August 5, 2020 • Doug Wolcik, Farm Manager
Years ago, when we were in the midst of transitioning to no-till practices, I said in an interview with NOFA that I couldn’t wait for 2020 to arrive. “The future can’t come fast enough.” I didn’t know what to expect when I said that, but I certainly didn’t expect this: a pandemic forcing us to […]
August 5, 2020 • Jen Flint, Board Member
As food insecurity surges, hunger relief organizations adapt to keep up “The numbers are staggering,” Erin Kuschner writes in a June 26 article on Boston.com. Food insecurity could affect one in eight residents of Eastern Massachusetts by the end of the year, according to the hunger relief organization Feeding America. That represents an increase of […]
August 4, 2020 • Polly Vanasse, Board Member
At the Sudbury Food Pantry, a small team of dedicated adults works each week on Tuesday and Thursday to distribute groceries to approximately 50 hungry families. Beginning in late May, the pantry saw a sharp uptick in attendance when it began to distribute fresh spring produce from Gaining Ground. Wide-eyed families saw the gorgeous heads […]
July 30, 2020 • Jennifer Johnson, Executive Director
Community is at the heart of everything that we do at Gaining Ground. We work together, in community, to grow nutritious and delicious produce for our community. Our community is strengthened by our shared commitment to sustainability, generosity, and equitable access to healthy food. We are missing many in our community this growing season as […]
July 29, 2020 • Allison Goodwin, Program Manager
This year has brought plenty of unforeseen challenges as well as growth, re-calibration, and hidden blessings. The COVID-19 pandemic in early March forced some of our largest partners, such as Boston’s Pine Street Inn, to temporarily stop accepting produce from Gaining Ground due to safety and logistical concerns. While some channels closed, other new partnerships […]
July 29, 2020
Several years ago we updated the images and farm information in our cookbook, The Gaining Ground Table. With inspirational recipes season by season, its summer section includes a bounty of fresh produce in mouth-watering appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, side dishes and desserts. Email us at office@gainingground.org if you are interested in purchasing a copy. […]
July 8, 2020
July is a time of bounty at the Gaining Ground farm. Tiny seeds planted in the cool days of early spring have turned into lettuce heads the size of dinner plates and green pea tendrils that tower above our heads. There are other seeds, planted throughout the whole year, that also blossom into abundance on the […]
July 8, 2020
During the pandemic, we have reorganized our Food for Families market serving the Concord and Carlisle communities. Staff and board members pre-assemble the produce into grocery bags at the farm. It takes four vehicles, packed full, to deliver the bags to the distribution site. Long-time board member Lucy Rosborough greets over 60 households, up from […]
July 8, 2020
“Four years ago we started transitioning to no-till farming methods. Each year we’ve had better yields and this season the beds are exploding. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.” —Doug Wolcik, Farm Manager, Gaining Ground July has burst onto the landscape. Our fields are overflowing with colorful, vibrant produce. We are donating tons—literally 2,000 pounds, three […]
June 18, 2020 • Gaining Ground
Volunteers have been at the heart of Gaining Ground from our humble beginnings in 1994 all the way through to last year’s record-breaking harvest. We have worked together as a community to plant, grow, and distribute tens of thousands of pounds of produce each year for our food-insecure neighbors. Like organizations worldwide, Gaining Ground […]
May 1, 2020
We donated 60% more produce this April compared to a year ago, thanks to two additional hoop houses providing warm shelter for more early spring crops. With the current pandemic, this increase has been well timed. At a time when fresh local vegetables are scarce, Open Table in Maynard and Concord Public Schools have gratefully received […]
April 2, 2020 • Gaining Ground
Calling all kids (and kids at heart)! Join our Read for Seeds program and support our hunger relief efforts right from your home.
April 2, 2020
During this unusual season without our valued volunteers, we are especially grateful to have a strong, experienced staff. Our farm staff has a total of 42 years of combined farming experience with Doug Wolcik, Hannah Lawson, and Kim Schmidt returning from last year and Kari Bender, Stacy Entel, Anna Kelchlin, and Max Spurlin joining from […]
March 31, 2020 • Doug Wolcik, Farm Manager
In 2016, we started with a vision of making the farm more productive, and over the last four years we have reimagined and reconstituted almost every system and aspect of our farming practices. The driving force behind all these changes was the long-term plan of regenerating the soil, along with a switch to no-till farming. We believed […]
March 29, 2020 • Allison Goodwin, Program Manager
Gaining Ground’s 25th growing season was a resounding and record-breaking success. In 2019, our hard-working farmers grew 126,275 pounds of organic produce with the help of more than 2,500 volunteers. Our production volume increased 27 percent over 2018 and doubled 2016’s total output. More impressive than these numbers, however, is their impact on our recipient’s […]
March 27, 2020 • Lisanne Wheeler, Board Member
In the months of winter, Doug and Hannah look back on the growing season to take stock of the year. In order to improve the future we must understand the past. Our development team takes a similar approach year upon year. […]
March 25, 2020
Over 150 adults and children ventured to Gaining Ground on Saturday afternoon, March 7th to learn how the farmers boil maple sap into syrup and to enjoy a warm fire and some maple taste treats. Visitors compared our syrup, cooked over a wood fire, to Vermont maple syrup, cooked over propane and to Log Cabin […]
March 23, 2020
Gaining Ground welcomes three new members to the board of directors: Amy Capofreddi, Crista Collins, and Nick Ferbert. Amy Capofreddi Amy has served as Gaining Ground’s first executive director for two years and grant manager for three years. She successfully increased contributions to fund an expanded staff and further capital improvements and also led a […]
March 21, 2020 • Elisabeth Elden, Board President
To work on a farm is to expect change of all kinds, some that we create on purpose, and some that are mysteries that unfold and surprise us throughout the year. We are subject to the weather, yet we design schedules and plans for planting and harvesting crops. We study and ameliorate the soil, then […]
March 19, 2020
If you are seeking an hour of distraction from current news, here is your chance for an informative podcast. Farm Manager Doug Wolcik tells the story of Gaining Ground and its transition to no-till farming on this highly respected podcast, No-Till Growers. Enjoy Doug’s interview, posted on March 16, and those of so many other […]
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