Explore: Staff and Farm Crew
September 15, 2020
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.
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 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 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 […]
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 […]
July 8, 2019 • Kim Schmidt
I remember being informed about farm lunches on my first day at Gaining Ground last year. Farmers, I was told, would take turns cooking lunch for the team each week. I’m certain I was informed of this during the interview, but had since forgotten and now found myself quite nervous about it all. I had […]
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 […]
After a dozen years working with Gaining Ground farm staff and volunteers, Paula Jordan has decided to redirect her time and talents this season. Her welcoming smile and encouraging guidance will be missed on a daily basis. Paula joined Gaining Ground in 2007, when the farm had less land, fewer volunteers, and only the pavilion […]
We are delighted to have so many familiar faces on the crew again in 2019: Doug Wolcik, Hannah Lawson, Jared Kimler, Kim Schmidt, and Grace Shields are all returning. Kate Hudec, a former volunteer, is a welcome new addition. In the office, Amy Capofreddi, Fan Watkinson, and Allison Goodwin continue to juggle the behind-the-scenes logistics […]
November 13, 2018
Gaining Ground’s no-till practice is garnering attention: the organization is one of nine organic farms selected to participate in a three-year USDA Conservation Innovation Grant. The $170,000 grant was awarded to Northeast Organic Farmers Associations (NOFA) of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. “The goal of the project is […]
November 2, 2018
Board member Linda Booth Sweeney received a poignant piece by Wendell Berry from Schumacher Center for New Economics, with its mission to envision a just and sustainable global economy; apply the concepts locally; then share the results for broad replication. This writing seems relevant to the work at Gaining Ground while we address hunger relief. A culture […]
May 17, 2018
The holidays have come and gone and, after a very successful 2017, where we saw production increase to over 80,000 pounds, we now reflect and set a course for our next season. Winter is the season for planning. How do we achieve these results again or, better yet, how do we continue to grow more […]
October 17, 2017
As the growing season starts to wind down, I start to get excited about the winter months and the planning process for next year’s growing season. I can’t help myself. As a farmer, it is so ingrained to always be thinking two days, two weeks, even two months ahead at any moment. But on days […]
October 11, 2017
“Those are carrots. Reindeers eat carrots.” —A 4 year-old talking to her friend at the Head Start market “The market is an opportunity to see all the colors, all the vegetables. Kids feel important when they shop.” —Teacher at Head Start in Lowell “We’ve tried new vegetables, and I’m learning how to cook.” and “This market […]
October 4, 2017
Hard to express in a few words, my experience at Gaining Ground has meant growth, empowerment, challenge, and fulfillment. It’s also been sweaty. I came into this season with very little farming knowledge. For many years now, I have studied plants—how to identify them, draw them, understand their biology. I have spent many countless hours […]
August 23, 2017
One of the joys of farming is that each season is a fresh start, bringing new challenges and new successes. Until you are in it, you never know how it will go. Farming forces you to be present, to live in the now and depend on the elements. You can plan as much as possible, […]
August 19, 2017
Thanks to the support of Patagonia Boston and a Patagonia Enviro Internship grant, I am grateful to be volunteering with the farm staff at Gaining Ground for four weeks this summer. My field reports for the Patagonia office joyfully list all of the insects, animals, and birds I have met in the fields. Everywhere I […]
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