Pepperell Planning Board Approves $17,400 for Food Hub Feasibility Study

PEPPERELL — November 1, 2021 — Pepperell Planning Board approves $17,400 to study a food hub and commercial kitchen at the Peter Fitzpatrick School. The board voted unanimously Monday to release the funds to the Agricultural Commission to hire Northbound Ventures consultant Holly Fowler for supply-chain and demand-side analysis to support a proposed satellite of the Worcester Regional Food Hub. Co-chair Cheryl Rosoff, who has worked on the project for two years, told the board the study must be completed before the end of fiscal year 2022 under terms of a parallel Mass Development Collaborative Workspace Grant already awarded to the project. Member Al Padnard backed the expenditure, calling it "certainly not frivolous," while member Chuck pressed Rosoff on who would financially benefit if the Worcester Regional Food Hub ultimately operated the facility. In separate votes, the board found that Maker Farm at 12 Bancroft Street "reasonably met" the conditions of its 2020 recreational day camp and riding academy special permit — 3 to 1 with one abstention — and unanimously recommended interior designer David Ganang to the Select Board for appointment to the board's vacant seat.