Berkshire Organics is a local, family-owned business created to bring area residents and local farms together. Our market offers the freshest, local & organic produce, local meat, farm fresh dairy, groceries, breads, baked goods, gluten-free foods, personal care, cleaning products & much more. We deliver fresh, local and organic produce and groceries to homes and businesses throughout Berkshire County.
- Everything is certified organic or locally, sustainably produced
- We work with over 50 local farms and businesses
- Order a produce basket or individual items (minimum order $35) for delivery or pickup
- Customize your order
- Competitive Prices
- No commitment. Order any time!
Let us bring the farmer's market to your door!
Photos by Sean McLaughlin
Our Blog:
- January 10, 2012We are thrilled to announce that we have launched an exciting upgrade to our existing website!
This new component to the website has taken almost a year to complete. Customers will now be directed to log in and make their basket substitutions through the website. Basket substitutions will no longer be done through email.
You will still receive an email from us on Tuesdays but it will serve as a reminder for you to click on the link to our website to make changes to your basket.
How do I make the substitutions through the website?
1. Log in to your Registered User Account
2. Click the orange Edit Order button. You should see your basket in the middle of the screen. Click on the Edit Basket button to make your substitutions.
3. If you do not see a basket in your order, click on the shop tab to add one.
4. Once you have clicked the Edit Basket button you can click Change Item to substitute a particular item. If you run into any trouble, please use the Send Us A Message link at the top of the screen. We will contact you within 24 hours.
What if I do not remember my login information?
1. If you have never created a New User account before on our website, you will need to Create An Account by clicking on the link on the left side of the website and follow the 4 step registration process to sign up.
2. If you forgot your Username, you can now use your email address for that field.
3. If you forgot your Password, please click the Forgot Your Password? link on the left side of the screen.
4. If the above options do not work, please send an email to: blanche@berkshireorganics.com or call 413-442-0888 - December 20, 2011HOLIDAY STORE HOURS - starting 12/24
There is no change in schedule for Deliveries & Store Pick-ups the week of Christmas & New Years.
Saturday 12/24 (Christmas Eve) 9am-3pm
Sunday 12/25 (Christmas Day) CLOSED
Monday 12/26 CLOSED
Tuesday 12/27 (Produce Sale Day) 9am-6pm
Wed 12/28, Thurs 12/29, Fri 12/30 9am-7pm
Saturday 12/31 (New Year's Eve) 9am-5pm
Sunday 1/1 (New Year's Day) CLOSED
Monday 1/2 (Store Cleaning) CLOSED
Tuesday 1/3 (Produce Sale Day) 9am-6pm
- November 18, 2011Please note, if you use the website to place an order, the dates will still be set for the Thurs & Fri schedule but we will fill the order for Tues 11/22 & Wed 11/23.
- November 18, 2011
Thanksgiving Week Store Hours
Sunday 11/20 - 9am-6pm - 30% Off Select Produce Sale
Monday 11/21 - 9am-6pm - Fresh Produce Arrives!
Tuesday 11/22 - 9am-7pm - Store Fully Stocked
Wednesday 11/23 - 9am-7pm - Store Fully Stocked
Thursday 11/24 - CLOSED for Thanksgiving
Friday 11/25 - 10am-6pm - Gift Certificates Available
Regular Store Hours Resume
- November 18, 2011The week of Thanksgiving Berkshire Organics will make deliveries on Tuesday and Wednesday (11/22 & 11/23).Store pick-ups will also be on Tuesday and Wednesday as the store will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Customers have the option to customize their own produce basket. Berkshire Organics will deliver all grocery items accept fresh turkeys, milk & ice cream which are available only for store pick-up only.
Customers can also shop in the store for freshest, local produce selection and all the fixings. The store will be fully stocked by Monday afternoon 11/21.
- October 11, 2011Berkshire Organics Donates Over 300 lbs of Fresh Produce Weekly to Local Food Banks
Two weeks ago the fine folks from Berkshire County's Food-Net visited the Berkshire Organics store to tell us we are the largest donator in Berkshire County. Berkshire Organics donates (on average) over 300 pounds of fresh local & organic produce to Food-Net every Tuesday. That's over 15,000 lb per year!
The Food Net is a local food support system that delivers fresh produce to fourteen meal sites in central and southern Berkshire County. For more information on Food Net click here.
- October 11, 2011Berkshire Organics Delivers to Pittsfield School District (12 Schools) and Central Berkshire Regional School District
This Monday, Berkshire Organics delivered local apples from Hilltop Orchard in Richmond, MA to ten Pittsfield Schools. This is the third season Berkshire Organics has worked with Food Director, Sylvana Bryan to bring fresh, local produce to area schools. This coming week the schools plan to order peaches, green beans, potatoes & more. The school delivery service has been running through Berkshire Organics, LLC but owners, Aleisha & Brian Gibbons, have recently received approval to form a non-profit they have called Berkshire Organics S.E.E.D.S (Sustainable Education Every Day for Students).
Interview with Aleisha Gibbons:
How did your working with the Pittsfield Schools come about?
We received a call two years ago from Sylvana Bryan, the food director for the Pittsfield School system, asking if there was away we could help deliver some local produce to the schools. She told me they had tried ordering, picking up, storing, and distributing local produce the previous year but logistically they didn't have the time to do it.
Can you describe some of the logistics involved?
There is a lot of work that goes into working with various local farms. You have to call the farmers each week to see what is available because depending on the weather the crops can change within 24 hours. Sometimes when you call a farmer they are in the fields, and may not want to speak to you at that time. I had to develop a thick skin to work with some of the growers and learn not to take things personally if you reach them at a bad moment. When you go to pick up the produce, many issues can arise. Sometimes the order is short because the farmer later learned there was not as many items in the field as predicted. Sometimes, you have to find your order and load the truck by yourself. Even delivering the produce to the various schools can be difficult especially if you get to the schools at the wrong time, can't find the food service person to accept the order etc.
How is Berkshire Organics able to handle these logistics and still run their home delivery service & store?
The timing works well for us to work with the schools because they typically want the produce at the start of the school week, Mondays. We make our home deliveries throughout Berkshire County on Thursdays and Fridays so our large walk-in cooler is almost empty by Friday afternoon. We have been making a second trip to the Pioneer Valley on Fridays to pick up corn and other items for the store for the weekend so while we are out there we pick up the produce, store it in our cooler over the weekend and deliver it Monday morning to the schools. Also, because we already talk with many of the farmers at the start of each week, we have a pulse on what each of the farms have so we are able to communicate that to Sylvana instead of her having to make various calls herself.
Can you describe a typical order week working with the Pittsfield Schools?
Sylvana and I usually touch base early in the week. She tells me what she is looking for and I tell her what is available. She places the order with us and we call the farms to secure the order for us to pick-up on Friday. For example, last week she asked for local apples. There are several farms that have local apples right now but we love to work with John Vittoria at Hilltop Orchard, in Richmond, MA. He understands the apples are for the schools and gives us a very competitive price. Since we are already in Richmond on Friday mornings, making our home deliveries, we have our driver stop there along his route to pick up the apples. The driver comes back to our store, unloads and we store them until Monday morning at which time we deliver to
each school location in Pittsfield.
You mentioned competitive prices, since local produce can often be more expensive how does this fit into the school budget?
When I first spoke with Sylvana, she explained how the school system had a very limited budget to spend on local produce. I realized Berkshire Organics would not make any profit by doing this; we are lucky to break even some weeks because we are using our vehicles, time, man-power, cooler etc. We basically offer the wholesale price from the farm directly to the school. We wanted to offer this service to the community as a way of giving back. We want to see more fresh produce in school cafeterias. There are several farms in the Pioneer Valley that are larger and can offer more competitive prices than the smaller farms that are in the Berkshires. We would love to work with more farms in the Berkshires but we have to pass along the best
quality & prices to the schools and we find that more often from farms in the neighboring county (less than 50 miles east).
Why form a non-profit instead of continuing to run the program through Berkshire Organics, LLC?
We would like to try and have the opportunity to apply for some grant money to help us continue to keep this program going. Right now I do all the ordering and my husband, Brian, does the delivering. We would like to be able to cover our costs, and perhaps hire a driver to help us. We have also thought about creating some type of internship program with the school to have juniors or seniors help us go to the farms and make the deliveries. We are currently looking for someone who has grant writing experience.
Have you considered working with other local schools?
Until now, we have kept this program quiet because we were hoping to get the non-profit approved so we could increase our resources to offer this program to other schools. We would love it if other schools contacted us so we can begin to increase the distribution throughout Berkshire County. We are looking for people who are interested in helping us build this program. - August 23, 2011Grillin & Chillin with Local Farms
This Friday, August 26th, 3pm-6pm
Stop by the Berkshire Organics Store to meet local farmers and sample their
local meat, gelato & other goodies!