Local Food and Farm Profiles from Hampshire County of Western Massachusetts
Sanford D'Amato of Good Stock Farm
Photo by Kevin Miyazaki
There’s a story around every corner and behind every bite in the region.
Hampshire County of Western Massachusetts is home to many locally owned and operated businesses, especially when it comes to the region’s abundant agricultural and culinary scene. Behind each of those is a unique story to tell. If you haven’t visited recently, you’re missing out on countless opportunities for farm-to-table dining, breweries and wineries, working farms and dairies, and so much more.
Bread, bagels, and pastries, roasted meats and sausages, pork belly, lox, and duck confit are just a few of the many items made from scratch at Bread & Butter in the historic North Amherst Mill District. In fact, the majority of food is made in-house, using local and seasonal ingredients. Owners Jaime and Brian Knox opened the upscale, organic space in 2015, focusing on breakfast and lunch while raising a young family. Bread & Butter, in addition to offering some seriously tasty homemade food, plays an important role in the creation of a growing commercial center in North Amherst, bringing traffic into the area through its use as an event space.
Good Stock Farm - Hatfield, MA
Sandy and Angie D’Amato bring a James Beard Award and 40+ years of cooking and teaching experience to the banks of the Connecticut River in Hatfield, MA, where their home and farm offers an abundance of produce along with cooking classes that focus on themes from local summer ingredients to the further afield, anything from Indonesian cooking to pizza making to Sandy’s soul food, Sicilian cuisine. Guests can choose from a variety of options, including relaxing and enjoying a chef demo or choosing a hands-on class to learn some new skills in the kitchen. Three-day getaway packages are also available for a full immersion in cooking and the food and beauty that Hampshire County has to offer.
Maple Valley Creamery - Hadley, MA
Quality milk from local cows is the cornerstone of Maple Valley Creamery’s mission, and owners Bruce Jenks and Laurie Cuevas know and love their Brown Swiss cows, who are a part of the family. In recent months, Maple Valley Creamery opened the Mill Valley Milk Company and Farm Store which is open to the public and sells items like raw milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, Angus beef, baked goods, and organically grown vegetables, allowing the farm to maintain wide open spaces and a time-honored farming tradition.
The above businesses are just a sample of the many passionate and hardworking local heroes in the region, and we would love for you to learn about them all. For more information on agriculture and food in Hampshire County, see visithampshirecounty.com/eat/.
About the Hampshire County Regional Tourism Council
The Hampshire County Regional Tourism Council is a destination marketing partnership of the Amherst Area, Greater Easthampton, and Greater Northampton Chambers of Commerce. One of 16 Regional Tourism Councils in Massachusetts, the HCRTC works in close partnership with the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. Learn more at www.visithampshirecounty.com or visit Hampshire County on Facebook www.facebook.com/visithampshirecounty, Twitter www.twitter.com/othersidema, or Instagram www.instagram.com/othersidema.
Contact:
Meghan Malloy, Pop! Marketing Communications
meghan@popmarcomm.com
617-785-4476
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