Hope Guardenier is the Executive Director of School Sprouts Educational Gardens and one of the three founding mother members of  The Farm Education Collaborative.  School Sprouts, in conjunction with teachers, educational professionals and students, has installed more than a dozen educational gardens throughout the Pioneer Valley. The Farm Educational Collaborative (TFEC) provides agricultural experiences to children and their families.

Hope began her career as an educator some fifteen years ago while working as a naturalist. She had just one hour a week to talk to people who stopped at her garden spot as a part of a guided trail hike. It soon became glaringly obvious that this was a woefully inadequate amount of time to convey the importance of food and its origins to the people that she was trying to reach. After deciding that bringing gardens to the children was the way to solve this problem she headed back east.

Once here Hope attained her masters degree in environmental education from Antioch University. Here she sowed the seeds that would grow into the network and support system that she enjoys today.

The Pioneer Valley is host to a number of inspiring people who are dedicating their lives to bettering their communities and the world beyond. Hope Guardenier is not only one of these people but she is also guiding and molding a future crop of leaders and world changers.

Molly Feinstein is the owner of Go-berry, a frozen yogurt shop in Noho and Downtown Amherst. A fairly new business, Go-Berry opened up in Noho in May of 2010, a mere 3 months after Molly and Alex (her husband) decided to quit their jobs in Boston and start up a business in the Pioneer Valley. Go-berry makes all their own frozen yogurt, using just milk, yogurt, sugar and fruit puree; unlike other frozen yogurt shops, who water down their yogurt to bulk up the product.

Coming from a background in healthcare, Molly never really had any experience in farming or restaurants. The idea spurred one day when she was in line at Starbucks thinking “I wonder what the heck is in this food and where it’s from?” Since then, local food has been a part of her business plan. She uses local sources such as Sidehill for yogurt, Mapleline Farm for milk, and various other farms  for the fruit puree.

Go-berry and its owners are new to the Valley, but their enthusiasm and curiosity have gained them many friends. The quick success and growth of their business is a great example of the local food community in this Valley. By finding their niche market and sticking to their values, Molly Feinstein has proven that local food doesn’t mean just perusing Farmer’s Markets and buying CSA shares; you can enjoy your guilty pleasures, without the guilt.

Dan Rosenberg explains the lacto-fermentation process

Dan Rosenberg started his business in 2001 not solely as a way to make a living, but as a way to make change. Real Pickles produces 12 naturally fermented vegetable products out of Greenfield, MA using produce from 6 organic farms within a 40 mile radius of their facility. You can find their products at over 350 natural food stores throughout New England. Since starting this endeavor, Dan and his crew have received well-deserved recognition from the press and organizations; they were deemed a “Local Hero” by CISA and won a Good Food Award for their Garlic Dill Pickles last year (they are finalists in the Good Food Awards again this year!).

Dan’s devotion to a regional food system definitely presents him challenges- our current industrial food system doesn’t provide much infrastructure for people wanting to support local farms. But the fact that Real Pickles exists and is thriving is a great indication of how more businesses could operate in the future to support a more regional and local food system.

Besides being devoted to local food, the folks at Real Pickles are ultra-conscious of their consumers and the world around them. Dan was inspired to start fermenting after learning about Dr. Weston A. Price, a researcher who found people living in non-industrialized societies that still consumed fermented foods had significant nutritional benefits compared to people in industrial societies (where fermented foods were replaced with their factory-made “sterile” foods). Real Pickles is pioneering the comeback of naturally fermented foods in this area, and health-conscious people are definitely starting to catch on. Real Pickles also has a blog, Ferment, in which the staff connects their work to what is happening in the world (OWS, sustainable agriculture, etc.).

In addition to their social awareness, Real Pickles as a business is a great model for an energy efficient operation, as they are aware of how their actions affect the environment. Less than a year ago, Real Pickles’ neighbors Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics installed solar panels on the roof of the Real Pickles facility, making them 100% solar powered. Besides using solely solar power, Real Pickles also strives to lower the amount of energy they need in the first place. They use very little machinery whatsoever and do most of their work by hand.

Real Pickles is a great model for a sustainable business that supports a local food system. Any person looking to help farmers in their area by processing their produce can learn so much from Dan and every other person who has helped make Real Pickles “real.”

[Astrid O’Connor]

Ginger Lover's variety pack (www.realpickles.com)

Cabbage-based Real Pickles products (www.realpickles.com)

This blog was created by the students in PLSOILIN 265 – Sustainable Agriculture class during the fall semester, 2011.  Our purpose is to celebrate the many individuals, families and small businesses that contribute to the “nation of farmers” in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachuchusetts.

Students were asked to interview someone they admire or want to get to know better, asking some of the following questions:

• What do you do?
• How did you get here?
• How do you stay motivated?
• What obstacles (if any) have you had to overcome?
•  How would you describe your network of people/support?
• Web links to organization/business/farm etc.

This blog is the result!

This project was partially inspired by three incredible women who joined us in class to discuss their own work and lives.  They were (from left to right in the photo):

• Michelle Chandler, who raises backyard livestock in Amherst, MA
• Sharon Astyk, the author of one of the best books on the future of farming we know, A Nation of Farmers
• Kathy Harrison, author of Just in Case, a guide to sustainable living

Thanks so much to thsee three amazing women and the many local heroes who agreed to be interviewed.