Valley Bounty: Oliver’s Farm Stand

Published August 17 in the Daily Hampshire Gazette

More Than a Farm Stand

Bringing local food and fun to Goshen

By Jacob Nelson

For people near Goshen, Oliver’s Farm Stand is bringing more local food within close reach. As they do, they’re bringing their neighbors closer together too.

Farm stands come in many shapes and sizes. Since 2017, Oliver’s has grown into a nearly full-service neighborhood store, explains Ruby Hutt, who owns and runs it.

“We carry almost 100% local and regional products,” she says. “All our fruit and veggies are hyper-local – most of it I go pick up myself – and along with that we try to have everything for a complete meal. We have local meat, cheeses, eggs, baked goods, and a whole range of specialty items.”

Located in the center of Goshen at 36 Main Street (Route 9), the farm store is open 24/7 using a self-serve honor system. They accept cash, check, credit, debit, Venmo and Apple Pay. Hutt is also in the process of getting approved to accept SNAP-EBT (formerly known as food stamps).

The history of Oliver’s Farm Stand starts with Hutt’s son, Oliver. Soon after he was born, Hutt and her husband Dan bought a house in Goshen and moved there from Hutt’s hometown of South Deerfield. In a new community, Hutt found herself craving another outlet compatible with full-time mom duties.

“People told me someone used to sell corn up here,” recalls Hutt. “I said, ‘gosh, I could do that. I grew up working on farms in the Valley. I know farmers.’ So, I put up a tent, went around buying vegetables, and it just took off.”

The first three years of sales were modest but proved the business had staying power. Then COVID hit in 2020, and everything changed. People scrambled for uncrowded grocery options that were closer to home but still had many essentials. Oliver’s Farm Stand’s self-serve model fit the bill, and with such a short and local supply chain they never faced shortages like the big grocery stores. That summer, sales quadrupled.

Since then, Hutt has only expanded, now carrying hundreds of items from around the region, dozens of them from right here in western Massachusetts. A few of them deliver to the stand and Hutt also buys some items through Marty’s Local and Food Connects, local distributors that collect and sell food from producers across New England. For everything else, Hutt herself hits the road to bring it back to Goshen.

Among the “hyper-local” produce farms she buys from, Hutt names Lombrico Farm in West Whately and Paddy Flat Farm in Ashfield as “super small, but their quality is phenomenal.”

“I’ve also worked with Pause and Pivot Farm in Williamsburg since they started, and they’re great,” she says. “We get their microgreens and fresh baked goods. Their bars, cookies and scones are amazing.”

Recently, Hutt decided that while she’s out picking up food for Oliver’s – essentially becoming her own tiny local distribution company – she may as well bring back some of the Valley’s bounty for other local businesses too. Camp Howe, a youth summer camp in Goshen, and the Old Creamery Co-op in Cummington are two places she started delivering local produce to this summer. She hopes to add more partnerships soon.

With her small business on the rise, Hutt is excited that people seem to really want what she’s offering. That consistent support has given her the confidence to take the next step for the business: moving the farm store into a new, bigger, permanent building starting next year.

Until now the farm store has been a temporary structure. Every spring the Hutts move fridges, freezers, and shelves out of storage to reconstruct the stand. Each fall they tear it down again.

“It’s a lot of work, and in the end we’ve built a grocery store outside, which is just silly,” Hutt says. “Heat, humidity and critters can all damage products. Eventually we realized it would be easier and cheaper to get the bigger, climate-controlled building and move everything indoors.”

With the new building, Hutt also hopes they’ll be able to stay open for their customers year-round. “We’re spoiled with so much local food available all year,” she says. “If we can extend our season and give people access to it, why not?”

“Why not” seems like a typical response when Hutt sees an idea that’s in reach and could bring her neighbors more food or just a dose of fun. The Oliver’s and Friends Seasonal Celebration, which she dreamt up with Miana Hoyt Dawson of Pause and Pivot Farm, offers both.

Now in its third year, Hutt describes this free event as Goshen’s smaller answer to the likes of the Cummington Fair or the Ashfield Fall Festival. On Saturday September 14th from 11am to 4pm, food trucks, face painting, and a vendor lawn with local food and crafts will set up in front of the farm store, complete with live music and children’s activities throughout the day. Proceeds will benefit the Northampton Survival Center’s Hilltown Food Pantry located right next door.

“As a new small business, I can’t afford to give away money,” says Hutt. “But Miana and I can create a space to raise money with this super fun family event. Last year we had over 1,000 people, and this year will be even bigger.”

The value Oliver’s Farm Stand brings to the local economy cannot be overlooked. Their impact on the broader local community, including all the new events, relationships, and opportunities they’ve created, leaves an even bigger mark. That makes Hutt proud.

“Everything I do through Oliver’s is so personal,” she says. “It’s more than just a farm stand.”

Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator for CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture). To learn more about local farms and where to buy or enjoy local food near you, visit buylocalfood.org.