By Monadnock Food Co-op

Monadnock Food Co-op announces three grant recipients for the inaugural cycle of the Monadnock Food Co-op Farm Fund: Maning Hill Farm of Winchester, NH, Flying Cloud Dairy of Alstead, NH, and Archway Farm, of Keene, NH.

The Monadnock Food Co-op Farm Fund, created in partnership with the Cheshire Country Conservation District, has a mission to support local farmers in increasing sustainable food production and wholesale sales to contribute to a thriving local farm economy. This grant supports several of the co-op’s goals, including a healthy, sustainable food system, the support of local farmers and producers and a strong, sustainable and improving local economy. The Cheshire County Conservation District, fiscal agent for the Farm Fund, supports farm viability in the region and promotes the responsible stewardship of natural resources.

Due to a $5000 donation by the Monadnock Food Co-op and additional donations from anonymous donors, the fund was able to distribute $9,800 between the three recipients for the 2017 grant cycle. Manning Hill Farm will install a large energy-efficient cooler in order to increase the storage capacity of the grass-fed milk they collect and distribute. Flying Cloud Dairy will install a freeze-free water system which gets water to cows more efficiently, allowing them to increase production and offerings of their organic, raw-milk dairy products. Archway Farm will build a walk-in freezer to store their own pasture-raised pork products, but also to provide freezer space for other local producers to utilize at a reasonable cost.

“We couldn’t be happier to offer these funds to these well-deserving farmers.” Said Michael Faber, Monadnock Food Co-op General Manager. “We received a total of thirteen worthy applications and wished we could have funded each and every one. We hope to double the funds available for the next grant cycle to increase the amount of projects we can support through a Round Up Donation Drive at our registers and through community donations.”

For more information, or to make a tax deductible donation to the fund, please visit www.monadnockfood.coop/farmfund or call Amanda Littleton at 603-756-2988 ext 116.

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