Athol farm loaned $150K from NCMDC to enhance operations

Photo | Courtesy of North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. Pictured from left: Norm Vigeant, vice president of lending at the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp.; Melissa Sprague, owner of Adams Farm and Slaughterhouse; Melissa’s son, Westin; owners Chelsea White, Richard Adams, Beverly Mundell, Noreen Heath-Paniagua, and Sandie Cataldo, senior economic development manager at the NCMDC

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By Timothy Doyle

The North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. in Fitchburg loaned $150,000 to Adams Farm and Slaughterhouse in Athol to help run the company and purchase equipment.

The farm, owned by Beverly Mundell, her son Richard Adams, and her daughter Noreen Heath-Paniagua employs 32 full-time and 11 part-time employees, according to a Tuesday press release from the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.

“As a third-generation local business, we take great pride in providing our customers with a variety of fresh meats, dairy products and ice cream they’ve come to trust over the years,” Mundell said in the press release. “We appreciate the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. for [its] support of our efforts to enhance our business for more generations to come.”

The business dates back to 1919 when it was a dairy farm owned by Hester Adams.

The NCMDC, the lending arm of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, ranked third among U.S. Small Business Administration microlenders in Massachusetts in 2022, approving 10 loans totaling $247,000 in the fiscal year.

The organization can provide loans to small businesses up to $250,000, as part of its relationship with the U.S. Small Business Administration.