The Rural We: Margaret Moulton
Meet the new executive director of Berkshire Grown.
In September, Margaret Moulton took over the executive director position at Berkshire Grown after Barbara Zheutlin left to pursue other interests. Moulton, who lives in Great Barrington, joins Berkshire Grown after serving as an engagement site manager for The Trustees of Reservations in its Stockbridge office. Born and raised in California, she and her husband moved to Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, where they raised their two children. When the youngest was almost ready to leave the nest, they started talking about “maybe not living in the suburbs the rest of our life,” she explains.
Friends in Columbia County suggested we come up here, and we looked around the area for two years. While we were doing that, I applied for a couple of jobs, and got the job at The Trustees of Reservations, planning programs for the different communities in the southern Berkshires. It was a great way to get to know the Berkshires.
I used to be a photojournalist, and my first job after grad school was in museum education at a photography museum. From there I went to the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, New York, and then the Katonah Museum of Art, doing public programs for both, as I was at The Trustees, which has been good preparation for my current position.
Berkshire Grown has been doing an amazing job encouraging people to buy from local farms. We produce the winter farmers markets, the local guide to farms and food, and Share the Bounty, where we donate CSA shares to pantries or back to farmers. My immediate plan is to get a handle on doing it all!
I’m super interested in what we do for farmers. We put money in the pockets of farmers, and also put on a series of farmer networking events. They’re very low key. We hold them at a farm, and a farmer talks about a particular topic. Some of the farmers have been around for decades, and many are brand new. It’s exciting for me to offers farmers the opportunity to get together and talk about issues that are important to them.
Besides the holiday markets in November and December in Great Barrington and Williamstown, we are going to be expanding the indoor markets, extending their season into April in Great Barrington. I hope to keep people connected to the whole idea of getting fresh fruits and vegetables locally all through the year. That’s one of the things I love about this job — that I’m instrumental in making that happen.
My husband and I love checking out farmers markets. Since the Great Barrington market has closed for the season, last weekend my husband and I went to one in Copake. We love hiking and walking with our dogs. We’re still exploring the area.
