Otto's Farm Stand Donates $470 to Local Charities, Public Media

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Otto and Bea donated $182 to the Berkshire Food Project and to Louison House; the balance of the $470 in donations was split between WAMC and PBS.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Otto's Farm Stand, a farm stand owned and operated by 8-year-old Otto Lamb and his 4-year-old sister Bea, has donated 50 percent of their sales from the 2025 season to two local organizations.
 
The $470 in donations were made to Berkshire Food Project and Louison House and two regional public media outlets, National Public Radio station WAMC and New England Public Media/PBS.
 
The micro-enterprise farm stand has been in operation since 2022. It offers home-grown produce, flowers, and periodic kid-made crafts for purchase. 
 
Operating on an honor system of "pay what you can, but take what you need," Otto launched the stand because of a desire to provide food for people who need it. As part of its model, Otto's Farm Stand commits to donating half of its annual sales to a charitable cause of Otto and Bea's choosing each year. To date, they have donated more than $1,100 to local causes, including Williamstown Community Preschool, the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, and Berkshire Agriculture Ventures. 
 
This year, Otto and Bea decided they wanted to give their proceeds to two organizations that help people who need food and housing, and also held a two-day lemonade stand specifically to raise money for WAMC and the Public Broadcasting Service in light of federal budget cuts. 
 
This set of donations would not have been possible without the steadfast patronage and support of an amazing community, who purchase produce and flowers from the stand, said their father, Benjamin Lamb, a case study in that a good deed of supporting local small businesses can have a ripple effect across a broader community. 

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Clarksburg Students Write in Support of Rural School Aid

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Mason Langenback calculated that Clarksburg would get almost $1 million if the $60 million was allocated equally.
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Eighth-graders at Clarksburg School took a lesson in civic advocacy this week, researching school funding and writing letters to Beacon Hill that call for fully funding rural school aid. 
 
The students focused on the hardships for small rural schools and their importance to the community — that they struggle with limited funding and teacher shortages, but offer safe and supportive spaces for learning and are a hub for community connections.
 
"They all address the main issue, the funding for rural schools, and how there's a gap, and there's the $4 million gap this year, and then it's about the $40 million next year, and that rural schools need that equitable funding," said social studies teacher Mark Karhan.
 
A rural schools report in 2022 found smaller school districts cost from nearly 17 percent to 23 percent more to operate, and recommended "at least" $60 million be appropriated annually for rural school aid. 
 
Gov. Maura Healey has filed for more Chapter 70 school aid, but that often is little help to small rural schools with declining or static enrollment. For fiscal 2027, she's budgeted $20 million for rural schools, up from around $13 million this year but still far below the hoped for $60 million. 
 
Karhan said the class was broken into four groups and the students were provided a submission letter from Rural Schools Advocacy. The students used the first paragraph, which laid out the funding facts, and then did research and wrote their own letters. 
 
They will submit those with a school picture to the governor. 
 
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