Thank You to All of Our Supporters

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 2020 virtual Read […]

2021 Staff and Board News

In tumultuous times, we are more grateful than ever for the dedication of our board of directors and staff. Their talents and skills have helped Gaining Ground achieve record-breaking harvests year after year, and have enabled us to strive to meet rising food insecurity associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.  At the end of 2020, we […]

A Warm Welcome Back to Our Volunteers!

Gaining Ground was thrilled to announce the reopening of our volunteer program this growing season. After a year of isolation and overwhelming challenges, it feels important for all of us—our farmers and our volunteers—to have the opportunity to reconnect with the land and come together in support of hunger relief. Volunteers are essential to the […]

The Measure of a Year

“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes.How do you measure,Measure a year?” Musical theater buffs may recognize the lyric above from Rent and a song that explores how one defines the truly important events that occur during the course of a year. The Tony award-winning play celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and multiple casts have […]

Countdown to Volunteers!

In a year marked by so much change, the past months have served as a powerful reminder for everyone at Gaining Ground of the essential role that connection and community plays in our lives. And we know that our volunteers share this understanding with us. As one volunteer who started joining us on the farm […]

Please Join Us for a Poem Walk on the Farm!

Gaining Ground invites you to join us for a Poem Walk in celebration of National Poetry Month, which will run at the farm from April 10 to May 10, 2021. Together with the Concord Free Public Library, Gaining Ground collected poetry submissions during the winter from people of all ages on topics like food, spring, […]

Help us celebrate National Poetry Month!

Did you know April is National Poetry month?  Celebrate with us by writing an original poem about vegetables, the weather, birds, bugs, or anything else related to nature and farming!  Gaining Ground will feature several poems in a display at the farm this coming April. Submit your poem to: poems@gainingground.org no later than March 15. Thank you!

A Tumultuous Year

First and foremost, the board thanks everyone who made our year on the farm one of the most productive in our history. Despite some unexpected and challenging issues, we delivered over 440,000 servings of food and grew more than 110,000 pounds. Just a sampling of our challenges included COVID-19, which forced us to suspend our […]

Land’s Generosity Passed Forward to Others

In a year of uncertainty, one thing has held steady: the unending generosity of the land. Our fields and soils are oblivious to the global pandemic, political turmoil, and painful systemic injustices exposed across the nation. The land gives. The soil teems with microorganisms busily enhancing fertility to support our growing vegetables. Through the gifts […]

Recipient Spotlight: East Boston Community Soup Kitchen

Our newest recipient partner is the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen, which provides meals and groceries to those struggling with food insecurity, homelessness, and other challenges in East Boston. Our program manager, Allison Goodwin, recently interviewed the Kitchen’s founder and executive director, Sandra Niijjar, about her mission to feed her community. Sandra is second from […]

Hidden Epidemic Now in Plain Sight

The data came in, and it was sobering.   This past summer, we needed to prepare for a tripling in the number of people participating in Food for Families, our free farmers market. While shocking, the numbers weren’t surprising. We saw this increased need across the board from all our partner agencies, and news reports indicated […]

Water: Life at the Wash and Pack Station

Without water life does not exist. Water makes up 60 percent of the human body, 70 percent of the earth, and almost 90 percent of many of the vegetables we grow, like cucumbers and tomatoes. This season I have spent my days surrounded by this sacred substance—using it to spray, dunk, shimmy, and shine our vegetables.

Wildlife Sightings in 2020

This season the farm staff has generated an impressive list of wildlife in and around the farm. There are many reasons we may have noticed more this year than ever before: more naturalists amongst the crew, more wildlife finding food; and shelter and safety in the ecosystem building from our no-till, regenerative farming practices. Whatever […]

We’re Hiring! Farm Manager

Gaining Ground is looking for an exceptional candidate to fill the role of farm manager. The farm manager will possess significant experience with and knowledge of no-till, organic vegetable production, a demonstrated aptitude in managing a team of farmers and engaging with more than 2,500 annual volunteers, and a healthy, self-motivated work ethic. We are […]

Expanding our Reach

Partnerships are a vital component of Gaining Ground’s success. It is through our long-standing relationships with local hunger relief organizations that the nutritious bounty of the farm reaches thousands of our underserved neighbors each season. In response to skyrocketing food insecurity associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, we entered into several new partnerships this spring. GreenRoots […]

Time for Soil Tests! Learn How.

September is the time for testing soils for maximum benefit.


Check out this video where Farm Manager Doug Wolcik explains the reasons for taking soil samples and then demonstrates how to do so with a variety of tools. Your garden soils will be healthier if you follow his guidance!


Celebrating our Staff

Each year Gaining Ground hosts a lunch for staff and farmers to recognize them for the work they do every day for our recipients. While the setup was very different this year, the sentiment remained the same. The lunch was kicked off with Executive Director Jennifer Johnson thanking the staff and farmers for their adaptability […]

Jamie Bemis’ Visionary Idea

Gaining Ground exists because of Jamie Bemis’ visionary idea to start an organic farm dedicated to community, hunger relief and volunteerism.


We are deeply saddened by her passing and extend our sympathies to her family and friends.


The Future Is Here

Years ago, when we were in the midst of transitioning to no-till practices, I said in an interview with NOFA that I couldn’t wait for 2020 to arrive. “The future can’t come fast enough.” I didn’t know what to expect when I said that, but I certainly didn’t expect this: a pandemic forcing us to […]

Keeping up with Demand

As food insecurity surges, hunger relief organizations adapt to keep up “The numbers are staggering,” Erin Kuschner writes in a June 26 article on Boston.com.  Food insecurity could affect one in eight residents of Eastern Massachusetts by the end of the year, according to the hunger relief organization Feeding America. That represents an increase of […]
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