Inside the historic Printers Building in downtown Worcester, hundreds of edible mushrooms are proliferating in a former storage room.
Oyster, shiitake and lion’s mane species grow out of sawdust “fruiting” blocks under humidity tents, soon to make their way to people’s plates.
Betting big on the urban mushroom enterprise is the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts. The project, which has received thousands in grant money, aims to combat food insecurity while providing a source of income for the Worcester-based nonprofit that serves Laotian, Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants and refugees.
Tuyet Tran, the organization’s executive director, is a Vietnam refugee herself. In their native country, her mother was a farmer.
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Read more: A Mass chef’s devotion to mushroom foraging
“I’ve always loved growing things, growing vegetables,” Tran said. “We consider food, especially herbs, as medicine. It comes naturally to us. The idea for the mushrooms really expanded from that notion.”
The coalition’s venture was among two mushroom-centric projects selected in a recent round of grant funding from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. The other is at East Boston’s Eastie Farm, an urban agriculture nonprofit working in food security and climate justice.
A volunteer handles comb tooth mushrooms at Eastie Farm.Courtesy
In both cases, the community organizations wanted to bolster their food offerings to the populations they serve, while also turning a profit by selling the rest to local restaurants and farmers markets.
“There is a lot of interest in mushrooms,” said Kannan Thiruvengadam, Eastie Farm’s director. “They’ve always been of interest to people who do foraging and permaculture because it naturally grows in forests, as long as you know what to harvest and how to harvest it.”
Not all mushrooms are edible, and some are actually poisonous. Others are the psychedelic kind that Massachusetts voters rejected on the November 2024 ballot.
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A joke among mushrooms foragers, Thiruvengadam laughed, is that “you can taste any mushroom once.”
‘I want it to grow into a social enterprise’
The fungi-growing catalyst for both Eastie Farm and the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts was the same: the COVID pandemic made them want to boost food security efforts in the face of deep social and health inequities laid bare.
In Worcester, Tran said food is an incredibly important part of their mission, particularly because of the prominence of refugee and homeless populations.
They were already well-connected with local farms and seasonal produce, but the organization wanted to provide a self-sustaining, year round offering. Tran herself had been learning about edible mushrooms at home during the pandemic.
“We wanted to grow mushrooms because it’s part of the diet of Asian folks,” she said.
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Mushrooms grow out of a sawdust block at the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts in downtown Worcester.Courtesy
The coalition’s website tells visitors, “No, we’re not turning people into zombies and, no, we’re not dabbling in the psychedelic arts. What we’re doing is far more magical: growing nutrient-packed mushrooms to nourish our communities and fight food insecurity.”
Mushrooms are said to have powerful health benefits, including anti-cancer and immune-boosting properties. And because of their ultraviolet light exposure, whether it be sunlight or indoor light, they’re a good source of Vitamin D.
Different mushrooms are known for different benefits. Lion’s mane, for example, is touted for brain health, while reishi is known for anti-stress and relaxation effects.
The endeavor started with a $120,000 grant from the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, outfitting an old storage room with water, lights, shelving and growing equipment inside the Portland Street building that houses the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts.
Between September and December, they harvested more than 800 pounds of mushrooms. Tran said it’s been quite a learning process, but a welcome — and fun — one.
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“I had no idea how hard it was to grow mushrooms,” she said. “You really have to control the environment. The humidity, the temperature, the water misting.”
The Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts is growing mushrooms inside a downtown Worcester building.Courtesy
The mushrooms, which are grown organically, are distributed to families, shelters, senior centers and temples. The goal is to also sell them to local restaurants and farmers markets to make a small profit for the organization.
“We want to be able to sell some, to make some money back, to pay the water and electricity bill,” Tran said. “We can grow a lot. It’s all part of the plan. You start small and move up to higher volume. I want it to grow into a social enterprise.”
Tran hopes a workforce development opportunity will come from it, especially if they get a commercial kitchen for high-volume processing and mushroom drying.
‘Food, farming and education’
At Eastie Farm, $40,000 from the Department of Agricultural Resources will support a build-out of a mushroom production center. It certainly helps that two top staff members are “super excited about mushrooms,” Thiruvengadam said.
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Eastie Farm has sites around East Boston where they invite neighbors to grow food together, pick up produce boxes and learn more about the natural environment.
East Boston has the highest percentage of immigrants of any Boston neighborhood. And it’s also one of the most vulnerable communities in the state in terms of pollution and climate change impacts.
Mushrooms pictured at Eastie Farm in East Boston.Courtesy
In 2022, Eastie Farm debuted a zero-emissions, geothermal greenhouse, thought to be the first of its kind in Massachusetts. Climate resilience is at the core of the organization’s mission, Thiruvengadam said.
“What we’re trying to do here is empower ourselves so we can not only prepare for what is to come, but also address the needs of our people today,” he said. “Food, farming and education.”
During COVID, Eastie Farm rented kitchens that were closed and served more than 5,000 hot meals every week at the height of the pandemic.
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The nutrient-rich mushrooms will be a piece of the farm’s ongoing food security efforts. They’ll be used in meals and CSA boxes, and likely make their way to restaurants at market-rate price.
“Most of what we do really comes from what we hear in the community and what the youth express to us as interest,” Thiruvengadam said. “The mushroom farm will be a space for young people to learn how things work and what does nature grow. How to process safely, how to cook and consume, how to do new things.”
When the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) denied voters the ability to support a popular tax cut this November, it was more than a temporary loss for residents of one of America’s most overtaxed states. Barely a generation removed from its “Taxachusetts” moniker, the Commonwealth’s competitiveness suffered a setback with long-lasting implications.
That is why even if this battle is over, the broader fight must go on.
Recent polling from the Mass Opportunity Alliance (MOA), a nonprofit advocating for state competitiveness, found that 82% of voters supported lowering the state income tax rate from 5% to 4%. Even a poll from the Boston Globe/Suffolk University released days before the SJC decision showed 66% supporting the tax cut.
Terrified by the threat to the status quo, entrenched special interests spearheaded a legal challenge not based on the merits of the tax cut or fiscal policy whatsoever. The issue was a technicality in summary of the question written by the Attorney General. As a retired SJC justice explained, “neither logic nor law” supported removing the tax cut from the ballot.
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The Court’s ruling does not change the underlying issue. The same Suffolk survey showed a majority (54%) of respondents had considered leaving the state in the last year. Nearly six in ten cited taxes and high cost of living.
This trend is well underway. Following the Commonwealth’s last tax hike in 2022, roughly 30,000 more people exited Massachusetts than arrived the following year — one of the country’s highest population exoduses. The outflow took $4.2 billion dollars’ worth of taxable income with them.
It’s no mystery as to why we’re losing residents. Survey research from MOA showed high taxes were a key driver. Not coincidentally, the top two states welcoming Massachusetts expatriates, Florida and New Hampshire, both have no income tax.
By contrast, Massachusetts has the second highest effective tax rate in the country. The Commonwealth is ranked in the bottom 10 for competitiveness.
The impact of this tax burden extends far and wide. Businesses are choosing to leave or relocate elsewhere. Iconic brands like Cape Cod Potato Chips have had enough, announcing the closing of their Hyannis facility earlier this year. Even international soccer players are not safe, learning that 90 minutes of participation in this year’s World Cup can subject them to crushing Beacon Hill tax policies.
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Massachusetts is not alone in the blue state exodus. Frustrated by high taxes, endless regulation and overall unaffordability, families and businesses are fleeing California, Illinois and New York for friendlier terrain.
What are the consequences of fewer residents? For starters, less people to tax. Smaller tax bases means less resources for schools, roads and public safety – investments that tax hike advocates typically claim to care about.
Smaller populations also mean less national influence. In 2010, the congressional delegation shrank from 10 to 9 members, and only narrowly avoided losing another member in 2020. It’s anyone’s guess what the end of this decade will bring, but current trends are not encouraging.
So what’s next?
Fortunately, a second common sense tax proposal remains on track for the ballot this fall. By reforming the state tax revenue limit, the initiative would put the brakes on spendthrift politicians and return money to the taxpayers who earned it.
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To be clear, the court’s ruling does not excuse the role of the legislators. Their constituents were denied the right to make their voices heard. As their elected representatives, members of the Massachusetts legislature should be fighting for families struggling with high taxes and some of the highest costs in the nation.
“Affordability” cannot just be a political buzz word; it must be a governing principle.
Two hundred fifty years ago, Massachusetts started a revolution against an oppressive government that led to the founding of our nation. That spirit lives on today, and so does the need for change. That starts by continuing the fight for common sense tax relief by every available avenue to keep the Commonwealth competitive for the next 250 years and beyond.
Colin Reed is a senior advisor to the Mass Opportunity Alliance
BOSTON (WHDH) – Just over one week after Massachusetts lawmakers announced a new, statewide initiative to combat wrong-way driving and improve roadway safety, law enforcement responded to another deadly wrong-way crash in Northboro Wednesday night.
With all of the recent tragedies, including the death of Massachusetts State Police trooper Kevin Trainor in Lynnfield last month, officials said they have pinpointed 100 locations to put on the priority list to make important safety changes as quickly as possible.
The $75-million detection and prevention program includes advanced detection technology, enhanced roadway signage, infrastructure improvements, and targeted safety upgrades across Massachusetts.
“They’ve been demonstrated to work in other places where they’ve been implemented, and even in Massachusetts the ones that are already in place, there is plenty of documented evidence showing people realizing they’re going the wrong way when those systems are activated,” said Mark Schieldrop of Triple A.
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In Barnstable, those changes have already been implemented along Route 6. State Representative Steven Xiarhos said the area can be tricky to navigate.
“Lots of moving parts, a college right down the road, and someone could make the wrong move when they’re confused, and that’s one of those interactions that could be confusing,” Xiarhos said.
Schieldrop said there are many reasons for wrong-way driving, but one stands out above the rest.
“When we look at the typical wrong-way driver who’s causing these crashes, by and large alcohol impairment is a factor in the vast majority of them,” Schieldrop said.
Xiarhos said the prorgam is worth every penny if it will save lives.
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“It’s frustrating when a horrible thing happens, you can’t turn back the clock,” he said. “So as an elected offical now, as a former police officer, let’s do everything we can to prevent this.”
The safety installations around the state will continue into 2027.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Gas prices dipped below $4 a gallon in Massachusetts Thursday for the first time in exactly two months.
According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular gas in Massachusetts is now $3.99, down from $4.02 on Wednesday.
That’s the first time the average fell below the $4 mark since April 25.
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The national average on Thursday was $3.92 a gallon, AAA said. That average was above $4 for nearly three months before it fell to $3.99 a week ago on June 18.
Gas prices rose sharply after the war between the U.S. and Iran started on February 28.
A spokesperson for GasBuddy, which also tracks fuel price data, said the national average has been dropping for six weeks as the “recent U.S.-Iran framework agreement has helped ease supply fears.”
The company said the national average should keep falling to $3.75 by July 4.
“Six weeks of declines sounds like good news, and in some ways it is, but the context matters,” Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy, said in a statement Thursday.
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“At roughly $3.75, this would be the second most expensive July 4 ever recorded, roughly 65 cents higher than last year and nearly $1 above where prices started in 2026. The U.S.-Iran agreement gives markets hope, but it’s being tested, and any breakdown in those talks could reverse the recent relief quickly. Drivers should use every tool available to find the lowest prices near them before filling up.”
A year ago at this time, the average price for a gallon of gas in Massachusetts was $3.10, according to AAA.
The all-time high in the state is $5.05 a gallon, set back in June 2022.
