Photography on the Farm is Open!

We are excited to open our free outdoor photo exhibit, Photography on the Farm. This year it features the works of 27 talented photographers who have captured the essence of nature, farming, and hunger relief. As you explore the exhibit, you’ll encounter beautiful images that showcase diverse perspectives on the land and its bounty, reflecting […]

Farmer Spotlight: Ava Lublin

Gaining Ground wouldn’t be what it is today without the dedication and passion of our incredible team members. One of them is Ava Lublin, an Assistant Grower who first joined Gaining Ground as a volunteer seven years ago. We sat down with Ava to learn more about her journey in sustainable farming, her connection to […]

Giving Back With Farm Tools and Educational Resources

Gaining Ground calls its approach “simple” — growing high-quality food to give to people who need it. Neversink Farm in the Catskills classifies its strategy as a “radical” one. And yet, the link between our two approaches is a natural one. Neversink is an organic farm with one of the highest production-per-square-foot outputs in the nation. […]

Beautiful Bouquets and Amazing Vegetables—Food for Families

On a mild late summer day, Gaining Ground staff, board members and volunteers gathered at the volunteer pavilion, packing 120 bags of seasonal produce for Food for Families.  Gaining Ground’s produce is typically distributed by 16 hunger relief partner organizations throughout eastern Massachusetts, including food pantries, shelters, schools, soup kitchens, and emergency meal programs. However, […]

An Eagle Eye for Pest Control

We’re thrilled that two aspiring local Eagle Scouts, Nathaniel Ely (Troop 132) and Charles Mastromarino (Troop 135), chose to complete their capstone service projects on Virginia Road, installing a combined 1,000 feet of hardware cloth around the farm’s perimeter to keep cottontails out and reduce pest pressure from bunnies that can damage up to 10 percent of our annual crop. 

Farmer Spotlight:  Zoe Tallmadge 

As we approach peak season, the farm is bustling with energy, life, and the busy growers who bring forth abundance with care and skill. New to the team this year is Field Crew Member Zoe Tallmadge, whose passion for sustainable agriculture stretches back to their childhood in The Piedmont of North Carolina. We are thrilled to have Zoe with us in 2024. To learn more about their background, we caught up with them recently while harvesting scallions.

Cultivating Joy with Trinity Episcopal Church 

Can mulching be a form of ministry? Yes, according to the Outreach Committee at Trinity Episcopal Church, a Concord-based parish with a long history of philanthropic support for hunger relief efforts— including the production of fresh, healthy food at Gaining Ground.

We’re Hiring: Development & Communications Manager

The Development & Communications Manager is responsible for the administrative, systematic, and creative elements of an annual fundraising and communications plan.  This role also serves as the in-house manager for our external freelance writer and graphic designer.  

Farmer Spotlight: Madison Latiolais

Each season at Gaining Ground brings new reasons to celebrate—including field crew members who seek the opportunity to support our hunger relief mission while strengthening their own agricultural skills! New to the team this year is Madison Latiolais, whose passion for farming traces back to her Cajun roots.

Sowing Seeds of Community: Read for Seeds

For more than 27 years, local elementary and middle school students have raised money for Gaining Ground while strengthening their literacy skills, through a springtime read-a-thon called Read for Seeds. 

The Madd Love Language of Food: UTEC

For the second year in a row, Gaining Ground is proud to support the Madd Love Meals program at UTEC, a weekly delivery of free groceries throughout Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill that nourishes about 120 households experiencing food insecurity. 

Submissions Open for Photography on the Farm

This special outdoor gallery at Gaining Ground opens September 7 to showcase the creative talents of our community while providing visitors with the latest information on food security. In the meantime, we seek original, digital images that reflect some aspect of farming, gardening, nourishment, cultural foodways, or food and climate justice.

From Headshots to Harvest: Cardinal Health, Mansfield Gets Creative with Fundraising

With skill, care, and hard work, small seeds give rise to abundance.  At Gaining Ground, that lesson is underscored each day of each season—and we can’t help but recognize the parallels when we witness metaphorical seeds of community engagement flourish into deeper involvement with our hunger relief mission.  That’s what happened with our friends at […]

Fresh Food for Strong Beginnings:  Community Teamwork/Head Start

Just like a seed needs the right combination of soil, water, and sunlight to grow into a strong, healthy plant, young children need vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to grow into strong, healthy individuals. That’s why Community Teamwork in Lowell has partnered with Gaining Ground since 2014 to provide Head Start students and their families with […]

Volunteer Q&A:  Ashley Perssico of Toast

Just as perennial plants and herbs delight us with consistent nourishment on the farm, Gaining Ground is sustained and encouraged by perennial volunteers—those who return year after year.  We’re lucky to count Ashley Perssico among our enduring supporters. Not only has Ashley grown from a recurring volunteer to a trusted board member, but she has […]

Special Thanks from Our 2023 Season

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, and all of the individual students who participated in our 2023 Read for […]

Growing Our Impact, Healing the Land 

Happy Spring! It’s the most wonderful time to celebrate all the tremendous work that’s been happening at Gaining Ground over the many years! Our mission to grow nutritious food in support of hunger relief is both admirable and humbling. As the new Director of Agriculture, I am honored to join these efforts with our passionate […]

Rooted in Change: Seasonal Transitions and Sustainable Solutions on Virginia Road 

The season is kicking into gear, and at the farm on Virginia Road our team is busy with all of the tasks that mark the coming of spring.  We farmers kept busy through winter harvesting from high tunnels, repairing tools, crop planning, building out farm infrastructure, and much more. Now we’re thrilled to welcome back […]

Give Local: The Community Foundation for MetroWest

As we promote food security through local, sustainable agriculture, we celebrate the local, sustainable philanthropy that makes our efforts possible—like generous investments from The Community Foundation for MetroWest, which launched almost 30 years ago to change lives in the region.  “Back then, there were many philanthropic efforts in Greater Boston but people seemed blissfully unaware […]

Where Are They Now? Catching Up with Gaining Ground Alumni

Our mission doesn’t end at the edge of the farm. Instead, we aim to cultivate our values within each person who visits Gaining Ground—including the growers who strengthen their incredible talents on our crew. When farmers leave the organization, they take those values with them, working to create the future we envision collectively, in which […]
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