News
October 29, 2020 • Allison Goodwin, Program Manager
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 […]
• Allison Goodwin, Program Manager
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 […]
• Jennifer Johnson, Executive Director
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 […]
• Anna Kelchlin, Wash and Pack Manager
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.
• Tim O'Brien with eyes and ears from all of 2020 farm staff
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 […]
September 23, 2020 • Gaining Ground
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 […]
September 15, 2020 • Allison Goodwin, Program Manager
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 […]
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!
• Sue Mildrum, Board Member
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 […]
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.
August 5, 2020 • Doug Wolcik, Farm Manager
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 […]
• Jen Flint, Board Member
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 […]
August 4, 2020 • Polly Vanasse, Board Member
At the Sudbury Food Pantry, a small team of dedicated adults works each week on Tuesday and Thursday to distribute groceries to approximately 50 hungry families. Beginning in late May, the pantry saw a sharp uptick in attendance when it began to distribute fresh spring produce from Gaining Ground. Wide-eyed families saw the gorgeous heads […]
July 30, 2020 • Jennifer Johnson, Executive Director
Community is at the heart of everything that we do at Gaining Ground. We work together, in community, to grow nutritious and delicious produce for our community. Our community is strengthened by our shared commitment to sustainability, generosity, and equitable access to healthy food. We are missing many in our community this growing season as […]
July 29, 2020 • Allison Goodwin, Program Manager
This year has brought plenty of unforeseen challenges as well as growth, re-calibration, and hidden blessings. The COVID-19 pandemic in early March forced some of our largest partners, such as Boston’s Pine Street Inn, to temporarily stop accepting produce from Gaining Ground due to safety and logistical concerns. While some channels closed, other new partnerships […]
Several years ago we updated the images and farm information in our cookbook, The Gaining Ground Table. With inspirational recipes season by season, its summer section includes a bounty of fresh produce in mouth-watering appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, side dishes and desserts. Email us at office@gainingground.org if you are interested in purchasing a copy. […]
July 8, 2020
July is a time of bounty at the Gaining Ground farm. Tiny seeds planted in the cool days of early spring have turned into lettuce heads the size of dinner plates and green pea tendrils that tower above our heads. There are other seeds, planted throughout the whole year, that also blossom into abundance on the […]
During the pandemic, we have reorganized our Food for Families market serving the Concord and Carlisle communities. Staff and board members pre-assemble the produce into grocery bags at the farm. It takes four vehicles, packed full, to deliver the bags to the distribution site. Long-time board member Lucy Rosborough greets over 60 households, up from […]
“Four years ago we started transitioning to no-till farming methods. Each year we’ve had better yields and this season the beds are exploding. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.” —Doug Wolcik, Farm Manager, Gaining Ground July has burst onto the landscape. Our fields are overflowing with colorful, vibrant produce. We are donating tons—literally 2,000 pounds, three […]
June 18, 2020 • Gaining Ground
Volunteers have been at the heart of Gaining Ground from our humble beginnings in 1994 all the way through to last year’s record-breaking harvest. We have worked together as a community to plant, grow, and distribute tens of thousands of pounds of produce each year for our food-insecure neighbors. Like organizations worldwide, Gaining Ground […]
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