I recently attended a lecture at an unnamed old university in Cambridge. (Thoreau dismissed a degree from that school, writing, “Let every sheep keep its skin.”) The professor’s topic was social justice and food activism. One of the messages was that nonprofit hunger relief missions, like ours at Gaining Ground, are misguided and ultimately ineffective. […]
As the growing season starts to wind down, I start to get excited about the winter months and the planning process for next year’s growing season. I can’t help myself. As a farmer, it is so ingrained to always be thinking two days, two weeks, even two months ahead at any moment. But on days […]
“Those are carrots. Reindeers eat carrots.” —A 4 year-old talking to her friend at the Head Start market “The market is an opportunity to see all the colors, all the vegetables. Kids feel important when they shop.” —Teacher at Head Start in Lowell “We’ve tried new vegetables, and I’m learning how to cook.” and “This market […]
Gaining Ground offers us an outlet that exercises our minds, bodies, and souls. Meditation is largely inaccessible to our restless young minds. Over the years we’ve sought methods of clearing our heads like yoga and hiking, but nothing seems to do the trick like weeding for two hours. The satisfaction of clearing a patch of […]
Cooper has volunteered with his family at Gaining Ground since he was five years old. Now thirteen, he continues to enjoy doing something that positively impacts the community, while having fun and getting to know the farm and farmers. This summer Cooper decided to capture various aspects of volunteering at the farm on film. Here […]
For the past two years, the Pottery Club at Middlesex School in Concord has participated in the Empty Bowls program and raised more than $2,000 for Gaining Ground. Empty Bowls is a national program that has been helping to raise money and awareness in the fight to end hunger since 1990. Throughout the school year, […]
Hard to express in a few words, my experience at Gaining Ground has meant growth, empowerment, challenge, and fulfillment. It’s also been sweaty. I came into this season with very little farming knowledge. For many years now, I have studied plants—how to identify them, draw them, understand their biology. I have spent many countless hours […]
Join us for two upcoming events on Saturday, December 2, 2017, and looking ahead to Thursday, March 29, 2018. Join our email list to stay in the loop on upcoming events and other news! 5% Day at Debra’s Natural Gourmet Saturday, December 2, 2017 Debra’s Natural Gourmet will donate 5% of its proceeds to Gaining Ground. […]
This year, Gaining Ground participated in the Concord Food, Farm and Ag Weekend on September 9–10. On Saturday, we had a tent at the farmer’s market where we kicked off our conversation about the connections between vital soil, healthy food, and hunger relief. On Sunday, over 200 folks attended our Community Harvest Celebration that featured […]
On September 24, under sunny skies, 11 cyclists rode for Gaining Ground in the Three Squares New England 6th annual Ride for Food. They raised more than $13,000 to help further Gaining Ground’s mission to grow organic produce and donate it to hunger relief efforts. Five volunteers donated their time by checking in riders, marshaling, […]
The Board and Staff would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those supporters who have given generously and shared their time and talents with Gaining Ground this season. Belmont Day, Fenn School, Nashoba Brooks School, and Thoreau School, for raising over $14,000 for our Read for Seeds program National Charity League, for providing […]
The board’s recent work on a strategic plan is taking shape in important ways. As part of the goal to develop a new leadership plan, Amy Capofreddi has been appointed our first executive director, responsible for executing strategy and growing the organization. Amy is a natural fit. Prior to joining Gaining Ground in 2016 as […]
One of the joys of farming is that each season is a fresh start, bringing new challenges and new successes. Until you are in it, you never know how it will go. Farming forces you to be present, to live in the now and depend on the elements. You can plan as much as possible, […]
Gaining Ground has focused on hunger relief for the underserved for more than twenty years. Our farmers use sustainable farming practices to cultivate the highest quality soil through minimal tillage, intensive cropping, permaculture, season extension, and extensive people-power from a growing group of volunteers. When we think about the families and children we serve, we […]
At the beginning of the summer, Gretchen Nelson, head of the board’s Recipient Committee, and I scheduled visits to the amazing organizations that distribute our produce. With growing season in full swing, seeing our vegetables filling tables, shelves, and bags was clearly going to be powerful. I had been told that our produce is often […]
This fall, we welcome two new youth board members: Matt and Hannah. Matt is a rising senior year at CCHS. In addition to working at Woods Hill Table in West Concord, he enjoys traveling, photography, and gardening in his backyard. Last summer, Matt took a one-week course at UMass Amherst to learn more about food insecurity, organic farming, […]
Farm Team is a program within Gaining Ground that brings together local high school-aged kids who have a genuine passion for being outside and getting their hands dirty. We hope to assist the farmers with the greatest amount of work possible. This means heading out to the farm every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 am […]
Throughout my two visits to Gaining Ground, I have learned more about farming in the fields than I could have in two weeks in school. I have really learned farming isn’t all fun and games. There are tasks that will leave your sore for a week. After going through what these farmers do every day, […]
Thanks to the support of Patagonia Boston and a Patagonia Enviro Internship grant, I am grateful to be volunteering with the farm staff at Gaining Ground for four weeks this summer. My field reports for the Patagonia office joyfully list all of the insects, animals, and birds I have met in the fields. Everywhere I […]
Market season is upon us. Tomatoes are ripening up and our fall plants are going in the ground this week. Here are a few highlights from our markets where we directly distribute our produce. Head Start Markets in Lowell We are off to a great start at our two markets for Head Start families in […]
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