Eating With the Seasons With Hardwick’s Farms

Summer is the perfect time to commit to eating with the seasons. Local farms have a lot to offer, both for those near and those a little farther afield. 

There are a great many benefits to “eating with the seasons”. And if you plan now, you can do it -- at least in part -- all year long. 

What is Eating with the Seasons?

The University of Maryland Medical System describes eating seasonally this way: 

“Seasonal eating is simply eating the food that was recently harvested by the farmers. By rotating your diet to eat the vegetables and fruits in season throughout the year, you gain variety in both taste and nutrition.”

It’s a sensible practice that is part local food movement, part smart economics, and part environmentally friendly practice. 

What’s So Great About Eating with the Seasons?

There are a number of advantages to eating with the seasons, but it starts with accessing the most nutritious food possible for you. Here’s a list of other reasons why eating seasonally is such a great thing to do:

• Full-flavored foods

• Eating food at the peak of nutrition with higher nutrient levels

• Supports farms and keeps farmland in farming

• Maintains open space

• Benefits the environment

• Reduces food miles from an average of 1500 miles or more to 50 or well below

• Enhances food safety by reducing storage and handling, limiting opportunities for contamination

• Supports the growth of carbon sequestering plants, trees, and bushes that help clean our air 

• Supports the local economy

• Keeps more money in the state, reinvested in local and state economies

• Gives you greater control over the methods and ethics of your food (know your farmer and how they farm!)

7 Great Ways to Eat With the Seasons with Hardwick’s Guild Farmers

1. Eat fresh with local produce. It’s that simple! And there’s so much good fresh food coming out right now -- we’re only just beginning!

2. Join a CSA. Our farmers offer CSA shares year-round. These include Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter CSA’s, vegetable and fruit CSA’s, meat CSA’s and CSA-style buying programs, and even some lovely local Flower CSA’s! Some even offer add-ons like fruit and local bread!

3. Buy local meat. Our meat farmers have a wide variety of meats, types, cuts,  and products ranging from poultry to beef, lamb, sausage, and more. Buy at on-site farm stores, farmer’s markets from Hardwick to Boston, or coordinate a special order or bulk purchase pickup. 

4. Preserve in season foods to capture optimal quality. Canning, freezing, and dehydrating are the top ways to preserve farm fresh foods. There are a world of options, and it’s easier than you think. Preserve some or all of the harvest so you always have local food to eat. Preserving food as close as possible at harvest time maintains more nutrition than eating fresh foods that traveled thousands of miles with multiple points of handling. 

5. Shop Value-Added farm products. Many farms offer a variety of delicious, nutritious, convenient and healthy value-added products. These range from pickled and fermented products to specialty meats like marinated, ready-to-cook cuts, grilling meats, and sausages; and many ready to cook whole meals, like frozen pot pies made with local vegetables and meats. 

6. Seek out less obvious local farm and food products. We often think of produce and meat first when we think about season products and local farm support, but there are less obvious farm products that we can eat locally and seasonally, too. Think about the wine, beer, and spirits you drink; flowers you use to decorate your home or celebrate a special occasion (or just because!); honey, syrup, and sweeteners; health and beauty lotions, potions, and soaps. There are a lot of seasonal and local products we just don’t think about. 

7. Swap what you eat for locally grown, seasonal foods. Make a point to replace one well-traveled food item with a local, in-season option. Then look for more. 

Food, Fun, and More with Hardwick Area Farms 

The farms and farmers of the Farmer Guild have a lot lined up and a lot on offer that will help you access local seasonal food and fun:

* Still Life Farm, in collaboration with local Stillman’s Farm, is now selling CSA shares. Visit their site for year-round CSA sign ups and several local add-on options. THey’re selling at Farmers Markets all over the state, featuring niche small fruits in season. Visit the site or contact them for more information about markets and where to find them. Halley says that despite the drenching and challenging spring rains, fresh produce is ready! “Our high tunnels have helped us get an early start to spring! Now harvesting zucchini, squash, cucumbers, beets, carrots, and soon to be into cherry tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes. We're just about to hit fruit season!  In order (mostly) of how they will appear starting mid-late June: currants, gooseberries, cherries, raspberries, black raspberries, husk cherries, peaches, blueberries, blackberries, apples, pears.”

* Lone Birch Blossoms is now selling their Cut Flower CSA shares for the 2025 season. 

5 or 10 week shares available. Shareholders will receive one bouquet each week for ten weeks of blooming beauty grown on Our Farm in Hardwick. Each week will feature different flowers. Flowers may include zinnias, dahlias, marigolds, celosias, statice, lisianthus, snapdragons, sunflowers, and LOTS more. Bouquet will come wrapped in Kraft paper and pick up will be at Clover Hill Farm in Hardwick on Fridays Beginning in July. You can buy your CSA share online at https://lonebirchblossoms.com/shop/

The Cut Your Own Flower Field will be opening as soon as the blooms are ready. Follow them on Facebook and watch for opening day announcements!

* Stillman Quality Meats has been busy working on a new USDA processing facility. There’s lots to see on their social media pages, or on the blog on their website. 

And speaking of seasonal eating, Kate says seasonal sausage making has begun!  Each week the flavors rotate and they try to feature/source ingredients as close to home as possible.  Currently, they’re using Rhubarb from Still Life for Rhubarb Mostarda Sausages, with Garlic Scape Sausages and Strawberry Feta sausages following right behind. If you’re local to the store, stop in when the Open Flag is up. Or, find them at a Worcester- or Boston-area farmers market, or pre-order through their website:  https://www.stillmanqualitymeats.com/collections/sale-featured

* Golden Egg Farm -- We’re celebrating with Kate Moreale at Golden Egg Farm, breeder of champion Silkie chickens. Kate’s bird was the Super Grand Champion, Non Bearded White Pullet at the Central Maine Bird Fanciers show. Congratulations to Kate and her impressive Silkies!

* Hardwick Vineyard & Winery is open and ready to serve you. AND they have a host of events lined up. They’re open 7 Days a Week and their seasonal favorites include Prescott Pear, Enfield Apricot, Baystate Blueberry, and our limited summer release wine Wickedly Watermelon! Here for a limited time! 

Plus, they’re offering Slushees, Slushees, Slushees! Summer is the perfect opportunity to come visit the Vineyard & sip on a wine slushy! 

Live music all season long, exciting events and workshops, catch the lineup of events on our social media and website. Now serving food, check out their "Wine Bites" menu, perfect to pair with their wines, featuring seasonal flavors! 

Featured events: 

Father's Day Family Fun Day, Free Petting Zoo hosted by: Moonlight Run Farm, LLC. 1pm-3pm, June 15th. 

Summer Bash Craft Fair, June 28th 11am-4pm, come support local! Sip & shop with us! 

Fall Craft Fair & Food Festival, August 30th & 31st, Labor Day Weekend, 11am-4pm. Benefitting the Hardwick Schools PTO

* Starfield Farm’s very own Lisa Cohen recently completed a life-sized cow sweater of original design for the Old Sturbridge Village Cow Parade project. The cow, sporting its sweater fashioned in part with fiber from animals raised in Hardwick, will be on display as part of an exhibition of 25 decorated life-sized cows at the Village from June 21st through September. The cows will be auctioned off after the exhibition with the money going to support the Village. Visit the village to see her fantastic work of fiber art!

Hardwick Farmers Market Opening Soon

The Hardwick Farmer’s Market’s opening day is June 22nd. The market is held weekly on Sundays from 11:00 to 2:00. 

Stop and shop the market for local seasonal foods, crafts, artistic works, and music, too.

The Trolley is Coming to Town -- and It’s the Perfect Opportunity to get to Know Hardwick’s Farms

On June 28th, the trolley is coming to town!

Bygone Excursions is collaborating with the Farmers’ Guild to bring a trolley tour to town. 

There will be two seatings, with an approximately two hour tour around town and the various farms, and several farm stops along the way. 

Tickets are limited, so don't miss your chance to sign up.  

Purchase your tickets through the Farmers Guild Website. 

Please Support the Farmers Guild of Hardwick

You don’t have to be a farmer to support the Farmers Guild of Hardwick!

Farmers Guild of Hardwick is accepting supporting members.  You can sign up in just a few minutes on the website: FGH Supporting Members.  

Looking ahead, the Burger Bash will be on again at the Hardwick Community Fair, August 16th. The Guild and several farms will have tables at the fair, too.   

Also, don't miss your chance to participate in the Hardwick Community Fair - flyers should be going out to Hardwick residents in June. Non-residents are welcome to enter and participate, too. The program will be available on the Hardwick Community Fair website. 

As always, thank you for your interest and support of local Massachusetts agriculture. Don’t forget to Visit the Farmer Guild of Hardwick Website for more member farm listings to point your way to great food, farm products, hay, livestock feeds, and more!