App locates where to buy farm fresh eggs in Franklin, Hampshire counties

Maple Hill Homestead on Greenfield Road in Montague sells fresh eggs produced on the property.

Maple Hill Homestead on Greenfield Road in Montague sells fresh eggs produced on the property. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

Hillside Farm’s stand on Hillside Road in Deerfield sells eggs and other products such as dairy and beef.

Hillside Farm’s stand on Hillside Road in Deerfield sells eggs and other products such as dairy and beef. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

Maple Hill Homestead on Greenfield Road in Montague sells fresh eggs produced on the property.

Maple Hill Homestead on Greenfield Road in Montague sells fresh eggs produced on the property. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

Egglister maps out farm stands across Franklin and Hampshire counties where customers can find fresh eggs.

Egglister maps out farm stands across Franklin and Hampshire counties where customers can find fresh eggs. Egglister

The resident chickens at Maple Hill Homestead on Greenfield Road in Montague.

The resident chickens at Maple Hill Homestead on Greenfield Road in Montague. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

Hillside Farm’s stand on Hillside Road in Deerfield sells eggs as well as other products such as dairy and beef.

Hillside Farm’s stand on Hillside Road in Deerfield sells eggs as well as other products such as dairy and beef. STAFF PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

By MADISON SCHOFIELD

Staff Writer

Published: 11-14-2024 5:00 PM

Wondering where you can find farm fresh eggs near you? If so, you may find just what you’re looking for on Egglister, a new web app with a map of farm stands in Franklin and Hampshire counties that are selling fresh eggs.

The tool comes from data analyst Mitch Graves, who wanted to find out where he could buy fresh eggs near his Easthampton home.

“I had this idea a couple of years ago as something that would be useful for people that like the idea of getting food from farms, but it can be hard to know where to go,” Graves said.

Graves said he had been thinking about mapping out the various farm stands for years, but only recently was able to take some time off work to figure out how to code and develop the app. He posted to Facebook asking community members to share the farm stand locations they knew about and he developed a map through Streamlit, a Python-based coding tool with a variety of simple pre-built widgets and app templates.

Graves’ app, Egglister, launched on Oct. 6 with a map and a submission form so more farm stands can be added over time. A month later, the map now features more than 50 farm stand locations across Franklin and Hampshire counties, and is still growing.

Graves said he hopes to grow his crowdsourced map to include even more farm stands across a broader territory.

“I’m looking to expand beyond the Pioneer Valley,” Graves said. “Hopefully I can add locations across all of Massachusetts, and eventually all of New England, hopefully.”

He added that in addition to eggs, he hopes to map other farm stand offerings like maple syrup, honey, meats and flowers, but he said that would likely be a project for next spring or summer.

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In the meantime, Graves will keep adding eggs stands to the map and keep connecting people with farm fresh eggs. He said he’s received numerous comments from users who have enjoyed being able to easily see where the closest eggs are to them. At least 400 users have checked out the app.

Chicken farmers, too, say they love the idea behind Egglister.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea to connect the community and show them where they can find fresh food,” said Tarah Rudd of Montague. “It can be difficult to find things outside of the grocery store. There’s a huge market for people who want to get their food locally.”

“Anything that connects people to the area and fresh local food is great,” added Kelly Kicza of Hillside Farm in Deerfield. “Everybody’s so into online shopping these days, if we can get people driving around and shopping locally, it’s great.”

Rudd said she didn’t add her own stand on Greenfield Road to the map — rather, it was added by someone else — so she was surprised when she heard about the app. She is thankful to whoever did so.

“I’m happy to be included in something so cool and reach people beyond just who drives by our street,” Rudd said.

Whether it is because there have been more shoppers due to the app or her chickens just haven’t produced as many eggs due to dropping temperatures and shortening days, she is not sure, but “we can’t keep our egg stand full,” Rudd said.

Laurie Cuevas of Thomas Farm & Dairy in Sunderland said she also was unaware of Egglister and that a regular shopper must have added her Hadley Road farm stand to the map.

She added that the stand has been especially busy over the past few weeks, which is impressive as the farm is not on a main road and can be difficult to find.

“We’re not on the beaten path and you probably wouldn’t just stumble upon the stand,” Cuevas said. “I think this is a great idea. There’s no shortage of farm stands in the area. You might have to go searching for them, but there’s a lot of great farms.”

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.