Seafood Donations
The Small Boats, Big Taste Program was launched in 2020 as a response to the fishing and food security challenges exacerbated by COVID-19, with two goals:
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Help small-boat, independent fishermen stay on the water, providing a fair and transparent price
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Supply regional food banks with a nutritious, delicious seafood meal for the growing number of food insecure people
This program grew out of the Fish for Families collaboration with The Family Pantry of Cape Cod: since 2013 we annually distribute several thousand pounds of locally-caught seafood to families in need across Cape Cod, providing nutritionally superior seafood to those least able to afford it, supporting local fishermen, and promoting less popular fish species.
Since summer of 2020, the Small Boats, Big Taste Program has produced more than 1.3 million servings of chowder and donated it to the region’s food banks. We guarantee fishermen a fair price for landing the fish, ensuring a steady buyer and keeping independent fishermen at work.
The fish is harvested by New England small-boat fishermen, processed by New Bedford companies, made into stew and chowder in Lowell, MA, then shipped to regional food banks, institutions, and retail outlets.
Now we’re launching retail and wholesale lines whose profits will continue funding the program.
Provençal Fish Stew and Haddock Chowder is now available to the public!
$ 10 per 18 oz. container
$ 60 per 8 lb. food service bag
Your purchase allows us to continue providing local seafood to local and regional food banks.
Available for pick up at the Fishermen’s Alliance Monday & Thursday, 9am – 3pm.
Pre-order to ensure availability. Bring your cooler – it’s frozen!
Product List:
- A traditional New England Haddock Chowder: Smaller haddock are plentiful in our waters. Though their small filets do not command a strong market price, they are perfect for our traditional New England haddock chowder.
- A unique Provençal Fish Stew, made with skate and hearty vegetables in a tomato-based, dairy-free, gluten-free broth: Skate are sustainable, delicious, and one of the primary targets of the Chatham fleet. But skate are mostly exported, subjecting fishermen to buyer restrictions and the whims of foreign markets. Finally, this local fish is made accessible in this delicious stew.
Small Boats, Big Taste frozen products are also available for wholesale purchase, in 18 oz. containers or 8 pound food service bags. Contact Seth to arrange purchase details.
Revenue from these sales help make the program self-funding, allowing continued chowder donations to food banks for years to come. In the meantime, donations continue to make a huge impact!
We hope to expand the program to other kinds of value-added products, based on the needs of local fishermen, and seasonal availability of fish and shellfish.
Follow #smallboatsbigtaste for the latest updates.
Chowder and Stew has been donated to the following partner organizations: The Family Pantry of Cape Cod, The Greater Boston Food Bank, Merrimack Valley Food Bank, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Worcester County Food Bank, New Hampshire Food Bank, Vermont Foodbank, Good Shepherd Food Bank, Connecticut Food Bank, Food Bank of Delaware, and Capital Area Food Bank. Chowder is also distributed locally through Family Table Collaborative, Cape & Islands Veterans Outreach Center, Barnstable Council on Aging, St. David’s Episcopal Church, First Lutheran Church-West Barnstable, Kitchen 246, Community Table, Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod, Helping Our Women, Canaan 7th Day Church, and Truro Community Kitchen.
“It’s crazy that the vast majority of what we catch is exported over seas and the majority of seafood we consume is imported. These days it’s more important than ever to take advantage of locally harvested fish. It’s just better for everyone.”
Captain Greg Connors, F/V Constance Sea
It takes a village and we could not have done it without our partners:
This program is made possible by funding from:
- Catch Together
- MIT Sea Grant Program
- Cape Cod Healthcare Community Benefits Program
- Sailors’ Snug Harbor of Boston
- Massachusetts EEA Food Security Infrastructure Grant Program
- Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program
- Individual donors
- Wholesale profits
