FITCHBURG — Stargazer Hollow Farm co-founders Meghan Buckley and Juniper Mendelsohn are thrilled to be the recipients of the Central Mass Grown Rooted in the Community Award.
The duo was honored at the May 1 Central Mass Grown annual meeting hosted by Hollis Hills Farm on Marshall Road.
“For us, it’s meaningful not just as recognition of a single moment but of a set of values we try to live by every day,” Buckley said of even being considered for the inaugural award.
“When there was concern in our community about food access following the SNAP shutdown, it was an easy decision to redirect our crops into donations knowing how many in our city rely on that support,” Buckley said. “This award affirms that hunger relief work, especially at a small local scale, matters and that farms can play a real role in keeping their communities fed during moments of instability. It also reflects the kind of ecosystem we’re lucky to be part of, with many other local food providers who made keeping our communities fed a top priority as well.”
Central Mass Grown Executive Director David Reed said the newly created award “recognizes a Central Mass Grown member farm or business that demonstrates the strong connections between our farms and the neighbors and communities that surround them.”
At the meeting he spoke about city-based Stargazer Hollow Farm choosing to cancel the remainder of its farmers markets and “donate their remaining harvest to help people in need” during the federal shutdown and the cutting off of SNAP benefits in November.
“They coordinated with the City of Fitchburg and other mutual aid organizations to make sure food was able to reach the people who needed it,” Reed noted while presenting the partners in farming and life with the award. “Their actions represented more than a charitable donation, but a near-perfect reminder of what Central Mass Grown — that our local farms are the foundation of our communities and make us stronger.”
Buckley and Mendelsohn launched Stargazer Hollow Farm coming up on six years ago and relocated it to Fitchburg in December 2024. They focus on growing heirloom produce at their property located on Sheldon Road, which is just shy of 80 acres. They offer Community Supported Agriculture shares, with more information available by visiting stargazerhollowfarm.com.
Besides the presentation of the award, the Central Mass Grown meeting featured a presentation on forestry management for farms by Jacob Seidel of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and two other local entities received honorable mentions at the meeting for their support of the community — Brookfield-based Wildberry Acres Farm and B.T.’s Smokehouse from Sturbridge.
“It was also just a genuinely lovely evening. The food from Finicky Fork Catering Company was great and the view out the windows at Hollis Hills Farm couldn’t have been more beautiful at sunset,” Buckley shared. “Over dinner, we were grateful to connect with representatives from Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, along with so many other people and organizations who are doing the day-to-day work of supporting farms and farmers in our region. It was a great opportunity to feel the strength of the community behind our local farms.”
Supporting farms and farmers is at the root of Central Mass Grown’s mission. Reed noted that since the nonprofit organization was founded in 2014, its “network has grown to cover the entire region, tirelessly promoting the importance of protecting our farmers and farmland.”
He said Central Mass Grown “regularly hosts workshops to help farmers improve their business and use environmentally sustainable practices” and “is also active in promoting local farmers markets, helping ensure more people in Worcester County have more access to the best, highest quality food and other products.
He also imparted that Central Mass Grown is one of several Buy Local organizations across the state “tasked with encouraging consumers to support local agricultural businesses, especially farms and restaurants” and said more information on the nonprofit can be found by visiting centralmassgrown.org.
“Across Worcester County every year, more than 1,500 farms produce more than $87 million in agricultural products,” Reed said. “These farms are a vital part of our economy and our community. They protect open space from development, protect wildlife habitats and water supplies, and support local businesses in their community, contributing to a strong local economy. Local farms produce food more sustainably than what you typically find in a supermarket, grow our economy, support our neighbors, and make Central Massachusetts a better place to live.”
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