Green Fields Market

144 Main St.
Greenfield, MA
(413) 773-9567

www.greenfieldsmarket.coop

Walk into smart and eloquent Green Fields Market on Main Street in Greenfield and you know you're in a store with a mission. Like McCusker's Market in Shelburne Falls, Green Fields Market is affiliated with the Franklin Community Cooperative, and you find the kinds of food there that you'd expect to find in a coop: bulk spices, grains, beans, flours, nuts and seeds; organic produce, including unusual salad greens and heirloom tomatoes; local organic milk and eggs; cheese from as far away as Spain and as close by as Vermont and Colrain. You also find a bakery with such self-indulgent products as eclairs, death-by-chocolate cupcakes, and cakes with designs in fresh fruit, not to mention buttermilk-wheat and a dozen other kinds of bread. But Green Fields Market does much more than just sell; it helps encourage and expand the market for local and organic products in many different ways. "One of the big things we did last year is partner with Enterprise Farm in Whately to distribute directly to us instead of shipping to Boston and then back," says co-general manager John Eichholz. The market also tries to fill its gaps by encouraging farmers to produce items for which there's a demand; for example, locally grown beef and lamb are available but more locally grown chicken is needed, as are more organic potatoes and grains, Eichholz says.