April 14, 2022 • Jennifer Johnson, Executive Director
“Wow.” The clerk at my neighborhood grocery store took a pause from scanning the items I’d placed on the conveyor belt, a bit stunned by what he’d seen on the cash register. “These cherries are over $15. Do you still want them?” I looked at the not-very-large bag the clerk was holding and answered that […]
• Anna Kelchlin, Farm Manager
In the life of a farmer, as much as deep winter is for reflection and quiet, it is also a time of intricate planning, preparations, and dreaming. Those long days of summer light are so far off, yet in just a short couple of months a rebirth will be upon us. This season I am […]
• Polly Vanasse, Board President
When I was a volunteer at Gaining Ground, I thought like a volunteer. I watched the seedlings my students planted turn into gorgeous veggies, helped drive them to a local food pantry, and heard the exclamations of recipients about the quality of the produce. Yet this process only revealed to me the surface of hunger […]
• Allison Goodwin, Program Manager
Each season at Gaining Ground brings challenges as well as successes; rewarding reminders of the impact and importance of our hunger-relief mission. Foremost among these in 2021 was the return of our volunteer program after a pandemic-driven hiatus. The joy of those first April volunteers was undeniable in their warm smiles, rolled-up sleeves, and dirt-caked […]
Last year, we bid a fond farewell to board members Penny Austen, Elisabeth Elden, John Canally, and Gretchen Nelson. We are incredibly grateful to each of them for the dedication, enthusiasm, and thoughtfulness they contributed to Gaining Ground over the years. This season, we are thrilled to welcome four new terrific members to our board […]
• Gaining Ground
After more than 15 years of dedicated service, last year David Outerbridge stepped down from his volunteering in support of Gaining Ground. David—who turned his retirement into a period of keen effort caring for the land and structures on the farm—was a regular and beloved presence among the farmers and volunteers. Last summer, as he […]
You don’t have to look very hard to find the parallels between Gaining Ground and the Concord-Carlisle Community Chest. “The work that Gaining Ground does is at the core of why the Community Chest does what we do: You grow food locally, you harvest it, and then you distribute it back to people with the […]
The board and staff would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who gave generously and shared their time and talents with Gaining Ground last season. Special thanks go to: Belmont Day School, Thoreau Elementary School, Tenacre Country Day School, Bancroft Elementary School, R.J. Fisher Middle School, and all of the individual students […]
April 11, 2022
Join us for Gaining Ground’s second annual Poetry Walk! We are once again installing a self-guided farm tour featuring poems authored by Gaining Ground recipients, partner organizations, and poets throughout our community. The Poetry Walk kicks off on Saturday, April 30, and will continue through Friday, June 17. Please pay us a visit and enjoy […]