Valley Veggies program expands to retail sales
Valley Veggies delivers boxes of flash-frozen vegetables. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Flash-frozen broccoli from local farms. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Modified: 12/31/2020 4:02:01 PM
GREENFIELD — The Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center, a program of the Franklin County Community Development Corporation (CDC), is expanding its Valley Veggies program to include retail sales to individuals, allowing residents to eat local produce all year long.
Kate Minisie, food business manager for the Franklin County CDC, explained the food processing center is partnering with Pioneer Valley farms to produce a line of flash-frozen fruits and vegetables in 12-ounce packs.
The vegetables are flash-frozen within 24 hours of harvest. Current products include blueberries, bell peppers, carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, potatoes and broccoli. This year’s farm partners included Long Plain Farm in Whately, Bostrom Farm in Greenfield, David Mokrzecki Farm in Hadley, Joe Czajkowski Farm in Hadley, Plainville Farm in Hadley and Kosinski Farms in Westfield.