How We Did This: Maggie's Produce Fairy Collective, a Campaign for Chelsea

Photos by Maggie Battista

We first heard about Maggie’s Produce Fairy Collective through our Instagram feed. Scrolling through the umpteen shots of quarantine sourdough and front porch portraits, the homeschooling and front-line meal delivering, the farmers in their fields promising fresh local veggies just as soon as the weather warms up a bit—we couldn’t help but notice a lovely shot of our friend, Eat Boutique’s Maggie Battista, standing in a field of cherry tomato plants, clearly from another time, with the caption: “SO MUCH BIG NEWS.”

Turns out, the week before, Maggie had hand delivered 16 boxes of much-needed produce and dry goods to an apartment complex in Chelsea, the city in Massachusetts hardest hit by Covid-19. Tiny Chelsea, smallest city in the Commonwealth but second only to Somerville in density, is home to 40,000 people, the vast majority of whom are Latinx working in the service industry and disproportionately affected by the virus, both through widespread unemployment and infection.

Seeing a city in need, Maggie got to work and partnered with a local produce company and a nonprofit neighborhood empowerment initiative to assist in her mission: bringing fresh food to the people who need it most. She tapped into her own network to arrange donations, raised thousands of dollars and turned those initial 16 boxes into 100 the following week. The program continues to grow.

We asked Maggie to tell us how she did it—how she built this from an idea to a regular, weekly delivery, helping hundreds of people access the nutritious food they need so badly. Here is what she said:

“The Produce Fairy Collective started with one produce box: a big box of beautiful vegetables, greens and fresh fruit that costs just $25 but contains about $60 worth of produce. Two weeks ago, I purchased a box from Katsiroubas Brothers and took it to a friend who lives in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

The following week, thanks to contributions from friends and family, I took 16 more produce boxes to my friend's apartment building in Chelsea. That delivery was very humbling, as residents said they couldn’t remember the last time they had enjoyed fresh fruit or vegetables. Many Chelsea residents work in the food and service industries (restaurants, cafes, hotels, retail) and, due to this pandemic, are now out of work. 

Why Chelsea, Massachusetts? With a 2.2-square mile area, the small, densely populated city is suffering through the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A majority of Chelsea's population identifies as Latinx. Since many are undocumented, they do not have access to unemployment, health insurance or health care and government-funded relief programs. One of the poorest cities in the region, they were the last to prepare for the pandemic and without proper care, they were the first to succumb to the disease en masse. 

Because they’re out of work, they do not have money for food and are gathering at the food pantries throughout the city. I've witnessed lines of 1,000+ people waiting to get food for their families. Hoping I could do more for Chelsea, I put out the call for donations on my personal Instagram and Facebook accounts. Within just a few days, I received hundreds of donations ($16,000+ to date). It was with that round of donations that we got the nickname, the “Produce Fairy Collective,” and I decided to launch a GoFundMe page to streamline the donating process.

In tandem, I aligned with the Chelsea Collaborative, a group that empowers Chelsea residents to enhance the social and economic health of the community. They operate a large food pantry out of their offices at 318 Broadway on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as a pantry at St Luke's Church at 201 Washington Avenue on Saturdays. They also hand-deliver food and supplies to hundreds of Covid-19 patients in Chelsea. I am using all donations from this fund to provide produce boxes and other necessary food items each week to their pantries and deliveries. 

I get all this beautiful produce from family-owned Katsiroubas Brothers, a wholesale fruit, produce and specialty food company in Boston that's been operating for more than 100 years. They typically supply high-quality produce to Boston's restaurants and are now providing produce to residential consumers, too. Torry Katsiroubas-Stamm, fourth-generation owner and CFO who runs the company with her brother, Ted, has been an outstanding partner. 

Last week, we delivered 100 produce boxes to the Chelsea Collaborative food pantry. This week, we’re delivering nearly 300. I visit the facility each week and we all touch base to edit the boxes, ensuring they contain what residents say they need the most: fresh produce, grains and beans. 

It was not my intention to start a non-profit or become a produce fairy. But I believe we cannot leave these individuals behind to suffer through this pandemic alone. They have fed us in Boston's restaurants, bars and cafes; they have provided service in hotels and retail businesses; and they need our help now, more than ever.

If you’d like to make a $25 donation (or more) to supply a box of produce to a family in need, please make contributions through the GoFundMe page. I promise it will be spent wisely on fresh produce and food. Thank you so much for your generosity.” 

MAGGIE BATTISTA is a start-up entrepreneur, cookbook author and hospitality consultant who’s worked with brands like TripAdvisor, Haven in Paris, Food52 and The Kitchn. She’s a business guide and alignment seeker, helping to create values-based businesses in service, food and retail through her site, eatboutique.studio. She also a founder and co-host of the Made Fresh Podcast.