Planting A Seed For Tomorrow
April 25, 2025
With the generous support of longtime Gaining Ground friends Joe Rigali and Tracy Winn, we’re launching a planned giving program.
Explore: Hunger Relief
Bedford Food Bank Works With Gaining Ground To Address Nutrition Insecurity
January 21, 2025
At Bedford Food Bank, the staff focuses on assisting two types of insecurity when a person needs assistance affording food: food security and nutrition security.
Sowing Seeds of Community: Read for Seeds
June 26, 2024 • Danielle Capalbo, Communications & Development Manager
For more than 27 years, local elementary and middle school students have raised money for Gaining Ground while strengthening their literacy skills, through a springtime read-a-thon called Read for Seeds.
The Madd Love Language of Food: UTEC
• Danielle Capalbo, Communications & Development Manager
For the second year in a row, Gaining Ground is proud to support the Madd Love Meals program at UTEC, a weekly delivery of free groceries throughout Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill that nourishes about 120 households experiencing food insecurity.
Fresh Food for Strong Beginnings: Community Teamwork/Head Start
May 29, 2024 • Danielle Capalbo, Communications & Development Manager
Just like a seed needs the right combination of soil, water, and sunlight to grow into a strong, healthy plant, young children need vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to grow into strong, healthy individuals. That’s why Community Teamwork in Lowell has partnered with Gaining Ground since 2014 to provide Head Start students and their families with […]
Growing Our Impact, Healing the Land
April 26, 2024 • Mark Congdon, Director of Agriculture
Happy Spring! It’s the most wonderful time to celebrate all the tremendous work that’s been happening at Gaining Ground over the many years! Our mission to grow nutritious food in support of hunger relief is both admirable and humbling. As the new Director of Agriculture, I am honored to join these efforts with our passionate […]
Rooted in Change: Seasonal Transitions and Sustainable Solutions on Virginia Road
• Kari Bender and Chrissie Edgeworth, Farm Co-Managers
The season is kicking into gear, and at the farm on Virginia Road our team is busy with all of the tasks that mark the coming of spring. We farmers kept busy through winter harvesting from high tunnels, repairing tools, crop planning, building out farm infrastructure, and much more. Now we’re thrilled to welcome back […]
Give Local: The Community Foundation for MetroWest
• Dani Capalbo, Development & Communications Manager
As we promote food security through local, sustainable agriculture, we celebrate the local, sustainable philanthropy that makes our efforts possible—like generous investments from The Community Foundation for MetroWest, which launched almost 30 years ago to change lives in the region. “Back then, there were many philanthropic efforts in Greater Boston but people seemed blissfully unaware […]
A Winning Team of Volunteers
April 25, 2024 • Polly Vanasse, Board Member and Community Farm Team Member
What can happen when you join a team eager to develop their “game” with extraordinary “coaches” who excel at growing food and creating a sense of purpose? The inaugural Community Farm Team formed in 2022, made up of folks who had found tremendous joy volunteering at Gaining Ground and who hoped for longer sessions and […]
Celebrating YOUR Impact!
January 25, 2024
Winter months on the farm are prime time for reflection, and when we look back on the 2023 season—from sowing seeds to reaping abundance—we see YOU, our amazing community of supporters, at every step. Thank you! Without your generous contributions of time, talent, and treasure, Gaining Ground simply could not farm as we do, exclusively […]
Fresh Flavors and Full Hearts – Women’s Lunch Place
December 7, 2023 • Danielle Capalbo, Communications & Development Manager
On a crisp fall morning, chef Inna Khitrik stirred a huge skillet of aromatic Mediterranean soup over the stove at Women’s Lunch Place, a Boston-based day shelter that serves more than 1,800 unhoused women each year. “We ask for just their first names, no other questions,” said Khitrik, who became the Kitchen Manager in July […]
A Year of Plenty: Looking Back on the 2023 Season
• Allison Goodwin, Operations Director
As the farm settles in for its winter rest, we reflect with gratitude on the year’s successes and challenges. The fields are quiet now, blanketed beneath cover crop, mulch, or salt marsh hay. Gone are the spirited laughter and chatter of volunteers. The barn and pavilion are packed tightly with distribution tables, banana boxes, tools, […]
Sowing Seeds of Change with the 2023 Farm Bill
September 27, 2023
You’ve probably heard the term “Farm Bill” a lot this year, as the current legislation—passed in 2018—is set to expire on Sept. 30. So what is the bill? What’s at stake, and how can we get involved with intention? We’ve been asking the same questions at Gaining Ground, so we can help to shape laws […]
From the Field: Freshness Matters, and Other Lessons from Partner Visits
Stronger Together: La Colaborativa
August 29, 2023
Up-tempo music and conversations among neighbors were the soundtrack on a recent afternoon for the open-air food pantry that convenes twice a week in Chelsea, at a Route 1 underpass, coordinated by the Latina-led nonprofit La Colaborativa. In the shade, community members chose from vegetables, fruits, grains, flours, dairy, eggs, proteins, and canned goods. “All […]
On Servings & Pounds: Measuring Impact on the Farm
Volunteer Q&A: Rob Webber
July 27, 2023
Gaining Ground’s hunger-relief work is made possible by a community of generous volunteers dedicated to holistic, sustainable farming practices and helping to improve access to fresh, nutritious produce for our neighbors struggling to put food on the table. A remarkable member of this team is Rob Webber. We recently caught up with Rob to learn […]
Putting Choice Front and Center: Loaves & Fishes
Gaining Ground Expands to Minute Man National Historical Park
June 27, 2023 • Gaining Ground
We are thrilled to share the news that Gaining Ground plans to expand our farming operations to five acres of land within Minute Man National Historical Park. The new land will help us meet growing demand for fresh, nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables at emergency food programs in Greater Boston and the MetroWest. “Food insecurity continues […]
Adapting to Meet Rising Need: The Bedford Food Bank
• Christine Savage, Communications Manager
The landscape of food insecurity in Massachusetts has transformed in the three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In 2019, the rate of household food insecurity was 19 percent, according to the Greater Boston Food Bank. Today, it stands at 33 percent. This profound change has demanded ingenuity and adaptability from many of the organizations […]