News
May 1, 2020
We donated 60% more produce this April compared to a year ago, thanks to two additional hoop houses providing warm shelter for more early spring crops. With the current pandemic, this increase has been well timed. At a time when fresh local vegetables are scarce, Open Table in Maynard and Concord Public Schools have gratefully received […]
April 2, 2020
During this unusual season without our valued volunteers, we are especially grateful to have a strong, experienced staff. Our farm staff has a total of 42 years of combined farming experience with Doug Wolcik, Hannah Lawson, and Kim Schmidt returning from last year and Kari Bender, Stacy Entel, Anna Kelchlin, and Max Spurlin joining from […]
March 31, 2020 • Doug Wolcik, Farm Manager
In 2016, we started with a vision of making the farm more productive, and over the last four years we have reimagined and reconstituted almost every system and aspect of our farming practices. The driving force behind all these changes was the long-term plan of regenerating the soil, along with a switch to no-till farming. We believed […]
March 29, 2020 • Allison Goodwin, Program Manager
Gaining Ground’s 25th growing season was a resounding and record-breaking success. In 2019, our hard-working farmers grew 126,275 pounds of organic produce with the help of more than 2,500 volunteers. Our production volume increased 27 percent over 2018 and doubled 2016’s total output. More impressive than these numbers, however, is their impact on our recipient’s […]
March 27, 2020 • Lisanne Wheeler, Board Member
In the months of winter, Doug and Hannah look back on the growing season to take stock of the year. In order to improve the future we must understand the past. Our development team takes a similar approach year upon year. […]
March 25, 2020
Over 150 adults and children ventured to Gaining Ground on Saturday afternoon, March 7th to learn how the farmers boil maple sap into syrup and to enjoy a warm fire and some maple taste treats. Visitors compared our syrup, cooked over a wood fire, to Vermont maple syrup, cooked over propane and to Log Cabin […]
March 23, 2020
Gaining Ground welcomes three new members to the board of directors: Amy Capofreddi, Crista Collins, and Nick Ferbert. Amy Capofreddi Amy has served as Gaining Ground’s first executive director for two years and grant manager for three years. She successfully increased contributions to fund an expanded staff and further capital improvements and also led a […]
March 21, 2020 • Elisabeth Elden, Board President
To work on a farm is to expect change of all kinds, some that we create on purpose, and some that are mysteries that unfold and surprise us throughout the year. We are subject to the weather, yet we design schedules and plans for planting and harvesting crops. We study and ameliorate the soil, then […]
March 19, 2020
If you are seeking an hour of distraction from current news, here is your chance for an informative podcast. Farm Manager Doug Wolcik tells the story of Gaining Ground and its transition to no-till farming on this highly respected podcast, No-Till Growers. Enjoy Doug’s interview, posted on March 16, and those of so many other […]
March 18, 2020 • Karen Bechtel Perkins, Board Member
After a thoughtful months-long search, with participation from board members and staff, we are excited to announce Gaining Ground’s new executive director, Jennifer Johnson. Jennifer was the director of development and outreach at The Nature Connection in Concord during the four years that I was at the Community Chest. I admired her enthusiastic and engaging […]
March 13, 2020
Dear Friends of Gaining Ground: In light of rapidly-evolving news pertaining to the COVID-19 virus, we want to assure you that now, as always, we are committed to the health and safety of everyone in our community, particularly the most vulnerable among us. As we prepare to launch a new growing season, we are exercising precaution […]
March 10, 2020
The below article is reprinted with permission from Lincoln Fishman of Sawyer Farm, shown above. Lincoln and Gaining Ground’s Doug Wolcik attended an event on February 12, which was organized by NOFA Massachusetts and assembled ten farmers from around the state to speak at the Massachusetts State House in support of the Healthy Soils Bill. […]
March 3, 2020
On Saturday, March 7 from 2–4 pm, enjoy maple treats and learn about the sugaring process. RSVP to maple@gainingground.org […]
November 26, 2019
Just in time for holiday cooking, we have published a new edition of our cookbook, The Gaining Ground Table. It still includes our delicious, original recipes organized by season and the convenient, easy-to-open spiral binding. In celebration of 25 years of Gaining Ground, we have updated sections describing how we grow food for hunger relief […]
November 22, 2019 • Gaining Ground
Update: All 2020 positions have been filled. Thank you for your interest. Gaining Ground is a 3 acre non-profit, no-till, organic farm in Concord, MA that grows produce for 13 hunger relief organizations alongside community volunteers. In the 2019 growing season we grew over 125,00 pounds of produce with the help of 2,500 volunteers, supplying 750 […]
October 28, 2019
In celebration of its 25th year, Gaining Ground has published a book chronicling the organization’s history and growth—from a visionary garden project in 1994 to a highly productive farm that now donates more than 120,000 pounds of food in a season. In Gaining Ground: The Story of a Community Growing Food and Giving It All Away, the farm’s history comes to life […]
• Fan Watkinson, Program Manager
For twenty five years, Gaining Ground has pursued its mission to grow and give away healthy produce for hunger relief with the help of volunteers and community. While the mission has been steadfast, the chapters along the way have evolved. During the past seven years, we have focused on increasing output on our 3.5 acres of cultivated land by […]
• Amy Capofreddi, Executive Director
This year, thanks to a generous grant from Adobe Foundation, Gaining Ground has entered into a new partnership with Bridge Boston, a Roxbury charter school where 100 percent of the student population qualify for free lunch. We send weekly distributions of produce to the students, and the students help us as volunteers on the farm. […]
• Polly Vanasse
It’s 8 AM and already 93 degrees outside, and your friends have invited you to go to the air-conditioned mall. But wait… it’s Farm Team day, and you are heading up the high school volunteers. Besides, who would want to be indoors on a scorcher like this when there are 2,000 pounds of butternut squash […]
• Tim O'Brien, Assistant Grower
I began working at the farm in late June, just after a killdeer nested in the leeks and fledged two chicks. Great-crested flycatchers occupied the woods surrounding the far field. One of my favorite things about farming is being more in tune with changes in the seasons and the weather and how they affect the […]
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