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 […]
Mark your calendar! On Saturday, December 3, Debra’s Natural Gourmet will donate 5% of its proceeds to Gaining Ground. Set aside the date to shop at Debra’s, 98 Commonwealth Avenue in West Concord, and help Gaining Ground, too. We greatly appreciate Debra’s Natural Gourmet’s generous and long-time support of our work and mission.
For the past six years, Gaining Ground has focused on making our farm more productive. Our efforts have been concentrated on the inputs: soil amendments, a well and irrigation, deer fencing, and a barn. It’s easy to measure the success of those inputs: We have doubled our production to 60,000 pounds of organic produce and […]
This year has been the most instrumental season toward my growth as a young farmer. Most importantly, I’ve learned to let go, and that I cannot possibly live and die with each and every seed and plant on the farm. To practice patience and to stay present. I’ve learned that even in this age-old tradition, […]
During the 2015 growing season, Gaining Ground participated in the Art and Agriculture Project, a collaboration between the Concord Agriculture Committee and the Umbrella’s Musketaquid Arts and Environment program. Eleven juried artists, working in a variety of media, were paired with 13 Concord farms to create works based on what they saw and experienced, witnessing […]
Recently I have been thinking about what I would do once my apprenticeship ends. As a somewhat last resort, I retook the the famous Myers-Briggs personality test online. I had taken it in high school as sort of a career guidance tool but had not thought about it again until recently. I am so glad […]
The first time I visited Gaining Ground I was in third grade with a school group. I was really impressed by the selflessness of the farmers: growing so much organic food, to then donate to charity. I had been looking for ways to positively influence those in need, and I decided that this was a […]
Fresh, locally grown cucumbers, kale, spinach, apples, berries, and more… That’s breakfast for many homeless and low-income men and women living in the Lowell area! How? These delicious vegetables are turned into free healthy breakfast smoothies thanks to a new partnership with Gaining Ground and other produce providers. Breakfast smoothies are a major component of […]
Concord resident Kenzie Thomas started volunteering at Gaining Ground five years ago. A member of the National Charity League, she takes on a wide variety of activities with great enthusiasm. She has curated an art exhibit at Concord Art Association, worked as a lifeguard, and at a local farm to table restaurant. Carlisle resident Claire […]
Mark your calendar and gather together at Gaining Ground for a community harvest celebration on Sunday, September 18! Listen to Twisted Pine, a new roots band with an unbridled, contagious spirit. Purchase locally sourced sandwiches, salads and dessert from pop-up restaurant or bring your own lunch. Participate in cider making, art projects, treasure hunt and games. WHEN Sunday, […]
Gaining Ground has a strong team of 16 riders participating in its first year of the Three Squares New England Ride for Food, a bike ride on Sunday, September 25 that raises funds to eliminate hunger in New England. The team has pledged to raise at least $10,000 with a portion benefitting Gaining Ground directly. […]
After you go to all the trouble of building a barn by hand—from cutting every last joint to raising it by hand, resulting in a structure that will last for generations—you really can’t crown it with some made-in-China, mail-order weathervane. That would be like Alice Waters plating up Twinkies for dessert at Chez Panisse. It […]
For over twenty years, students from many local schools have helped fight hunger by participating in our Read for Seeds program. This unique program links fundraising, education, and community action. Led by Pam Goar, long-time board member, Read for Seeds pays for almost 70% of the seeds needed to grow 60 different vegetables annually. This […]
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