In response to COVID-19’s impact on Mansfield residents and local farm businesses, the Town of Mansfield aimed to connect asset limited, income constrained, employed (ALICE) households with local farms and CT Grown foods. To accomplish this goal, the Town was awarded a 2020 Farm Viability grant to launch the Mansfield Farms to Families Program (MFFP).

The Town of Guilford has been an agricultural community since 1639 and established Connecticut’s first Agricultural Commission in 2006. The town is home to a number of agricultural businesses; some who have been in operation and well supported by the community for many years, while others are new farmers working to establish themselves in the area.

Massaro Community Farm in Woodbridge was awarded a 2020 Farm Viability Grant to improve the farm’s viability and increase access to CT Grown food by establishing a certified organic flock of laying hens and purchasing equipment for a mobile chicken coop. In the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the farm realized that establishing a laying flock would be a great way to expand their CSA offerings and strengthen the local food supply chain.