1Berkshire, thanks to a one-time earmark from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is excited to announce the awarding of a $15,000 Immigrant Entrepreneurial Support Grant to Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds. This grant represents the second of two high-impact partner grant awards made by 1Berkshire to help foster the ecosystem and infrastructure needed to help the robust Berkshire immigrant entrepreneur community grow and thrive.
Leveraging a one-time earmark allocated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1Berkshire’s Immigrant Business Support Program launched in early 2025 to provide a variety of financial and technical assistance support to help entrepreneurs and businesses in the region gain improved access to programs that help their businesses improve. This high-impact partner grant awarded to Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds advances this work by helping the organization to overcome a final funding hurdle to fit out a shared commercial kitchen space in its building at 117-133 Fenn Street in Pittsfield. Additionally, this $15,000 aims to help offset some of the $37,000 in Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Fund (CERP) funds cut from their previously awarded CERP grant (a funding resource that has been integral to their work over the past 2 years).
The multi-use spaces of 117-133 Fenn Street have already become a major anchor point of community, support, and entrepreneurship for a diverse array of individuals and small businesses. Fitting out this new shared kitchen space further improves the ability of their space to become the incubator and accelerator of various food businesses, allowing historically distressed populations to bring their dreams to fruition. As a worker-owned cooperative, their operations are a testament to the power that comes with people joining forces for a collective good. With 73 enrolled participants in their cooperative development program, including seven developing cooperatives, they have fostered a growing culture of employee ownership and equity building in the region.
Michael Hitchcock of Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds notes, “As a more radical, grassroots organization, it can be difficult for us to find funding from partners or collaborators who respect our autonomy and vision. We’re very grateful to the 1Berkshire team, who spent so much time understanding our approach and our plans before suggesting a mutually beneficial way to collaborate on reopening this kitchen; a project that will benefit both the individuals who work there and the economic development of Pittsfield in general.”
Benjamin Lamb, 1Berkshire Vice President of Economic Development stated “We are so thankful that we could work with the incredible team at Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds to put these resources toward good work that will have a long-term impact on our diverse entrepreneurial community. Having these one-time funds available and matching them with a partner doing deep and meaningful work is exactly the type of connective-tissue building we love to support.”
To learn more about Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds, become a member, and find ways to support their critical work, visit rootsandmustardseeds.com
About Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds
Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds Inc.’s mission is to increase working-class ownership and control of the land, natural resources, government, economy, and culture. They believe that economic participation and ownership is key to the empowerment of our most vulnerable community members. This type of participatory cooperative model aspires to true equity and justice, where everyone has a voice in their work, housing, local, state, and national government and can easily access basic needs that extends to social, educational and artistic endeavors. For more information, visit https://www.
About 1Berkshire
1Berkshire is a county-wide marketing and economic development organization that works to simultaneously preserve, position, and promote Berkshire County’s profound sense of place. Its mission is to advance Berkshire County’s economy by advocating for the business community and attracting visitors. Powered by membership, 1Berkshire provides programs that connect businesses with resources and potential customers, as well as develop future leaders and support entrepreneurs. For more information, visit 1Berkshire.com.