FRESH STARTS FOOD MIL INSTALL

They also will be selling fresh produce from the Food Cart in the alley next to the Food Hub on Thursdays from 2 to 6 p.m. Every Thursday Fresh Start farmers, along with DJ’s Natural Honey, will be in Victory Park from 3 to 6 p.m. This year Intown Manchester didn’t have the capacity to run the traditional downtown farmers market, but they agreed to help with permitting and insurance if Fresh Start wanted to take it on. You can also buy directly from the farmers. There are still farm shares available for the fall season.įresh Start Farms moved into their new Food Hub on Spruce Street in early June. The basic farm share is $28 for a box of fresh, in-season produce. Partnerships with other farms have allowed Fresh Start to expand its offerings to include mushrooms, eggs, chicken, fruits, and maple syrup.Ĭurrently, the Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) program for Summer is completely subscribed, but you can sign up for the online Farm Stand which allows you to buy one-time shares when extra produce is available. In addition to the produce grown by their own farmers, Fresh Start receives additional fruits and vegetables from Brookdale Farms and the Three Rivers Farmers Alliance to ensure more variety. Laurel Witri, who manages the Mobile Market Food Cart program, says that in the first three weeks of operation they have sold 700 pounds of produce and donated an additional 1,000 pounds.įresh Start provides experienced farmers with plots of land at their Stony Hill Farm property in Dunbarton and beginning farmers with plots on several leased parcels in Concord.

They have been packing 140-150 boxes a week for their CSA orders, the Fresh Start Food Cart has also begun making stops in Manchester and Concord, and the farmers are selling at farmers’ markets around the state seven days a week.

FRESH STARTS FOOD MIL INSTALL

Fortunately, they were able to purchase and install a drip irrigation system this year, which has helped. Now the dry weather has weakened the plants,” says Small. “The cold damp spring made it tough to get things in on time. The weather this year has been a challenge for the farmers. Boxes waiting to be filled with fresh produce for Fresh Start Farms CSA customers. Because of COVID-19 they had to curtail the youth program this year, so he helps out with the farming program when he can.

Valere Mangituka, who runs the ORIS youth program, comes by to check on Patricia before heading out to the fields in Dunbarton to water. Nearby, Chouaib Hannouch, an immigrant from Morocco, is packaging fresh snap peas. Islaw is a rising sophomore at Memorial High School and is working at the Hub as part of ORIS’s summer youth program. Patricia Islaw is packing an assortment of mushrooms from Dunk’s mushroom farm for shareholders.

In the packing room, empty boxes have been assembled and stacked to the ceiling, waiting to be filled with produce for CSA customers.

Greenhouses allow farmers to get a jumpstart on the season and a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, and herbs are already being sold. Right now the emphasis is on getting their fresh produce out the door. The air conditioning in the packing area was just installed last week, but finishing up the retail area will have to wait until the fall. They moved into the facility about a week before the season started. Program manager Jameson Small says it has been a wild month. The building, which was renovated by Neighborworks, provides a centralized location for the farmers to store and process their fruits and vegetables and will eventually house a year-round retail space. MANCHESTER, NH – Every morning since the beginning of June, farmers who are part of the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success (ORIS) agriculture program have been bringing their produce to the new Fresh Start Farms Food Hub on Spruce Street to be washed and packed. Patricia Islaw packs mushrooms in the new Food Hub for Fresh Start Farms Shroomshare customers.

Fresh starts food mil