This year, Farm Manager Doug Wolcik, Assistant Farm Manager Hannah Lawson, and Market Manager Paula Jordan are leading a strong, enthusiastic team. We welcome Sage Hess and Alex MacLellan as field crew members, Blair Kimble as a summer field hand and volunteer supporter, and Macayla Cote as market intern. Sage is excited and grateful to be at Gaining Ground this season, where she says she is “learning […]
For more than 20 years, students from local schools have helped fight hunger by participating in our Read for Seeds program. This is an annual read-a-thon that links fundraising, education, and community action. Read for Seeds is a long-time favorite because of its simplicity and effectiveness. After a member from the Gaining Ground community visits […]
For the second year, Gaining Ground will participate in the Three Squares New England Ride for Food, a bike ride that raises funds to eliminate hunger in New England. Last year Gaining Ground fielded a team of 16 riders who raised more than $21,000 to support our programs! Will you join us this year? The […]
I definitely know that I love my job when I am more excited than ever for the growing season to begin, my fifth at Gaining Ground. And by “begin” I mean “continue,” as we have been harvesting and distributing fresh produce throughout the winter months. At the end of last season, we finally decided to […]
After eight seasons with us, Kayleigh Boyle has moved on to Gibbet Hill Farm in Groton. We’re grateful for her many contributions here and wish her well in her next stages of growth. Gaining Ground has been part of my life since I was 22. It is hard to believe it’s been eight years. I […]
Improving Soil, Increasing Yields In 2014, Gaining Ground was awarded a $30,000 three-year grant from the Winning Home Foundation to be used for a soil revitalization project. Winning Home is a private, non-profit charitable organization that provides services and support to children and their families who are economically, socially, physically, emotionally, or mentally handicapped or […]
For the first time ever, we grew and harvested fresh produce throughout the winter, thanks to improved infrastructure and evolving farming practices. Just as the crops were ready to pick, we discovered that Mill City Grows in Lowell was in short supply of fresh, locally grown vegetables for its nutritional cooking classes. Mill City Grows […]
Did you volunteer at Gaining Ground last year? If so, you were one of more than 3,000 volunteers who contributed to 7,500-plus hours of planting, weeding, watering, and carefully tending the rainbow of produce on Gaining Ground’s farm. These efforts helped us reach more than 600 families in need with 180,000-plus servings of organic, fresh […]
Looking back through the winter months, we want to thank those who helped us move forward. John Conley, Entrepreneurship for All; Amy Noordzij, Doe Family Foundation; and Jonathan Tetrault & Mariko Sugimori, Greater Boston Food Bank; for helping with strategic planning Dave Elden, for upgrading the greenhouse and barn facilities Dudley Goar, for providing legal […]
Join us in welcoming new staff and board members. Hannah Lawson (above, right) joined Gaining Ground as our assistant farm manager at the start of sugaring season in February. Formerly employed as farmer and greenhouse manager at Appleton Farms and as program director for an environment education non-profit, she brings experience in both farming and education. […]
Our March 4, Maple Sugaring Open House landed on a day with frigid temperatures. It was too windy to twirl the popular maple sugar cotton candy, but the boiling sap in the sugar shack provided steamy warmth for over 50 supporters and friends. Some sampled Gaining Ground’s syrup and honey, then compared them to store-bought […]
I heard on the radio that the average 30-year-old spends five hours a day on their smart phone. As I turned 30 this year, this fact gave me pause. How does this technology fit into my daily life as a farmer? And what is my relationship between farming and technology? As a modern farmer, I […]
This year, Gaining Ground welcomed over 150 people to the farm for our Community Harvest Celebration on Sunday, September 19. Della’s Dinner offered a locally sourced menu of sandwiches, salads, and irresistible desserts, while Twisted Pine, a popular, local, new roots band, entertained the crowd from the volunteer pavilion. Bass player Chris Sartori had been […]
How fortunate we are that Liza Connolly, chef and co-founder of Kids Cooking Green, has volunteered to pick up and help prepare our produce weekly during this fall’s pilot partnership program with Waltham Boys and Girls Club (WBGC). With a mission to inspire youth to reach their full potential, WBGC offers a welcoming space weekdays […]
This is a farm to feed neighbors, a civic investment for long-term yields without the government’s hand in the matter. This is about respect for land and food, and the dignity of people who have neither. Gaining Ground is a participatory philanthropy, like an employee stock-option program for community development. The yields are measured in […]
I hail from the Great American Midwest, near Chicago to be exact, and have always been interested in things agricultural and outdoors, due in part I suppose to having grown up on that rapidly moving boundary between housing and agriculture, as well as having spent summers on my great uncle’s farm in Marengo, Ill. Relocating […]
From big foundations to elementary students raising money through Read for Seeds, all donors want to know that their investment has made a difference. In the nonprofit world, we often describe that return on investment as “impact.” And while there is no single way to define impact, it can be simply described as “a measurable […]
Each year, Gaining Ground relies on many members of our community to help fund our mission. Through the generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations, we are able to raise $350,00 to support all operations. While we would like to devote an entire story to each of our donors, here we are highlighting these two organizations […]
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. Special thanks go to: Alan and Susan Silberberg, for volunteering to deliver to Rosie’s Place Applefield Farm and Autumn Hills Orchard, for donating delicious apples […]
On Sunday, September 25, a team of Gaining Ground supporters cycled between 10 and 50 miles in the Ride for Food fundraiser organized by Three Squares New England. The team raised over $20,000, doubling their goal of $10,000 — a tremendous accomplishment for our first year participating in this event. Our 2016 Ride for Food Team Back […]
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