Imagine a world without farmers. You can’t because farming touches every single aspect of our lives. It is the foundation upon which every other industry rests. No food on restaurant tables. No grain in the supply chain. No cotton in our clothing. The United States farms roughly 900 million acres, and American agricultural exports help feed billions around the world. And yet, despite that outsized importance, the people doing this work are facing one of the hardest stretches in decades.

The agricultural sector is under immense strain as systemic shifts ranging from a 50% drop in exports to China following tariff hikes to the cancellation of the USDA Land Access Program—take their toll. This instability, compounded by skyrocketing production costs, dwindling revenues, and volatile weather, has accelerated farm closures. While farming has always been a rigorous profession, today’s producers are facing an unprecedented convergence of challenges from every angle.

That’s why at CWK, we wanted to take a moment to shout out our farming partners. For years, we’ve been working with growers across Massachusetts and beyond to rescue their surplus vegetables – you know, the ugly ones. The tomatoes with a bruise. The butternut squash that didn’t make the cut at the grocery store. As Dave’s Dumaresq, owner of Farmer Dave’s puts it: “Customers today really want perfection. They won’t buy a tomato if it has a slight blemish… We spent money planting, trellising, and harvesting. This puts money back in our pocket.” 

Those vegetables are still delicious, they just need a champion. We take them, transform them into nourishing, scratch-made meals like our Field Fritter and Tomato Fennel Soup, and get them in front of kids in school programs all across the state and beyond. We also offer small-batch, on-demand processing for farms, helping growers turn surplus crops into real revenue and expand what they’re able to offer.There is so much more that can be done — and we’re committed to doing it. Farming isn’t just an industry. It’s the foundation everything else is built on. And it deserves our attention, our support, and our appetite.CLICK HERE to find out more about our farmer partners and how we work with them.

Ways To Support

Ways To Support

• Buy Local and Direct Shop at farmers markets, join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box, or buy directly from farm stands. This keeps more money in the farmer’s pocket by cutting out the middleman.
• Embrace Imperfect Produce Buy the “ugly” fruits and vegetables — the bruised tomato, the oddly shaped squash. Cosmetically imperfect produce is just as nutritious and delicious, and rejecting it contributes to massive farm-level food waste.
• Eat Seasonally Choose foods that are in season locally rather than imported out-of-season produce. It supports regional farmers and reduces the carbon footprint of your food.
• Support Farm-to-School and Food Programs Back organizations and programs like CWK that connect farm surplus to school meals. Donate, volunteer, or simply spread the word.
• Read Labels and Choose American-Grown Look for “Product of USA” labels, especially on staples like grains, beans, and produce. Choosing domestically grown food supports American farm families directly.
• Reduce Food Waste at Home The average American household wastes nearly a third of the food it buys. Planning meals, using leftovers, and composting scraps all reduce the demand pressure that contributes to overproduction and farm instability.
• Advocate for Fair Farm Policy Contact your elected representatives about trade policy, farm bill funding, and support programs that protect small and mid-sized farms. Consumer voices matter in policy debates.
• Support Restaurants That Source Locally Choose restaurants that partner with local farms and highlight where their ingredients come from. Your dining dollars signal demand for local sourcing.
• Donate to Farm Relief Organizations Groups like the Farm Aid, National Young Farmers Coalition, and local food banks that source from farms all benefit from consumer donations.