Prospect Meadow Farm Expands Its State and National Reach with $443,365 in Grants and Co-Sponsorship of the Inaugural National Care Farming Conference
ServiceNet’s Prospect Meadow Farm recently secured two significant state grants, totaling $443,365, to support the expansion and development of its facilities and programs. The funding includes a $193,365 Food Security Infrastructure Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and a $250,000 Social Enterprise Capital Grant from the Executive Office of Economic Development.
These grants will fund the construction of a multi-functional production barn at the farm’s recently acquired 17-acre Pittsfield site, formerly Jodi’s Seasonal, in Berkshire County. The new barn will centralize the farm’s processing, packing, and cold storage operations, significantly improving operational efficiency and allowing for increased local vegetable production year-round. This expansion will also enhance vocational training programs, providing more meaningful work opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism, and mental health challenges.
Shawn Robinson, Vice President of Vocational Programming at ServiceNet, expressed the importance of these grants, stating, “We are incredibly grateful for the support from the Executive Office of Economic Development and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. These grants will help us strengthen our mission at Prospect Meadow Farm and create even more opportunities for the individuals we serve.”
In addition to these grants, Prospect Meadow Farm is proud to co-sponsor the Inaugural National Care Farming Conference, hosted by the Care Farming Network.
Scheduled for January 13-15, 2025, at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, the conference will be a gathering for those involved in care farming—a therapeutic approach that combines agriculture and healthcare to support participants’ physical, mental, and social well-being.
Registration for the conference is now open. This first-of-its-kind event aims to strengthen connections within the care farming community, empowering professionals to collaborate and learn from each other to make a lasting impact through farming and animal care.
For more information about ServiceNet or ServiceNet’s Prospect Meadow Farm, please contact Amy Timmins, Vice President of Community Relations, at [email protected]. For information on the Inaugural National Care Farming Conference, registration and scholarship information, or becoming an event sponsor, please contact [email protected].
