The farm industry, like just about every other industry, has faced huge hurdles recently. With the closures of schools and restaurants, the disruption to U.S. agriculture supply chains has been enormous. There’s a good chance you’ve seen or heard about farmers dumping out milk or destroying crops because they have no place to sell them. But there is a silver lining for farm operations: with people thinking more deeply about what they consume and how they shop, many consumers are turning to local farms to get items like dairy and vegetables directly from the source. Combined with that, farmers across the country have embraced technology and created delivery services from scratch to meet this unprecedented situation.

We recently learned about one such program that has innovated to meet the demands and challenges of the pandemic: Mass Food Delivery. Mass Food Delivery distributes fresh, healthy, locally grown and produced food directly to the homes of people throughout Massachusetts. With a website that enables you to browse products available from a network of local farms and dairies, this is a truly ingenious service that brings the farmers market right to you!

The Western Massachusetts community is known as a place where people come together to support local art, business, and agriculture, so it’s perfectly fitting that Mycoterra Farm in South Deerfield has worked to put this incredible program together. As a business who partners with many local farms in our area, the Dion team would like to take a minute to express our gratitude to be part of a community that is continually working to make our world a better and safer place. If you’re in the Western Mass area, we’d also like to encourage you to check out Mass Food Delivery and some of our wonderful partners who are participating in it, and check them out below!

Full Moon Ghee – Based in Greenfield, MA, Full Moon Ghee offers a variety of ghee products crafted using local butter. They infuse herbs and spices, making their offerings both beneficial to health and amazingly tasty.

Thomas Farm & Dairy – Offering a large variety of fresh produce, Thomas Farm & Dairy in Sunderland, MA is probably best known for their incredible goat and cow cheeses. Be sure to give their award-winning Chevre a try.

Cream of the Crop Farm – A true gem for the hilltowns, Cream of the Crop Farm is located in Russell. Their farm stand is open from 7am to 7pm Monday through Saturday, and they offer a huge variety of products, from fresh raw milk and eggs to ice cream from other local dairies.

Mapleline Farm – Mapleline Farm is a family owned and operated Jersey cow farm in Hadley. Their milk is pasteurized and bottled right on the farm, so it’s as fresh as you can get! Their products are available in stores all throughout Massachusetts, but if you’re in the Hadley area, give their farm a drive-by—it’s gorgeous!

Justamere Tree Farm – Speaking of beautiful land, Justamere Tree Farm in Worthington makes delectable maple syrup produced with 100% renewable energy. They also share some awesome recipes on their website if you want to get the creativity flowing in the kitchen!

Kitchen Garden Farm – Kitchen Garden Farm is another spectacular operation in Sunderland. We print the labels for their dried chilis, but they are a 50-acre organic vegetable farm offering everything from greens to potatoes to herbs. They recently launched a home delivery service of their own, the Sunderland Farm Collaborative with 30 local farms listing products. They deliver to 12 towns and have 5 pick-up locations throughout Western Mass!

Red Fire Farm – From Granby, Red Fire Farm produces a wide diversity of vegetables, flowers, and fruit using sustainable and organic practices. They began in 2001 and have farm stands in Montague and Granby, products in many markets across the region, as well as available CSA shares.

Now more than ever, it’s essential that we come together as a community. Dion Label Printing is honored to partner with so many local companies that are striving to improve people’s health and happiness by creating innovative strategies to meet the complex challenges facing our world! If you're a local business looking for a label printing, reach out to us to discuss how we can support you!