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Date: 8/3/2022
HATFIELD – Last month, Prospect Meadow Farm (PMF), a ServiceNet program for adults with developmental delays, won a $595,000 grant for social enterprise agencies. Most of the grant will pay to fix up the main house on Prospect Street, but Shawn Robinson, director of clinical services, also took care of the farmhands. Outdoor bathrooms are in the works.
“As you can imagine, a port-a-potty in the winter, not that good,” Robinson said.
Robinson heard about the new program, but the deadline for applications was two weeks away. A new line item in the state budget, the Social Enterprise Capital Grant Program invests in social enterprises, like PMF, that drive growth in low-income communities. The program funded for $3 million this year will help organizations buy or renovate buildings and equipment. Prospect Meadow Farm plans to fix up the house, build outdoor bathroom facilities, but also construct a new pavilion to keep the elements off the workers, that will eventually have electricity and removable walls.
Client Kris Currier was excited to hear about the grant.
Currier, 24, a five-year veteran of the program, found his niche in the mushroom operation. PMF is one of the largest suppliers of shitake mushrooms in the Connecticut River valley.
“I didn’t know anything about mushrooms,” Currier said. “I didn’t even know mushrooms came from logs. I just knew they grew out in the wilderness and some of them make you see funny colors. I was never really interested in those kinds. I just came here to work and get paid and learn more things.”
The clients earn $14.25 hourly. The paycheck serves many purposes beyond fair compensation. Robinson noted that clients learn budgeting, how to make buying decisions, and the money helps demonstrate to clients’ family that a good degree of independence is possible, and even likely.
“We have a lot of farmhands here whose families never envisioned them having a car or having an apartment,” Robinson said. “But because of working here, the independence they got … they have cars, they have apartments. We love seeing that, and we see it frequently now.”
According to Allison LaClair, operational director at PMF, the farmhands learn both hard and soft employment skills. Learning how to stack inoculated logs, harvest tomatoes and play kickball with the pigs are hard skills. Handling changes in routine, getting out of bed on time, and talking to a supervisor are soft skills that are also necessary on the job.
“Every day we send out transportation, which is our job coaches,” LaClair said. “They get a list of individuals who come in for 9 a.m., then we usually have a work period from 9 [a.m.] to 12 [p.m.], a lunch break and then the afternoon will be some work, but also team building activities.”
Client Tracy Labell is in charge of taking care of the pigs, and last year helped birth a piglet. The pigs rejoice when Labell hoses them down. The pigs also help Labell deal with the challenges that face her.
“I don’t eat bacon now, since I been working here, I just don’t,” Labell said. “But they help me a lot with my depression and anxiety that I have … There’s a blue ball that I kick and they chase it. It’s a lot of fun.”
PMF has another farming location on Route 5, where the farm store sells a wide variety of produce, maple syrup, jams and drinks. The farm’s produce also supplies the Rooster Café, serving the company’s headquarters in Northampton, and is sold in many stores and coops in the area.
William Melciorre works at the farm store as a cashier. Melciorre gets lots of experience meeting new people, working the register and “selling people goods and stuff.” What’s the most fun for him? “Making people happy.”
Prospect Meadow Farm Store, located at 249 West St. in Hatfield, is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The farm also sells CSA shares.