Maple Sugaring Open House
March 3, 2020
On Saturday, March 7 from 2–4 pm, enjoy maple treats and learn about the sugaring process. RSVP to maple@gainingground.org […]
Updated Cookbook for the Holidays
November 26, 2019
Just in time for holiday cooking, we have published a new edition of our cookbook, The Gaining Ground Table. It still includes our delicious, original recipes organized by season and the convenient, easy-to-open spiral binding. In celebration of 25 years of Gaining Ground, we have updated sections describing how we grow food for hunger relief […]
We’re Hiring! 2020 Field Crew Positions
November 22, 2019 • Gaining Ground
Update: All 2020 positions have been filled. Thank you for your interest. Gaining Ground is a 3 acre non-profit, no-till, organic farm in Concord, MA that grows produce for 13 hunger relief organizations alongside community volunteers. In the 2019 growing season we grew over 125,00 pounds of produce with the help of 2,500 volunteers, supplying 750 […]
We Put It Down on Paper
October 28, 2019
In celebration of its 25th year, Gaining Ground has published a book chronicling the organization’s history and growth—from a visionary garden project in 1994 to a highly productive farm that now donates more than 120,000 pounds of food in a season. In Gaining Ground: The Story of a Community Growing Food and Giving It All Away, the farm’s history comes to life […]
Farm to Table, Farm to Community
October 28, 2019 • Fan Watkinson, Program Manager
For twenty five years, Gaining Ground has pursued its mission to grow and give away healthy produce for hunger relief with the help of volunteers and community. While the mission has been steadfast, the chapters along the way have evolved. During the past seven years, we have focused on increasing output on our 3.5 acres of cultivated land by […]
Building New Bridges
October 28, 2019 • Amy Capofreddi, Executive Director
This year, thanks to a generous grant from Adobe Foundation, Gaining Ground has entered into a new partnership with Bridge Boston, a Roxbury charter school where 100 percent of the student population qualify for free lunch. We send weekly distributions of produce to the students, and the students help us as volunteers on the farm. […]
Leaders in the Field
October 28, 2019 • Polly Vanasse
It’s 8 AM and already 93 degrees outside, and your friends have invited you to go to the air-conditioned mall. But wait… it’s Farm Team day, and you are heading up the high school volunteers. Besides, who would want to be indoors on a scorcher like this when there are 2,000 pounds of butternut squash […]
Bird’s Eye View
October 28, 2019 • Tim O'Brien, Assistant Grower
I began working at the farm in late June, just after a killdeer nested in the leeks and fledged two chicks. Great-crested flycatchers occupied the woods surrounding the far field. One of my favorite things about farming is being more in tune with changes in the seasons and the weather and how they affect the […]
The Value of Offline Time
October 28, 2019 • Sue Mildrum, Board President
I work in an office all day. I go from meeting to meeting, rushing down long hallways beneath fluorescent lights. At the end of the day I get home and sometimes wonder if I actually accomplished anything. Does this sound at all familiar? If so, I have the perfect antidote. Bring your team to Gaining Ground for […]
Ready to Harvest Your IRA?
October 28, 2019 • Joe Rigali
Did you know that if you are over age 70½, you can direct the required distribution from your IRA to Gaining Ground? And doing so not only helps Gaining Ground grow food for hunger relief, it helps you minimize your taxes. Using your IRA distribution this way may help save taxes in many ways, including: […]
Honey Bees Hard at Work
October 28, 2019 • David Salomón Saléh
For the first time in years, Gaining Ground collected over 50 pounds of honey from our bee colonies this summer. Do you know how amazing that is?! The production of honey requires complex processes, and now bees face the additional challenges of highly toxic pesticides and extreme weather.
Guild Students Benefit While Working at Nearby Gaining Ground
October 28, 2019 • David E. Nathan, Guild School
Originally published The Guild School’s website, republished here with permission. The work is both enjoyable and meaningful. For Guild School student Korey Myers, that’s a “fruitful” combination. Korey is one of several students to work this summer at Gaining Ground, a nearby nonprofit organic farm that partners with The Guild’s vocational services program. With the help of more than […]
Increasing Production by Reducing Tillage: Soil Health Field Day
July 25, 2019
On July 14, NOFA/Mass held a Soil Health Field Day in collaboration with Gaining Ground in Concord Mass. It was the first of six on-farm workshops to be held over the next three years as part of a project entitled “Organic No-Till on Northeast Farms […]
Field Day: NOFA Visits Gaining Ground
July 8, 2019 • Caro Roszell, NOFA Education Director
On Sunday, July 14, Doug Wolcik will give an interactive field tour exploring the systems he has instituted to drastically increase production—without increasing field space—on Gaining Ground’s three-acre farm. He will be joined by Daniel Mays of Frith Farm, an innovative, no-till commercial farm in Maine. The farmers will offer comments, observations, and demonstrations of […]
Delivering the Goods
July 8, 2019 • Jenn Flint
Growing fresh produce is only half the battle, of course. To fulfill Gaining Ground’s mission, we need to get tens of thousands of pounds of fresh veg into the right hands—those that can distribute it in food pantries or serve it in meal programs. For a long enough period of time that no one can remember exactly how long, John Gates has been a critical link […]
Support October’s Ride for Food
July 8, 2019 • Amy Capofreddi
For the fourth year, Gaining Ground is participating in the Ride for Food sponsored by Three Squares New England on Sunday, October 6th. During its seven year history, this event has raised over $1.6 million benefiting eighteen hunger relief food partners including us. Last year’s Gaining Ground team had 31 individuals raising over $35,000, all of […]
The Community Circuit
July 8, 2019
This year, a variety of organizations have reached out to the Gaining Ground farmers to learn more about their farming systems and to include them in various activities. They have participated in publications, podcasts, farm tours and even community cooking contests! In March, Gaining Ground was included in the UMass Extension Vegetable Notes with a photograph […]
Farmers Lunch
July 8, 2019 • Kim Schmidt
I remember being informed about farm lunches on my first day at Gaining Ground last year. Farmers, I was told, would take turns cooking lunch for the team each week. I’m certain I was informed of this during the interview, but had since forgotten and now found myself quite nervous about it all. I had […]
Twenty-Two Year Volunteer and Going Strong!
July 8, 2019 • Allison Goodwin
Martha Hamilton is one of Gaining Ground’s longest-serving volunteers. She began helping out in 1997 when we were just a small garden plot in Jamie Bemis’s Concord backyard. These days Martha can often be found at the wash station, cleaning and packing produce for distribution to our 13 recipient partners. In the photo, Martha is in […]
Upcoming Events
July 8, 2019
July is a busy month for Gaining Ground with both a field day and afternoon farm tour to learn more about no-till farming practices. September brings our Community Harvest Celebration followed by our Ride for Food in early October. We welcome all to join us. For more details about each […]