Croissants sit on the counter next to chocolate tortes with mint whipped cream … Claire Raposo came home to the Berkshires to open the Lost Lamb, but she learned her patisserie in Paris.
READ MOREWhere can we find farmers marketsor co-ops, local markets and farm stores in the Berkshires? A lot of us are looking for local sources of food, especially right now. And in the Berkshires those sources are adapting to a world with Covid-19 and giving back to the community.
In Covid-19, Berkshire co-ops and farmers markets are adapting online and in the open …
Are you looking for strawberries for a picnic tonight, so you can talk with a friend and keep a healthy distance? Or a takeout soup, or ingredients that feel safe. Chicken. Salad greens. Fresh bread. Or it’s a hot day today — maybe ice cream.
Anywhere in the Berkshires, we can find them nearby. Farmers markets are moving online. Farms with websites and farm stores are sharing space (physically and digitally) with others who need it — so you can stop in at a dairy farm and find eggs, maple syrup and sausage along with the cheeses.
Co-op markets are offering curbside pickup too, and we have venerable co-ops here, local markets that have grown here for generations — from the Berkshire Co-op and Guido’s in Great Barrington to Wild Oats in Williamstown.
And more and more, local cafes and bakeries and food shops are offering grocery boxes and deliveries. You can get kitchen supplies and staples, eclairs, olive oil … and in a few weeks the berries will be ripe.
Co-ops and local markets
Great Barrington Farmers Market
The Great Barrington Farmers Market runs outdoors, just off Main Street, on Saturday mornings from May to October, with fruits and greens, baked goods, herbs and oils, coffee and cider and more.
READ MOREPittsfield Farmers Market
The year-round Pittsfield Farmers Market has now become the only teen-led market in the region through Roots Rising. The market welcomes in farmers and artisans together, local coffee roasters and even landscape designers.
READ MOREWilliamstown Farmers Market
Duck egg tacos with hot sausage and greens? Baklava and fresh moussaka? The Williamstown Farmers Market brings Farmers, food producers, artists and artisans to Spring Street from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday from May to October.
READ MOREBerkshire Grown
Berkshire Grown supports farms and local food across the county and offers resources for finding local farmers, orchards, farm stands and farm-to-table restaurants.
READ MOREWest Stockbridge Farmers Market
The West Stockbridge Farmers Market gathers on Thursday afternoons on The Foundry Green from May through early October, as Amy Brentano, owner of The Foundry, offers her land to serve the community.
READ MOREHilltop Orchards
At Hilltop Orchards, the Vittori family grow apples and make cider and wine on 200 acres. A brother and sister, John and Wendy, bought the orchard more than 30 years ago and preserved the land. They have a farm store and trails open year-round.
READ MORELenox Farmers Market
The 2020 Lenox Farmer’s Market returns on Friday afternoons from June to early October in downtown Lenox, with farm cheeses, meats and eggs, locally grown vegetables and cut flowersand more, layer cakes and fresh breads.
READ MOREHigh Lawn Farm
You can stop in for ice cream or farmstead cheese and sit at a picnic table, looking across the field where the young calves are out to pasture — High Lawn Farm in Lee now has its own creamery store.
READ MOREWhitney’s Farm Market
From spring to fall, Whitney’s Farm Market on Route 8 is open with greens, fruits and vegetables, pick-your-own berries in season, deli sandwiches and ice cream, and the garden center carries perennial and annual flowers and more.
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