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Massachusetts
20 of the best ice cream stands in Massachusetts – The Boston Globe
Hornstra Dairy Farm
Dairy bar hours: Daily noon-8 p.m., April through mid-October.
Scoop prices: $4.75-$7
What to know: The Hornstra family has been in the dairy business on the South Shore for more than 100 years. They immigrated to the US from Holland in 1912 and began farming in Hingham a few years later. The family sold much of its land there in the ‘80s, with fourth-generation operator John Hornstra taking over the milk distribution business. In 2009, he bought the Norwell property and now has a herd of about 150 cows; the farm delivers milk in glass bottles to homes around the South Shore. The dairy bar and farm store opened in 2014. The small-batch ice cream here is custardy and high in butterfat, made from the farm’s own milk and cream.
Flavors: There is a rotation of 40 to 50 flavors, with seasonal favorites like peach, apple, and peppermint stick rolling through at appropriate times. There is also an ice cream club, with unique members-only flavors. Customer favorites include coffee Oreo and Cow Tracks (vanilla with a chocolate swirl and peanut butter cups). But the truest yardstick of ice cream excellence might be the simplest: straight-up vanilla.
246 Prospect St., Norwell, 781-749-1222, www.hornstrafarms.com
Peaceful Meadows Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Daily 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Scoop prices: $4.75-$6.85
What to know: August is your last chance to visit the classic New England dairy bar in Whitman, a staple of many childhoods. After more than 60 years, the business and surrounding acreage are selling at auction at the end of the month. A second Peaceful Meadows will continue to operate in Plymouth.
Flavors: A classic roster includes black raspberry, frozen pudding, fudge walnut, orange pineapple, and Peppermint Patty. There are also sundaes, frappes, raspberry lime rickeys, and more.
60 Bedford St., Whitman, 781-447-3889
Crescent Ridge
Dairy bar hours: Mon-Fri noon-10 p.m., Sat-Sun 11 a.m.-10 p.m. during the summer. (It closes earlier during the fall, as well as the winter when business tends to move indoors.)
Scoop prices: $4.95-$8.95
What to know: Crescent Ridge Dairy has been run by the Parrish family since 1932. Today, it delivers milk in glass bottles and more to homes all over the state. The dairy bar opened in 1968, and although the ice cream is no longer made on-site due to volume, it is still crafted with the same family recipes. For residents of Sharon and surrounding towns, this is where to gather with family, celebrate Little League wins, and check out some cows. There’s now also a location in the Boston Public Market.
Flavors: There are about 50, including frozen yogurt and sorbet. The Cherry Ridge Ripple — cherry ice cream with Bing cherry halves and fudge ripple — won first place at the World Dairy Expo in 2021. Other big hits: coffee Oreo and Black Bear (raspberry ice cream with chocolate chips and chocolate-covered raspberry truffles).
407 Bay Road, Sharon, 781-784-2740, www.crescentridgedairybar.com
Black Cow Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Open mid-April to mid- or late September. Daily noon-9 p.m. in the summer, 3-9 p.m. in spring and fall.
Scoop prices: $4-$6
What to know: A relative new kid on the block, Black Cow has been open a mere 26 years. Walter Walsh started it in 1997, and daughter Charlotte runs it today. Made in small batches daily from Vermont cream, the ice cream is 16 percent butterfat, extra-creamy with little air whipped in. Black Cow also makes its own fudge.
Flavors: There are more than 200 in the rotation, which changes all the time. You can also suggest your own. Mocha molasses, maple chip, cinnamon toast crunch, and coffee cookie dough have all been featured recently — along with dill pickle. Would you like hot fudge with that?
1397 Main St., Millis, 508-376-4884, www.blackcowicecream.com
Gibby’s Famous Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Daily noon-9 p.m., April through September.
Scoop prices: $2.50-$6.50 (cash only)
What to know: Served out of a barnlike red building, Gibby’s Famous Ice Cream is the frozen offspring of Gibson’s Dairy Farm, a family business that has been around since 1923 and still offers home delivery. Gibby’s launched about 45 years ago.
Flavors: The homemade ice cream comes in around 70 flavors both classic and newer-fangled, from Heavenly Hash to rum raisin to Campfire S’mores to green tea. You can also get Wizards (not to be confused with Blizzards) — soft-serve with your favorite candy mixed in. Gibby’s is particularly known for its huge banana splits and sundaes made with fresh fruit such as strawberries and pineapple.
42 Sunderland Road, Worcester, 508-753-1095
Uhlman’s Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m., March to October. (May close at 8 p.m. in spring and fall, so call before heading over.)
Scoop prices: $4-$7
What to know: Pronounced “Yul-mens,” this Westborough ice cream stand has been around since 1967, when it started as a farmstand. Clocking in at 14 percent butterfat, the ice cream is made with milk from New England farms.
Flavors: All of the standards, with additions like Cookie Monster (a blue-hued vanilla with Toll House cookies mixed in), strawberry cheesecake, salty caramel truffle, and the seasonal pumpkin Oreo. Those with food allergies will find online allergen information for each flavor.
234 East Main St., Westborough, 508-366-2411, www.uhlmansicecream.com
Rota Spring Farm
Dairy bar hours: Daily 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. March-April, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. May-August, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. September, 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. October.
Scoop prices: $4.90-$6.85
What to know: This third-generation dairy farm was founded in 1911 by Italian immigrants, Giovanni and Marcella Rota. Today it’s run by grandson David. Everyone comes to enjoy the ice cream and bucolic setting, with goats to feed and picnic tables overlooking the fields. Women in African dress dig into sundaes, groups of Spanish speakers socialize over cones, kids play badminton in the grass, and bikers zip past the cars crawling out of the lot. There’s also a store that sells seasonal vegetables, the farm’s own grass-fed beef, and more.
Flavors: There are more than 40. It’s hard to resist names — and combinations — like Java Lava (coffee with chocolate-covered toffee pieces), Cowabunga Crunch (vanilla with chocolate chips, caramel swirl, pecans, and sugar cookies), and Rubies and Onyx (cherry ice cream with chocolate and white chocolate chips).
117 Chace Hill Road, Sterling, 978-365-9710, www.rotaspringfarm.com
Erikson’s Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Opens in April, closes in late September when the ice cream runs out. Daily noon-9 p.m. spring and end of summer, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. peak summer (9 p.m. starting mid-August). Tue-Sun noon-8 p.m. after Labor Day. Weather can also affect the hours, so if you’re going early, late, or in the rain, call first.
Scoop prices: $5.75-$7.25
What to know: Erikson’s Dairy started in Stow in 1901. Founder Hans Erikson Sr. sold the business to his son when he retired, and Hans Jr. moved the operation to Maynard in 1937. That’s when he founded the ice cream stand. Now in its 86th year, the stand is run by the fourth generation of the family.
Flavors: Oreos are everywhere! They sweeten up black raspberry, chocolate mint, coffee, and peanut butter backgrounds. But there’s plenty here for the purist, too: butter pecan, cherry vanilla, wintergreen chip, and so on.
12 Great Road, Maynard, 978-897-7622, www.eriksonsicecream.com
Cedar Hill Dairy Joy
Dairy bar hours: Open daily April to October (weather dependent). 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. in April, 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. after that.
Scoop prices: $4.95-$8.85 (cash only)
What to know: Opened in 1961, this classic roadside stand is in its 62d season. Dairy Joy serves fried clams and lobster rolls, burgers and onion rings, but the soft-serve is the star attraction. (Last season, the business added dairy-free options.) You’ll find a few picnic tables, zero bathrooms, and an ATM so you can get all the cash you’ll need.
Flavors: Single-flavor soft-serve people are weird. Come on, baby, let’s do the twist. There’s the classic marble twist, with chocolate and vanilla, or the sunshiny orange-vanilla Creamsicle. But the clear winner is javaberry, coffee and raspberry twisted together. Sounds strange; tastes perfect.
331 North Ave., Weston, 781-894-2600
Pizzi Farm
Dairy bar hours: Daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m. April 1 to Columbus Day. (Then ice cream operations move indoors: Mon-Fri 3-7 p.m., Sat-Sun 11 a.m.-6 p.m. October-December, Mon-Sat 3-7 p.m. January-March.)
Scoop prices: $5.50-$7.50
What to know: The family-owned Pizzi Farm opened in 1933, Pizzi Farm Stand in 1965, and today’s market, deli, and ice cream shop in 1990. The deli serves breakfast sandwiches, soups and salads, tuna melts and hot dogs, and sandwich creations such as dream-teamy The Lake (half chicken cutlet, half meatball) and Tractor Sandwiches (the Int’l Harvester, for instance, is a marble rye triple-decker loaded with corned beef, roast beef, turkey, Swiss, Russian dressing, and coleslaw). It’s never a bad idea to lay a base before entering the ice cream fray. Soft-serve, fountain drinks, Nor’Easters (not to be confused with Blizzards or Wizards), and more are all here.
Flavors: Banana, coffee fudge, black raspberry Oreo, and the aptly named Chocoholic (chocolate ice cream with dark chocolate chips and fudge ripple) are just the beginning. Pizzi Farm’s vanilla soft-serve wins awards; after Labor Day, you can get it sandwiched on one of their house-made apple cider doughnuts. Something to look forward to at summer’s end.
495 Lincoln St., Waltham, 781-891-1032, www.pizzifarm.com
Bedford Farms
Dairy bar hours: Mon-Thu noon-9 p.m., Fri-Sat noon-10 p.m.
Scoop prices: $6-$7.25
What to know: Bedford Farms was founded in the 1880s, but the dairy didn’t start making ice cream until the late 1940s. After 80 years, the milk business was sold, but the ice cream stand continues, an area tradition. Portions are generous, so size down if you’re on the fence. It’s the perfect stop after a Walden Pond swim or a ride on the Minuteman Bikeway. There’s also a Concord location.
Flavors: There are more than 60, and they’re always rotating. Happily, the stellar mint chip is here in perpetuity; fans of banana chip, cashew caramel turtle, peach, and Monster Mash (pumpkin with chocolate chips and Oreos) have to cross their fingers and wait their turn.
20 North Road, Bedford, 781-275-6501, www.bedfordfarmsicecream.com
Great Brook Farm Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Daily 11 a.m.-dark, April through October.
Scoop prices: $4.70-$6.50
What to know: Great Brook Farm might be the only working dairy farm in the US located inside a state park. Hike more than 20 miles of trails at the 1,000-acre Great Brook State Park, then tour the farm (weekends only), buy some compost, and hit the ice cream stand.
Flavors: Peach, Extreme Chocolate, coffee chip cookie dough, coconut cheesecake brownie, peppermint stick… Don’t worry. If you can’t decide, you can order an ice cream flight of five different flavors.
165 North Road, Carlisle, 978-371-7083
Kimball Farm
Dairy bar hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily
Scoop prices: $4.95-$7
What to know: If you’re in the mood for mini golf, bumper boats, arcade games, ziplining, pony rides, live music, and (believe it or not) more plus ice cream, definitely come to the Westford location of Kimball Farm. If you’re in the mood for ice cream away from the madding crowd, the Carlisle stand is a better bet. There are also Kimball locations in Lancaster and Jaffrey, N.H. Wherever you wind up, you’ll be enjoying the ice cream that family-run Kimball Farm has been making for more than 80 years.
Flavors: Classics like frozen pudding, maple walnut, and peppermint stick have been on offer since 1939, when a cone cost 5 cents. That’s gone up a bit, but there are more flavors to choose from now: Malted Moo Crunch, Van Blueberry Crumble, and many others.
400 Littleton Road, Westford, 978-486-3891, www.kimballfarm.com
Sully’s Ice Cream Stand
Dairy bar hours: Open March 1 until mid-December. Mon-Fri 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. during the summer; closes at 9:30 p.m. Mon-Thu when school is in session. Sat-Sun 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Scoop prices: $4.25-$7 (cash only)
What to know: Run by the Sullivan family since 1986, Sully’s is a Chelmsford staple, located a few minutes’ walk from both Parker Middle School and Chelmsford High School. Many of the employees are local high school and college students. The ice cream is made on the premises and portions are generous.
Flavors: There are around 100 of them, from chocolate marshmallow to coffee almond fudge to blueberry pie, although some (e.g. baklava, eggnog, peach, peppermint stick) are seasonal.
55 Graniteville Road, Chelmsford, 978-256-5971, www.sullyschelmsford.com
Shaw Farm Dairy
Dairy bar hours: Daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m. April 1-Sept. 30., noon-8 p.m. Oct 1-March 31.
Scoop prices: $4.50-$6.50 (cash only)
What to know: A family-run dairy farm since 1908, with home delivery, a farm store, and on-site bottling. Shaw Farm continues operations while rebuilding after a March barn collapse. The ice cream is made on the farm, using milk and cream from the herd. Eat yours on a rocking chair in the shade, or at picnic tables by a wishing well, with a view of a green field and cavorting animals.
Flavors: There are more than 75, from the boozy Barnyard Mudslide to the sweet and salty Britts to Fluffernutter, along with standards like pistachio, cookie dough, and coffee chip. Shaw Farm makes its own root beer and an estimable vanilla, so root beer float fans, you know what to do.
204 New Boston Road, Dracut, 978-957-0031, www.shawfarm.com
Benson’s Homemade Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Early spring Fri-Sun 11 a.m.-9 p.m., May daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Memorial Day to Labor Day daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m., early September daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m., later in the fall Fri-Sun 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Closes for the season in late October, when the ice cream runs out.
Scoop prices: $4.45-$8.25 for most offerings; $6.50-$11.75 for local, seasonal fruit flavors.
What to know: Benson’s has been making small-batch ice cream on site since 1932, when farmstand owner Katherine Perley Benson needed a way to bring in more customers during the Great Depression. When her son returned from World War II, he took over the ice cream business, which is run today by Katherine’s great-granddaughter and her family.
Flavors: Flavors like mint chip, coffee brownie chunk, and pistachio are all good. But the ice creams and toppings made with local, seasonal fruit are truly special. Benson’s buys strawberries, raspberries, peaches, and more from local farmers, so supply and seasons vary. The red raspberry ice cream and black raspberry sorbet currently on offer blaze with clarity of flavor. Jersey peach and Maine blueberry are also available, with sweet corn, baked apple, and spiced pumpkin around the corner.
181 Washington St., Boxford, 978-352-2911, www.bensonsicecream.com
Hodgie’s Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Open daily April-October. Spring 11 a.m.-9 p.m., summer 11 a.m.-10 p.m., fall 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Scoop prices: $4.55-$9.60
What to know: Hodgie’s has been open since 1984, serving gigantic portions of ice cream made there daily. It also offers burgers, sandwiches, and other savory fare so you can picnic beneath the pines. (The Hodgies Too shops in Salisbury, Newburyport, and Stratham, N.H., are offshoots from a former employee.)
Flavors: Banana, Danish almond cream, chocolate marshmallow, peppermint stick, and more are always available. And each day brings its own roster of specials: Maui Mud, Chocolate M&M Butterburst, Hodge Podge, Coconut Chip, Malibu Dream House, and other glories.
71 Haverhill Road, Amesbury, 978-388-1211, www.hodgies.com
White Farms Homemade Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Open daily March through October. Summer 11 a.m.-10 p.m., spring and fall noon-9 p.m.
Scoop prices: $5.75-$7.75 (cash only)
What to know: And you shall know it by the giant cow on the roof. This Ipswich institution since 1953 is your mandatory ice cream stop after a visit to Crane Beach (perhaps hitting the Clam Box in between). There is another White Farms in Gloucester.
Flavors: Specialty flavors like Caramel Cow, Drew’s Dino Crunch, and Birthday Cake join the roster with peppermint stick, butter pecan, blueberry crumble, Grapenut, and lots more. New ones are being introduced all the time.
326 High St., Ipswich, 978-356-2633
Richardson’s Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Daily 9-11 p.m. during the summer, 9-9:30 p.m. the rest of the year.
Scoop prices: $4.21-$5.61
What to know: David Richardson started the Middleton farm in 1695, and his descendants have milked cows here ever since. (The ice cream came a few centuries later.) There’s another Richardson’s at Jordan’s Furniture in Reading, but this one is kind of like a visit to the mothership. If the ice cream tastes familiar, it’s because Richardson’s is served at ice cream shops and restaurants around the region. Afterward, pay a visit to the livestock out back on this working dairy farm.
Flavors: The peppermint stick is the gold standard, Totally Turtle is totally terrific, and specials like banana graham, peach, salted caramel pretzel, and cranberry harvest mix things up.
156 South Main St., Middleton, 978-774-5450, www.richardsonsicecream.com
Soc’s Ice Cream
Dairy bar hours: Daily March through October. Spring and fall noon-9 p.m., summer noon-10 p.m.
Scoop prices: $3.95-$5.95
What to know: Named after onetime owner Socrates Xerros, the stand opened as the Lynn Fells Dairy Bar in 1977. Passed down from family to family, Soc’s is now run by Sharon and Paul Cacciola; son Stephen was a longtime employee under the previous owners, the Calakoutis family, who taught him how to make ice cream. Soc’s also makes its own slush.
Flavors: Old-school options such as Frozen Pudding and Grapenuts are excellent here; you’ll also find Almond Joy, banana, coffee Oreo, raspberry cheesecake, and more, made in small batches on premises. For something refreshing, try the tart, bright watermelon slush.
67 Lynn Fells Parkway, Saugus, 781-233-0009, www.socsicecream.net
Devra First can be reached at devra.first@globe.com. Follow her @devrafirst.
Slots for primary-care training, including family medicine, pediatrics, and internal medicine, also increased by 877 positions this year, offering up to 20,300 positions for the nation. This seems like promising news for a city like Boston, where the wait for a new patient to access primary care is at least 40 days, twice as long as in 15 other studied cities, and up to half of the primary-care workforce is close to retiring age. The most recent primary-care dashboard from Massachusetts Health Quality Partners, a measurement and reporting nonprofit organization, shows that these shortages are driving up visits to emergency departments, spiking Massachusetts’ total cost on health care, and disproportionately affecting low-income people and people of color, further aggravating our state’s health inequities.
The small increase in slots to train future primary-care physicians nationally will not come close to fixing our primary-care crisis in Massachusetts, however. In a state that has more physicians per capita than any other in the United States, only 22 percent of Massachusetts medical school graduates were providing primary care six to eight years later, as of 2023.
Further, not all primary-care training programs are equal in terms of generating practicing primary-care physicians. According to a recent study, 97 percent of family-medicine residents conclude their training in primary care, whereas only 54 percent of pediatric residents and 35 percent of internal medicine residents conclude their training in primary care. In other words, the vast majority of new primary-care physicians in the United States are family-medicine physicians. Given the robust training of family-medicine physicians, including caring for prenatal, postpartum, pediatric, adult, and geriatric patients, this workforce is crucial.
However, while 13.4 percent of first-year residency positions were in family medicine nationally, Massachusetts only provides 3.9 percent of its first-year residency slots in family medicine. Given that studies show the vast majority (68.7 percent) of family-medicine graduates continue to work in the state where they trained after graduation, this anemic number is a poor harbinger for our future.
A significant barrier to training more family-medicine physicians is the lack of academic medical support. Apart from Boston Medical Center, there are no family-medicine departments in Boston’s academic medical centers, where the majority of graduate medical education occurs. The rationale often cited is that it is the responsibility of community-based institutions to train future primary-care and family-medicine doctors. However, it is exceedingly difficult for community-based hospitals and community health centers to take on this responsibility with already tight profit margins, a lack of internal infrastructure to support residency programs, and traditional residency program funding flowing to academic medical centers.
If Massachusetts wants to have adequate access to primary-care physicians, it needs to prioritize and organize state-level partnerships between large academic institutions and community-based institutions, particularly community health centers, to develop infrastructure and funding for new family-medicine residency programs. Academic medical centers must include investments in developing family medicine as part of their larger primary-care investment plans. Legislators must also reinstitute Medicaid Graduate Medical Education funding in Massachusetts that is targeted to support family-medicine training programs. Currently, Massachusetts is one of only seven states that does not fund residency programs through this program.
Furthermore, to attract more motivated and capable medical students to enter the field of family medicine, health care leaders, educators, and policy makers must work to make the job more sustainable. This includes actions such as statewide policies increasing reimbursements for family-medicine services from all payers, streamlining the number of health care metrics family-medicine physicians are accountable for, and reducing the administrative burden of family-medicine physicians by accelerating the use of AI to complete forms for items such as durable medical equipment, prior authorizations, and messages generated through electronic medical systems.
We are grateful to Governor Maura Healey for her recent remarks on prioritizing primary care; to the Legislature for the development of the Primary Care Task Force, which will focus on primary care access, delivery, and financial sustainability; and to the recent Massachusetts legislative hearings on Senator Cindy Friedman’s Primary Care for You bill. However, we cannot wait for the group’s recommendations to start addressing our state’s primary-care crisis. Legislators, payers, hospitals, and community health centers must work now to strengthen and grow the family-medicine workforce, build a stronger pipeline, and pay for a health care system that will build a healthier Commonwealth.
An unusual May nor’easter was pulling away from New England on Friday after soaking the region, setting some record cold temperatures, and downing trees in several towns including Malden and Brookline.
Massachusetts and Rhode Island received the most rain, getting at least several inches. The coastal town of Kingston, Massachusetts, received 7.13 inches of rain in a 24-hour period ending early Friday, the National Weather Service said.
Drivers were stuck in floodwaters in Cape Cod and fallen trees blocked some streets. There were no reports of injuries.
Some higher elevations saw snow, with New Hampshire’s Mount Washington reporting 3.4 inches as of Friday morning.
“Would it really be May in Maine without a little rain — and even a touch of snow — for Memorial Day Weekend?” Sugarloaf Mountain posted online. It delayed opening day for its golf club from Friday to Sunday.
It was cold and blustery on the eve of Memorial Day weekend in Boston, but locals across Massachusetts were taking it in stride. “That’s New England,” one man said. “You’ve gotta live with it, you’ve gotta love it.”
Hear from them and get a closer look at when the rain is expected to let up, plus the impact on holiday weekend travel.
High temperatures for Thursday were about 20 degrees lower than usual.
At least two cities — Concord, New Hampshire, and Portland, Maine — had record cold high temperatures. In Concord, it reached 47 degrees Fahrenheit for Thursday. That broke the previous record on that date of 51 degrees set in 1939. Portland got up to 49 degrees, breaking the 50-degree record set in 2011.
A nor’easter is an East Coast storm that is so named because winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast, according to the weather service. They usually arrive in the end of fall and winter and bring high winds, rough seas and precipitation in the form of rain or snow. It’s rare to see them in May.
Local News
Officers hired under the age of 21 won’t be assigned to posts or duties that require a firearm but must be eligible to have a license.
19-year-olds can now be correctional officers, the state’s Department Correction announced Thursday, citing a need for more long-term, motivated candidates.
The age was lowered from 21 to 19, following in the footsteps of the Essex County Sheriff’s Department, which lowered its age requirements for correctional officers in 2023. At the time, the department said there was a “critical shortage of officers.”
The Massachusetts Department of Correction said officers under the age of 21 won’t be assigned to posts or duties that require a firearm, but “any individuals hired for the position must maintain eligibility to obtain a license to carry a firearm.”
“The implementation of this age of appointment gives the DOC the flexibility to bring in more qualified applicants while providing them with early access to a fulfilling career in corrections,” DOC Commissioner Shawn Jenkins said in a statement.
The department, which staffs 13 facilities across the state, said the change allows young adults to explore long-term careers and serve their communities.
“Reducing the minimum age to become a Correction Officer will allow us to recruit more dedicated, highly skilled workers to these important roles,” Governor Maura Healey said in a statement. “This change will help us build the next generation of corrections professionals to deliver on our goals of protecting public safety and supporting rehabilitation.”
The eligibility requirements to be a correction officer, some of whom earn more than $250,000 a year, include a high school diploma, an equivalency certificate or at least three years in the Armed Forces as well as a “comprehensive screening process” and a 12-week training program.
The Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union has previously called attention to staffing and other issues at prisons, including the state’s only maximum-security prison. Last fall, five officers were injured by inmates in a single incident, and the MCOFU criticized the department’s lack of searches and use of tactical units.
“How much more do our members have to endure before you decide to keep them safe? The inmates are literally running the asylum. Do your jobs,” the union wrote on Facebook at the time.
In a statement about lowering the age requirements, Jenkins thanked the union for their “support.”
“The Massachusetts Department of Correction appreciates working collaboratively with Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union and their support as we work together to increase our professional workforce,” Jenkins said.
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