Explore: Board of Directors
April 7, 2023 • Gaining Ground
Board of Directors Our board of directors and staff make an incredible team. Together, they have helped Gaining Ground accomplish phenomenal harvests in spite of unpredictable changes in weather patterns, guided us through the creation and launch of an exciting new strategic plan for the organization, and enabled us to strive to meet rising food […]
• Allison Goodwin, Operations Director
Gaining Ground’s Volunteer Committee includes members of the organization’s Board of Directors, staff, and dedicated volunteer community. Participants include long-term volunteers, members of our Community Farm Team, teachers whose classes participate annually in our Read for Seeds program, and a representative from the National Charity League, a service organization with whom we partner. Last year […]
• Christa Collins, Board of Directors
One of the goals set out in Gaining Ground’s 2022-2027 strategic plan is to extend the farm’s reach in order to increase our impact on food insecurity. One way we’re doing this is by exploring and testing opportunities to expand our food production beyond our current land constraints. Ethical management of our farm means that […]
February 27, 2023 • Gaining Ground
At Gaining Ground, we are grateful for the diverse, insightful, and compassionate voices and perspectives that support and guide the farm. We are thrilled to welcome Katie Bekel to our board of directors and to take this opportunity to learn a bit more about the newest member of the Gaining Ground team. How did you […]
December 21, 2022 • Polly Vanasse, Board President
As Paul Simon sang to me yesterday, “Make a new plan, Stan.” Every five or so years, Gaining Ground is tasked with creating a new strategic plan. It’s an opportunity for the board of directors and the staff to steer the organization toward ambitious goals and new horizons. Our latest plan, formally adopted in November […]
August 29, 2022 • Gaining Ground
We are thrilled to welcome several new members to our board of directors this year who bring with them a wealth of creativity, passion, and meaningful insight. This August, we’re going to take the opportunity to learn a bit more about two of these new members of the Gaining Ground team, Yvette Philip and Sigmund […]
July 27, 2022 • Gaining Ground
At Gaining Ground, we are grateful for the thoughtful, compassionate, and diverse voices and perspectives that support and guide the farm. This year, we are thrilled to welcome several new members to our board of directors who bring with them a wealth of creativity, passion, and meaningful insight: Sigmund Correa, Shilpi Desai, Sam Hiersteiner, and […]
April 14, 2022 • Polly Vanasse, Board President
When I was a volunteer at Gaining Ground, I thought like a volunteer. I watched the seedlings my students planted turn into gorgeous veggies, helped drive them to a local food pantry, and heard the exclamations of recipients about the quality of the produce. Yet this process only revealed to me the surface of hunger […]
Last year, we bid a fond farewell to board members Penny Austen, Elisabeth Elden, John Canally, and Gretchen Nelson. We are incredibly grateful to each of them for the dedication, enthusiasm, and thoughtfulness they contributed to Gaining Ground over the years. This season, we are thrilled to welcome four new terrific members to our board […]
October 16, 2021 • Gaining Ground
CONCORD, Mass., October 8, 2021—Gaining Ground, a Concord nonprofit farm growing organic produce exclusively for hunger relief, today announced the appointment of long-time supporter and board member Polly Vanasse as board president, and the addition of four new members to its board of directors: Laurie Engdahl, Ashley Perssico, Guillermo Ruiz-Rico, and Kristen Van Damm. These […]
October 29, 2020 • Elisabeth Elden, Board President
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 […]
September 15, 2020 • 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 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 8, 2020
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
• Sue Mildrum, Board President
I work in an office all day. I go from meeting to meeting, rushing down long hallways beneath fluorescent lights. At the end of the day I get home and sometimes wonder if I actually accomplished anything. Does this sound at all familiar? If so, I have the perfect antidote. Bring your team to Gaining Ground for […]
April 18, 2019 • Sue Mildrum, Board President
As a new season begins at Gaining Ground, we are in the wonderful position of staffing our office and fields with talented and knowledgeable professionals who are returning for another year. In the eight years that I have been involved, I don’t think we have ever had so many people returning. We are set up […]
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