three. Okay so those were the three we piloted and all were very successful, very well received. We hope to go back to most of them next spring when we start back up.

Alyssa Vandurme: 11:49

So if you want to learn more about that, I mean, yes, we're continuing the program.

Chef Massey: 11:55

It was successful, that's amazing.

Alyssa Vandurme: 11:56

We're hoping to do a traditional farmers market season which is generally around here, tuned through October. Okay, yeah, we're figuring all that out, but we have plans to expand to six locations.

Chef Massey: 12:08

Oh, very cool.

Alyssa Vandurme: 12:09

So because it's a June start, the MCLA campus probably isn't the best one, because the students are all going home for oh yeah, true Right. Sure, so we're identifying a new location in North Adams. We will still be in Beckett at the town hall, and we're hoping to go back to 18 degrees in Pittsfield, and then we want to add another Pittsfield location, as well as possibly a stop out in Monterey. And over that's great, okay, I feel like there's one more, Adams Okay.

Alyssa Vandurme: 12:38

Adams is yeah, and so the other cool thing that's happened this last year is that Berkshire Bounty got grant funding for a cold storage site at the hospital in North Adams. So now we have North County storage for the farmers to bring produce and to back stock from. So that's a huge game changer in opening up because when we had to drive from Great Barrington to North Adams and back on a market day it turned into a very long day.

Alyssa Vandurme: 13:05

Yeah, I can only imagine my gosh we're planning to kind of run a North County distribution and a South County or mid County distribution?

Chef Massey: 13:13

Okay, so there was. I mean, you're kind of throwing out some of the challenges you probably deal. You know you deal with on a daily basis. How many days a week when you're in season? Where are you going in these areas?

Alyssa Vandurme: 13:23

We went three days Tuesday, wednesday, thursday and I think because we're operating two separate units, we'll be able to stick with a three to four day market week and as. I mentioned before, we don't want to compete with the other markets happening, so North Adams has a Saturday farmers market, so we're looking at maybe going earlier in the week. So it balances that out.

Chef Massey: 13:49

Okay.

Alyssa Vandurme: 13:50

Same thing with Pittsfield they have a. Saturday market, so we want to aim for midweek. Just to get people who can't get there on the weekends or whatever. A chance to get to a different farmers market.

Chef Massey: 14:00

Okay, that's very cool. I don't know, I guess, as I'm kind of looking, you know we talked about those companies, those supporters that are involved. That's just wonderful, which is a huge situation.

Alyssa Vandurme: 14:10

There's one really critical thing that happened, absolutely Talked about that makes us so unique. We offer a fair share payment system.

Chef Massey: 14:18

Thank you, yes, of course.

Alyssa Vandurme: 14:20

So our payment is not like you would find it traditional farmers markets. Part of why we're doing this is to reach the folks who fall through the gaps and whether they can't get to a farmers market or they don't have the income because the cost of local food can be significantly higher than the stuff you find at the big box stores. So our fair share payment system. This is part of why we tested the waters to see if it was going to be well received, but essentially we offer three pricing options a sliding scale Okay very cool.

Alyssa Vandurme: 14:55

So, based on your unique situation, you get to choose what fits within your budget. Wow so we don't ask any questions. We don't ask for your income or anything, you just decide. Can I pay the full price, which is the price you would pay? That is so awesome At a grocery store the farmers market. We also offer it the price that we paid the farmer. And then we offer it at no cost.

Chef Massey: 15:18

Well, and that's pretty special that you all take that way, because, financially, when you're dealing with that, there's a lot of pride involved in a person, and it's not just in that person but it's their family members and those around them that you know they're going and doing this and saying, hey, you know, this is only what I can do and you all accepting that is pretty special.

Alyssa Vandurme: 15:43

Yeah.

Chef Massey: 15:43

Yeah.

Alyssa Vandurme: 15:44

It's the. The key mission it's to make healthy local food accessible and, yeah, for everyone. Yeah and and we really focus on trying to make it a stigma free environment. Wow, the way that the free food program worked, rather than just come up and Say I need free food because obviously that feel can feel uncomfortable.

Chef Massey: 16:01

Sure, absolutely.

Alyssa Vandurme: 16:03

We worked with our site hosts which were MCLA 18 degrees, and then some folks in Beckett helped, whether it was the church or the town hall. But we developed a mobile market gift certificate. Okay, $20 nominations and you know you could use one or two or three, however many you needed and we worked with these groups to kind of distribute them Discretely.

Alyssa Vandurme: 16:27

But you can also get them at the market. We had them available and so we called this is something we have to figure out for next year but we called the categories radish for retail, Watermelon for wholesale and fava bean for free.

Chef Massey: 16:42

It was like an alliteration that's so great. I know we're some people's heads.

Alyssa Vandurme: 16:46

It was a little confusing. But again to make this a stigma, free shopping experience we didn't want to call it like Anything that would prioritize a category. So numbers Gold, silver, bronze, like that to me feels exclusive, like the higher the retail is better and so yeah, we just thought vegetables was like a neutral.

Chef Massey: 17:06

Yeah, exactly.

Alyssa Vandurme: 17:08

Um so what a cool idea poster board right at the checkout and just said please point to your payment category, and so they could discreetly point. It's so cool that would determine how we rang them up. Yeah, and they either paid or some folks were just. You know, I only have $10. Let me just give you the $10.

Chef Massey: 17:27

Sure.

Alyssa Vandurme: 17:28

So whatever you can do is great for us.

Chef Massey: 17:32

Sure.

Alyssa Vandurme: 17:33

But it brings me back to the fact that this we need funding for this program to be able to continue to offer it, because the food is not part of our grant funding. So we are we're doing our annual campaigns right now to try and get some money into Berkshire Grown, berkshire Bounty, so we can get this money ultimately back into the hands of the farmers.

Chef Massey: 17:54

Yeah Well, and so how how can people listening support you all? I mean going to the website, because you have a website and everything I mean. I saw it. It's pretty awesome.

Alyssa Vandurme: 18:02

We do so we have the Berkshire Grown organization is much larger than just the mobile farmers market. You can contribute to Berkshire Grown's annual campaign or just make a donation on their website and you can specify it to go to the mobile farmers market or you could, you know, leave it uncategorized.

Chef Massey: 18:22

I think they have that drop down selection. Yeah, exactly, okay.

Alyssa Vandurme: 18:27

And I do believe there's also a link directly on the Berkshire mobile farmers marketorg website where you could contribute in that same way directly to us. But honestly, coming out to shop at the market I know we're not starting back up till June, but you know, if you shop at farmers markets in general and that's in your you know, regular weekly routine, why not come on a Wednesday to? Us instead of a Saturday somewhere else. You know so and pay what you can.

Chef Massey: 18:56

Well, and that's and I think that's the power of food too, and really what you're able to get from your region instead of going to, you know, the big box stores and getting that produce that's, you know, 2,500, 3,000, whatever miles away that you know. The other side is, as a chef, when you get a local farm here. I know that these are amazing people with integrity and it's my job to take my talent after I grab hold of their talent and put it on the plate. And I think you know, with doing that, with food, anything that we can do to support our communities to have better nourishment for themselves and be empowered to step out of that kind of model and keeping that money home is very important.

Alyssa Vandurme: 19:51

Yeah, so that's. A great point is that this money is going back into the hands of your community, right, yeah? And the food is much fresher and more nutritious, and that was a big feedback we got. We did distribute surveys at the end of the pilot to see how people felt and they're like this food is so fresh.

Chef Massey: 20:10

It's unbelievable.

Alyssa Vandurme: 20:11

Like the farmer was harvesting it that morning as I drove to Beckett. I would stop at Gay Tana's farm and she had just finished harvesting for it. And then you know she's getting all that money without having to do the labor of setting up her own market and standing there for three hours, yeah.

Chef Massey: 20:27

Which is a great point too. I didn't even think about that. You're kind of like helping them keep pushing Right, you know. But I think the magic of produce and product so fresh like that, it's like if we went out and we forged for a mushroom. You know, foraging for that Mayatake out there first is an amazing experience all on its own.

Chef Massey: 20:47

But when you go into a store and you get that that's been there for quite some time, people don't realize that the produce is picked, held, packaged, then shipped out, long travel, sit, unload, redistribute and it's on the shelf. So there's so much that goes along with that that you know the nutritional value of things. The longer it sets, the weaker it gets. So taking that opportunity to get that nourishment right away, I mean, there's nothing like, like you mentioned, growing that carrot in your home garden or getting it from Morningstar Farms or some of these other amazing farms that we have Moon in the Pond or any of them and peeling that carrot or just snapping that carrot in your mouth, the flavor profiles below your mind, just like that Mayatake. So for you all to do that, it's just, it's just amazing.

Alyssa Vandurme: 21:41

Yeah, and it's some people that maybe have never tasted a local carrot. Yeah, don't know, and so the education is a huge part of what we're doing. They see this unique squash that's not traditionally found in a grocery store.

Chef Massey: 21:55

Sure.

Alyssa Vandurme: 21:56

Like what do I do with this squash? So we get to tell them oh well, you know, this one, you can actually eat the skin and it's you know best roasted or best in soup and that sort of Sure Cabocha, I mean, or like a spaghetti squash or anything like that.

Chef Massey: 22:07

They're like oh wow, looks like noodles. So you know, it's very interesting and that's a lot of fun, so it is very cool.

Alyssa Vandurme: 22:13

Especially when they bring their kids. Oh my gosh To see the kids picking out the food, and you just realize the impact of this on future generations. Sure, and one other important thing that feels important to say is that we were able to work with a woman named Maria and Colada, out of Pittsfield, who is really taking on the refugee communities that are coming into Kinshore County.

Chef Massey: 22:38

Oh okay, Wow Okay.

Alyssa Vandurme: 22:39

And she was able to. She's a Spanish translator. So she was able to approach and bring in Spanish speaking shoppers Okay, that maybe wouldn't have otherwise known about us or know how to utilize our service. So we were able to serve some people who just moved here and had nothing and that felt really amazing.

Chef Massey: 23:01

Well, I mean that I couldn't even imagine stepping in those shoes and what that must feel like, but to have a resource like that, it's again very powerful because that's a huge resource, yeah, amazing. So, yeah, okay, well, you know I, is there anything else that you think you may want to?

Alyssa Vandurme: 23:23

Well, I just want to share, you know, some statistics.

Chef Massey: 23:25

Oh, that would be amazing.

Alyssa Vandurme: 23:26

Yeah, we operated 20 markets last fall. Over the three locations we served over 1300 people, so that's over 50 per market. Wow and we moved over $31,000 in local food. Oh, very cool Okay and over 70% of that was given away for free. Okay so that's a Huge amount of food.

Alyssa Vandurme: 23:48

It really is plates and money going back to the farmers. You know we worked with over 25 local producers and we hope to bring on many more, so as we. If anyone's listening and they want to sell their products through the mobile market, please reach out if you're a shopper and you want to take advantage of our free food system. Please find us online and the other critical pieces that we applied for our federal License to accept snap and hip.

Alyssa Vandurme: 24:21

It's a big part of our mission is to be able to reach those shoppers as well. It was a complete nightmare. They made us jump through many hoops to figure this out, because mobile markets are very different from a physical market. So it makes it a lot more complicated, but we finally received that authorization, and so now we can accept snap and hip, so that's a okay, great. Piece of information for all.

Chef Massey: 24:47

that's huge yeah okay, well, very cool. Wow, that was a lot of information and a lot of knowledge I gained, so a pretty special operation. I always knew that you all were at Berkshire Grown, but you know, I think, whether we're doing Berkshire Grown or were chefs or were artists in what we do, it's always how do we evolve? Right, amazing people find a way to always make a difference. Yeah, so you know, thank you for you know the episode today, or thank you for coming into the studio and and all of your time on sharing all of this and Everyone out there. Please take advantage of this opportunity to support them. Yeah, thank you, alyssa.

Alyssa Vandurme: 25:29

Thanks for having me. It's great to share this mission with everyone, and your support, everyone's support. Yeah really is gonna allow this to keep growing, so thank you for this.

Chef Massey: 25:41

Yep, absolutely. Let's keep the dream alive. Yeah, all right, thank you everyone. Thanks, alyssa and Jackson, you're going to LA.

Alyssa Vandurme: 25:48

Go away, yes.

Chef Massey: 25:50

I'm playing on January 26th at the Mint in.

Alyssa Vandurme: 25:55

LA, it's gonna be a great time.

Chef Massey: 25:57

All right, all those LA folks out there, they're listening, Get out there, see the magic man. Yeah, you're gonna have tons of memories and make sure to subscribe to chef sense. Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely All right, thank you, take care. Yeah, all right, everyone, that is a wrap. You can check us out if you like that. Subscribe Also the Instagram chef Massey. Let's keep it simple, chefmasseycom. Have a good one. Bye for now.