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Luis Marentes, Volunteer  After almost thirty years in MetroWest Boston, I first heard about the Gleaners this past July at the Maynard Farmers’ Market, where Jalila, the Gleaners’ Communications and Outreach Coordinator, was representing them. Before meeting her, I had never even heard the word “gleaner”. I was attracted to the idea of rescuing and distributing food that would otherwise be wasted. In the last few years, I have become more conscious about food waste and the great inequities in access to nutritious and fresh food in our surrounding communities. The Boston Area Gleaners offered me a great opportunity to actually visit and work at local farms to gather fruits and vegetables for distribution to local communities who lack access to such produce. Less than two weeks after learning about the Gleaners, I had signed up for a volunteer shift, and since then, my life has been enriched by an organization that enchanted me from the first encounter.
My first volunteer shift was at Stonefield Farm, the Gleaners’ headquarters. Stonefield Farm is located within minutes of the South Acton train station and the Grain Mill, which I regularly visit. Hidden behind the trees and the Fort Pond Brook Reservation, emerged the gorgeous farm with planted fields, a farm house, and greenhouses. Upon arrival, volunteers gathered around a picnic table under the shade. Just behind the bucolic farm, past rows of greenhouses and other high tunnels, a row of refrigerated warehouses and offices surround a significant fleet of trucks, showing the efficiency and reach of a sophisticated distribution systems. My first few experiences as a volunteer were not necessarily “gleaning”, as I had imagined. We were not in the fields picking up the leftover produce. We were actually packing produce - eggplants, lettuce and callaloo - that had been harvested at Stonefield Farm for the very purpose of distributing to their food access partners. Then, we sorted through boxes of beautiful Georgia tomatoes, picking out the few rotting fruits and keeping the rest. Similarly, we went through packaged asparagus, blueberries, plums and cantaloupes. Gleaning in this sense was not just harvesting the leftovers, but intervening in the distribution chain, before nutritious and beautiful produce went to waste. The food we could not distribute we composted, harnessing its nutrients for future plantings at Stonefield Farm rather than incinerating. I also realized that much of the composted produce wasn’t necessarily the result of carelessness or privilege, the Gleaners were also responding to an on-going problem of logistics in food storage and distribution. One unique thing about the Gleaners is that their volunteer opportunities do not necessarily follow a set schedule. When I registered as a volunteer on the Gleaners’ website, I was asked if I was willing to be put on a list to be contacted about last minute volunteer opportunities, and now I know why. While other organizations tend to operate on a set schedule—like Open Table, another local food access organization I volunteer with —new opportunities at the Gleaners emerge constantly as fields become ready for gleaning. It is hard for me to explain the feeling of gleaning in eastern and central Massachusetts. Beyond the privilege of volunteering to feed our neighbors with nutritious, fresh foods, the very opportunity to spend time in some of Massachusetts most beautiful landscapes is something hard to describe. Traveling to new farms has introduced me to rural roads and town centers I had never visited. I have also had the chance to stand in fields I had driven by over the years. Beyond the extraordinary surrounding environments, we also get to participate in a Zen-ish practice as we harvest in the middle of fertile fields. The sounds, smells and textures teach us where our food comes from and how it is grown and harvested. For example, I’ve learned that only one, or perhaps two, ears of corn grow from each tall stalk, and that we harvest broccoli heads with a small knife, and some onions easily pull out from the ground. I was also impressed to learn about the curing of garlic and onions, another form of preservation, an alternative to refrigeration that I had never even considered. Getting a glimpse of the agricultural practices is something I’ve appreciated every day. Learning and practicing the craft that many call “unskilled labor” has been both inspiring and humbling. I’ve also been rewarded by the opportunity to meet fellow volunteer gleaners of varying ages, professions, origins and towns of residence, all coming together to collaborate and share in a larger project. I am glad to be part of the Boston Area Gleaners community.
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By: Jalila Waller, Communications & Outreach Coordinator Do you ever wonder about the journey produce takes to reach the grocery shelf? Or what happens to the produce that was considered not good enough to be sold at the retail level?  Well, before produce is brought to the grocery store, it is first inspected by a distributor at the wholesale level. This takes place at distribution centers, which are the link between suppliers of produce (farmers) and consumers (retail markets). Distribution centers receive truckloads of fresh produce that have traveled across the country, bound for retailers. However, sometimes the produce is not up to standards upon arrival and inspection. Maybe the temperature in the truck was slightly lower or higher than it was supposed to be. Maybe the kale has some yellow or discolored leaves. Maybe the peaches have a couple of scabs. Or maybe the pallet slid to the side while en route. These are all possible reasons that food retailers will reject produce that is still perfectly edible. So, in order to eliminate food waste, we at Boston Area Gleaners try to intercept these truckloads of perfectly good food. Truck drivers who have a rejected truckload of produce will give us a call to see if we can accept the wholesale donation. If we have the space and the human-power to accept and sort through the donation, we will. Then we distribute it as quickly as possible to our food access partners. This allows people to enjoy fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste. Sorting and distributing wholesale donations is not an easy feat. When we receive a wholesale donation, we first have to unload multiple pallets of produce. Then we inspect the pallet to ensure the quality of produce. Next, we enter it into our inventory system, noting specific details about the quality of the product. And finally, after volunteers help clean, sort and pack the produce, it is sent out on our regular distribution routes to our food access partners.  Grocery stores and food retailers contribute to an overwhelming amount of food waste in this country. According to Redfed, in 2022, food retailers generated 4.99 million tons of waste and 35% of it went to landfills or was incinerated as waste. We hate to see that number get any higher. So, working upstream at the wholesale level allows us to further intervene and fulfill our mission of mitigating food waste and facilitating food security. Last year, we received and distributed 558,000 pounds of fresh produce thanks to wholesale donations. This year, we have received and distributed 763,000 pounds of produce. Not only are we decreasing levels of food insecurity and food waste, but we are also providing year-round fresh produce to people who cannot afford it. While the end of the 2024 gleaning season may be near, the season for delivering fresh produce never stops, nor does reducing the amount of food waste generated at the wholesale level.  Accepting wholesale donations is a gamble since we do not have eyes on the produce to determine the quality until it's on our loading dock. Unfortunately, we cannot distribute every donation that comes our way. Sometimes we receive a wonderful shipment of fruits and veggies that barely have any blemishes. Other times, we receive mostly spoiled produce. Even with the spoiled produce we accept, we can compost it and use that compost to fertilize our farm fields. Without our efforts, thousands of pounds of produce (along with its packaging) would go straight to a dump, instead of to people who would benefit from it.
We also rely on our partner organizations such as DiSilva Fruit, Farmlink Project, and Food Rescue US to keep us up to date on different truckloads of produce coming to our area that we could accept to help fill our inventory. Within the last 5 years we have been working with traditional distributors to accept donations. Luckily, the move to Stonefield Farm in 2021 gave us a larger capacity to accept more donations. Most of the donations come in 18-wheeler trucks, so having our loading docks makes it possible to secure the produce. However, we are constantly racing against the clock to distribute the fruits and veggies to our partners in a timely manner. Nonetheless, we take a leap of faith with accepting wholesale donations because it makes all the difference when there is still the slightest opportunity to provide healthy fruits and veggies to communities that otherwise would not have access to it. So, the next time you are perusing the produce section of your local grocery store, think about all the other produce that was not pretty enough to sell at the store, but was still good enough to make it to someone’s home. Duck Caldwell, Senior Advisor  Nest box with bucket baffle to discourage predators In our first spring on the farm in 2022, we were brimming with excitement for all the possibilities. In addition to being able to grow programming to meet demand, stewarding the land brought with it weighty responsibilities. And as we saw it, one of those responsibilities was to lessen the impact of our farming practices on the land and all its creatures by finding ways to support and create wildlife habitat, from the soil microbes right up to large predators. One immediate, low-cost project was identified, which was to install 13 songbird nest boxes around three farm fields. Our goal was to attract specific species that are beneficial to farming but that need additional nesting support due to habitat loss. A recent study by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology proved that encouraging and supporting bird habitat on fruit farms in California was more effective in managing pests – including rodents – than the widespread chemical means currently in use. It has also been widely shown that certain chemical use on farms can destroy soil health, cause disease in pollinators, and kill birds. The boxes we installed are small wooden boxes mounted on poles, which a person can easily reach from the ground. This was important because we wanted to monitor the boxes weekly to to check on nesting activity, and to be able to intervene if there was predator activity (such as raccoons), invasive species (such as House Sparrows and European Starlings), or pests (such as mites) threatening the eggs or any hatchlings. We were delighted to find almost immediate occupancy by Black-capped Chickadees, Eastern Bluebirds, House Wrens, and Tree Swallows. Most of our boxes were utilized, and our monitoring insured that there was minimal disruption from invasive species. Additional nesting species we have monitored outside of nest boxes include Carolina Wrens, Killdeer, and Barn Swallows.
This spring, we installed another 8 nest boxes around our largest field, which also borders Fort Brook Pond. This brought many more Tree Swallows into nest boxes, happily, as they prefer to be near a body of water. This species is currently declining in numbers, as are most migratory species, due to habitat loss and environmental toxicity. It is very satisfying to see the Tree Swallows acrobatic flying over the fields, watching them eat thousands of insects, and knowing that we are providing safe habitat and supporting their ability to reproduce successfully.
Yonah Kalikow, Forest Foundation Intern
 Native plants! For the creation of the native wetland environment, the Gleaners were able to secure a grant from the FruitGuys Community Fund in 2022. The grant provided funds to buy native wetland trees and plants to help control erosion around the flood area. Much thought and care went into deciding which plants to include in the wetland habitat. The Gleaners consulted with Blue Stem Natives who helped to identify plants that will thrive in and support the current ecology of the land, while also supporting the soil and controlling erosion. Roughly 20 plants that are native to eastern Massachusetts were identified and planted in the designated wetland area including trees, grasses, and many flowering plants. Many of the plants are pollinators that attract certain insects that will benefit the plants and the other crops being grown at Stonefield Farm. Thanks to the help of volunteers, all of the plants have been planted along the swale and will not only add beauty and wildlife, but will also help to mitigate erosion, absorb excess water and help to aerate the soil. The Gleaners are so excited to share this project with the public! If you are interested in viewing our new wetland area please contact [email protected]. If you’d like to learn more about the native plant species that we have planted, check out this plant guide.
Usha Thakrar, Executive Director  Usha Thakrar (left) with Rosendo Santizo (right) at Winter Moon Roots in Hadley, MA. Winter is a time when we take a step back from the frantic pace of the farming season to reflect and plan. This past winter that process was particularly critical -- fall has been eye-opening for me as I think about who we are and where we are headed as an organization.
Our Food Hub Manager, Annie, had a baby in September and it made the most sense for me to be her coverage. Fall is the busiest time of the year for us and, while it made for a crazy few months, I am deeply grateful to have had the chance to step into her shoes. While I had always intellectually understood the value the Food Hub provides, I had an opportunity to experience it firsthand and truly see the potential impact we can have on the food system. The irony of my role as Executive Director is that I rarely get a chance to talk to the farmers who are increasingly at the heart of our work. In Annie’s shoes, I got know many of our partner farmers who are an amazing group of hard-working people, and who come to this work from a variety of backgrounds. I had never fully appreciated the financial anxiety that many farmers face – one lost field of crops, one lost customer, one price increase on a key supply can make the difference between profit and loss. Our farmers told me that Boston Food Hub has made a difference in their bottom line. Farmers called because they had heard from a colleague that the Food Hub could help them expand their customer base and, in a total surprise, farmers reached out because they needed more varieties of produce and hard heard that we sold wholesale produce at cost (with no markup). While the Food Hub is making a difference for the small group of farmers with whom we work – I began to believe that if we can scale our work and broaden our reach, we could make an impact on the economics that have traditionally driven the local food system and marginalized the farmer. The Boston Food Hub model makes local produce affordable by only charging customers for the transportation costs – 100% of the product price a customer pays goes back to the farmer. To have a system-level impact, we need to be working regionally and increase the volume of local produce that is available to a broad range of customers. Scale is the key to reducing inefficiencies in the system and developing a sustainable model. Right now, for every farmer whose bottom line we help, there are many more who are choosing to leave the profession or sell their land. Without these farmers, the local and regional food system flounders. Farmers need a trusted partner in their work who is a consistent and reliable resource. We have the infrastructure to be that resource, but what we need is more organizational capacity to support our shift from local to regional -- to realize our potential and be a regional force within the food system. One of the Gleaners’ most popular programs is our Apprenticeship Program! This will be our 5th year of the Apprenticeship Program – we’ve had many incredible apprentices through the years, who have gone on to do amazing things across the world. We’re thrilled to be able to share about their experience with the Apprenticeship Program, as well as where they are now! Sam Balka - Apprentice, 2019
3. What are you up to now? What’s next? After the Gleaners I graduated from school and moved out to rural Utah, down by Capitol Reef National Park, to work as a wilderness therapy field guide at Legacy Outdoor Adventures/Juniper Canyon Treatment Center. Instead of thinking about nourishing crops, I think about how to nourish struggling adult humans, always counting on the healing powers of nature and adventure (similar to why our volunteers love to come get dirty!). I also began guiding different types of rites of passage ceremonies for my clients, as well as for a group of queer youth out in CO. I feel passionately about the power of ceremony and the midwifery of initiating humans into our society. What’s next for me? Great question… but you can certainly count on finding me outside. Annika Rowland - Apprentice, 2020
2. How did your apprenticeship impact you most? What did you take away from your apprenticeship? The apprenticeship impacted me by leading me to a new way of viewing the world and what could be possible if we slowly start to change the way industrial food systems operate. Local food hubs are possible, as BAG is illustrating with their work this year. The work takes people who have first-hand experience and are committed to the bigger picture, while being stewards of the land and acknowledging their own privilege within the system. Lots of big thoughts and ideas were taken away from those few essential months, which have played a huge role in leading me to where I am today. 3. What are you up to now? What’s next? I started a graduate program at Cornell University in Soil and Crop Sciences in June of 2021. I am researching ecological management of weeds in minimal tillage cropping systems, with a focus on integrating cultural and physical weed management practices. The goal of this research is to work with farmers who are adopting minimal tillage practices and advise them how they may manage weeds without using earth harming herbicides or additional cultivation. I am having a great time exploring the finger lake region of upstate New York and getting to know lots of inspiring people and farmers in the area! Mauri Trimmer - Apprentice, 2020
2. How did your apprenticeship impact you most? What did you take away from your apprenticeship? The value of physical work especially alongside friends and good company. Always bringing your passion and A game— knowing that a few minutes spent laughing till your stomach hurts is never a waste and the harvest will go on. The knowledge and drive to intervene in broken food systems, putting my energy and time into getting GOOD food to the folx who it will impact most. 3. What are you up to now? What’s next? I am currently one of two paid employees on a small 1.75 acre organic polyculture farm in Southern California. We rely on volunteer labor to prepare the soil, plant, harvest, and work on the infinite projects which arise. All that we harvest goes to feed low income seniors in the county, whether at Senior Centers or congregate meal sites. We are lucky to have an excellent team of steady recurring volunteers as well as a stream of folx who show up for a morning or two completing community service requirements. Everyone finds something they like to do, whether weeding pernicious plants out of our seedlings, building and maintaining fences, watering in new seeds, or harvesting fresh greens. At the peak of our summer harvest we were pulling 2000 pounds of produce out of our rows every week! We just got a new greenhouse to more easily propagate seedlings as well as extending our growing season for hot weather crops. If you ever find yourself in southern California, roll through for a visit (Senior Nutrition Garden in Oxnard, CA by the Food Share warehouses)! Ana Hurka-Robles - Apprentice, 2021
2. How did your apprenticeship impact you most? What did you take away from your apprenticeship? The Gleaners apprenticeship gave me a foundational understanding of the economics of agriculture, land use, and food distribution. This foundation has allowed me to think critically about the issues of food production and distribution that I hear about in the news, and that I see enacted in restaurants, grocery stores, and food pantries. I've continued to educate myself by reading books and watching documentaries about what is just and unjust in the global food system. I particularly loved the documentary Sunú, which is about maize farming in Mexico and how globalization and GMOs have affected production, and the book People's Green New Deal, which I read with some of my old Gleaner friends! 3. What are you up to now? What’s next? I am currently working at the Central Square Branch of the Cambridge Public Library. I consider this a continuation of my work at the Gleaners - the common thread is making free resources accessible to the public. I was also recently admitted into UMass Boston's Sociology PhD program, and I will be a part of their Fall 2022 student cohort. I plan to focus on contemporary issues of labor, alienation, and solidarity. To stay connected about our Apprenticeship Program, check out the Apprenticeship section of our website, and follow us on social media! The applications for the 2022 Apprenticeship Program are now open, and can be found on the Apprenticeship page.
Thank you to all of our volunteers for your hard work this year! We would not be able to move millions of pounds of food each year without your passion and work ethic. We hope to celebrate each and every one of you in person soon, but until then, we hope you enjoy this collection of recipes from fellow volunteers, staff and board members. Hopefully some of these delicious recipes can be made for the next in-person potluck!
What sharing food means to our Executive Director: I love to cook. I always have. I grew up in a house with parents who both worked full time which meant that by middle school my Mom and I had a deal—whoever got home first, made dinner. The menu was laid out days in advance and all the ingredients were in the fridge. I followed the recipes. While my cooking skills have evolved over the years, I have always been a planner: figure out the menu, gather the ingredients, prepare the meal. Until now. As a Gleaner my process and meticulous tendencies have been turned on their head. Here at Stonefield there is always a supply of fresh produce available for staff (and I have a kitchen next to my office!). I wander into the back of the cooler, see what’s there and figure out what to make. No menu. No planning. Rarely a recipe. Sometimes it’s a colossal failure, but often it’s a beautiful meal we share as a team. A nice respite from our busy days. - Usha
Last but not least, we are so excited to announce our top ten volunteers for the 2021 season! These are the volunteers that have shown up the most throughout the season. They've worked in all kinds of weather, impressed us with their enthusiasm and dedication, and encouraged everyone around them to embody their Gleaner spirit!
Thank you again to everyone who plays a part in this work and shares our commitment to getting healthy food where it's needed most. We hope to see you all soon! Meredith Days, Outreach and Communications Assistant Thank you to Annie for participating in this series!  For anyone who hasn’t met her yet, Annie serves as the Sales Manager for Boston Food Hub, one of the Gleaners’ newer programs. The Food Hub is a wholesale distributor for local produce, allowing local institutions, retailers, restaurants, nonprofits and other wholesalers to buy high-quality fruits & vegetables from our network of farm partners. Boston Food Hub hopes to address farm sustainability, prevent food waste, and support a resilient local food system from a different angle than the gleaning program of Boston Area Gleaners—helping farmers access new markets and new income, and broadening the reach of their healthy food.
The day that I followed Annie, we started out by checking in with Scotty, one of the farm crew members who works closely with Annie to maintain the inventory of produce coming in from the fields at Stonefield Farm. Scotty and Annie discuss the crop of tomatoes that is being sorted in one of the pack sheds, while Annie multitasks, fielding calls from buyers and going through the cooler to check the produce being stored for the week. After the early morning check-in with Scotty, Annie and I head over to the farmhouse so she can check the final orders coming in for Friday pickups. We talk about her experience while she types furiously on the computer. Annie started with the Food Hub as the Food Hub Sales Manager in June 2021. Annie loves farms and thinks that strengthening the regional food system is the best hope for a more sustainable future. One of her first experiences with the food system was when she did an internship on a small farm in college for a season, where she figured out that she didn’t want to be a farmer, but wanted to work adjacent to farms and help farmers. After graduating from college, she worked in a variety of jobs, including at a large salad company for a few years. In her early career, she worked more in the traditional food system, but was always seeking a job that would better align with her personal values. She studied food hubs in a certificate program at Tufts University, and has always been interested in ways to increase farm sustainability and support the local food system. Annie feels like the Gleaners’ Food Hub is a perfect fit because of our mission driven work to support the farms in our community and reduce food waste while also providing fresh produce to folks across Massachusetts. While we talk, Annie fields calls from suppliers and buyers, including a farmer who delivered a sample of brussels sprouts earlier in the week, and a local burrito joint owner who purchases tomatoes from the Food Hub. She also spends time entering sales orders for customers, placing purchase orders for farmers and checking produce inventory on Salesforce, our inventory system. At eleven, Annie participates in a call with Vermont Way Foods, to discuss their plan to build up Vermont brands outside of Vermont. As a new program, The Food Hub hopes to learn from other hubs across New England and identify opportunities to support them and their farmers, because one of the goals for the Food Hub is to grow and connect to other hubs across the region, and for the food hubs, to work together to increase access to local food and towards a resilient regional food system. Annie hopes that Boston Food Hub will be able to create a network in the region, making it easy for local wholesale customers to source from local farms. After lunch, Annie and I head back out to the cooler and pack shed to talk to Scotty about the tomato packing progress, and then Annie calls around to customers to see if anyone who didn’t submit an order wants to buy tomatoes. She also takes stock of what’s unclaimed in the cooler before calling a local grocery store to see if they’re interested in our remaining boxes of kale and lettuce (and a few final tomatoes). Annie explains that some afternoons are more operations-heavy than this one— she’s often running around checking on inventory and making sure packing is happening on schedule, but on this particular day there’s enough down time that I get another chance to talk to her before the day ends. She tells me that her favorite part about working with the Gleaners is coming to work on a farm every day with awesome people! She also loves the Food Hub for the bigger goals and vision that the program has— she feels motivated and excited to come to work because there’s so much in store as it grows. Outside of work, Annie is active and just as enthusiastic. She loves cooking, hiking, going for walks with her family, going to the beach, and especially going to farmers markets. Her favorite vegetable is hakurei turnips— she loves their versatility, and the greens are edible too, which means you can use the entire plant. Annie also told me that the food that best represents her is lobster. She likes when she has to work for her food and a lobster is like that— super satisfying to break down, and it forces you to spend time eating and thinking about your food. Her favorite food related reads are Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (one of the first food books she read about home gardening), and anything about Anthony Bourdain. Even though she’s only worked with the Gleaners for about six months, she already feels like working here has impacted the way she sees the world. She explained that working with the Gleaners has helped her reduce food waste even more - especially within day-to-day cooking, realizing that foods with imperfections are perfectly edible, appreciating all shapes, colors, and sizes of foods, and just by thinking about food waste overall. She has also adopted the “gleaner mentality,” trying to repurpose and redistribute items rather than buying new. Annie said she loves “really getting to interact with the farms we buy from, getting to know them and see their operations and know the story behind the farmers we’re working with” because it makes the work even more meaningful to her. Normally Annie would stay through 6 or 6:30pm, finishing out orders and making sure everything was set for the end of the week, but on this particular Wednesday, she had to leave at 5 to make it to Boston College, where she was giving a talk in a sustainable agriculture class, discussing local food economies. During the talk she explained her career in the food industry, talked to the students about the Gleaners, the Food Hub, and our place in the local food system, and described local supply chains, food hubs and food waste. She focused in particular on discussing on-farm food waste, where it comes from, and how we’re working to prevent it beyond just gleaning surplus! Despite her busy days, Annie loves that each day is different, and says that she feels so lucky to be excited to come into work every day. We are so glad to have her here! Paul Franceschi, Outreach Coordinator  This season, the Gleaners’ apprentice team visited Mill City Grows’ urban farm in the Pawtucketville neighborhood of Lowell—one of their many sites where they grow food with community members—to learn more and collaborate on farm projects. Mill City Grows (MCG) is a community-based food justice program that works to improve physical health, economic independence and environmental sustainability in Lowell through increased access to land, locally-grown food, and education. They manage three urban farm spaces, eight community gardens, and a network of school gardens (that connect with over 8,000 students and families!). From their growing practices to their programs at large, Mill City Grows explained that they are dedicated to adaptability and learning, and are deeply community-centered. Outreach Volunteer Operations Manager, Dai, and Farm Manager, Brian, described to the apprentice team that the farm ‘trials’ new practices and crops as much as they focus on production. Dai showed the Gleaners’ apprentices a new plot of sweet sorghum that the farm was testing out this year, in addition to other nutrient-rich grain and seed crops like sesame. Community members bring ideas and guidance to MCG’s work, as they strive to incorporate culturally appropriate crops into their growing. In a broadly multilingual and culturally diverse city, Dai says that Mill City Grows finds community connections through a collective language of food. During the pandemic, Mill City Grows converted their school gardens into ‘microfarms’ to power grab-and-go food shares for Lowell families. As with their farm practices, MCG started the program as a trial, and grew the model according to what worked, with guidance and feedback from community members. Their urban farm sites also supply food for MCG’s mobile market & community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, which both accept the state and federal nutrition assistance programs SNAP & HIP. Community buy-in to Mill City Grows’ programs is a central part of their sustainability and philosophy. A key part of food justice is food sovereignty—the right of communities and individuals to participate, hold ownership in, and guide their own food systems. In line with this, residents are able to assist with growing food for MCG's distribution, grow their own food in community gardens, and participate in workshops & education programs related to growing practices.  During our visit, the Gleaners’ crew helped build ‘high tunnels’ and ‘low tunnels’ at the farm. Both structures do the same thing, at different scales—working like a greenhouse to trap heat and extend the growing season into cooler weather for a section of the field (in the case of a high-tunnel) or a single row of crops (for low-tunnels). Mill City Grows has never had as much food planted for winter as they do now, and they plan to continue their food distribution to include winter shares!
We hope you will check out more of Mill City Grows’ work at www.millcitygrows.org! Mill City Grows accepts financial and in-kind donations online to grow their work, and invites local Lowell residents to volunteer in their gardens. You can also follow MCG on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Meredith Days, Outreach and Communications Assistant  Gaining Ground is a 3-acre farm in Concord, Massachusetts that utilizes no-till practices, and is one of the Gleaners’ longtime partners! All of the food grown at Gaining Ground is donated to local hunger relief agencies. They have 18 hunger relief partners that they donate produce to, 15 of which get produce every week. Their growing season is generally from May to early October, but they distribute to some hunger relief partners all winter. Food insecurity increases in Massachusetts in the winter months, so Gaining Ground also spends time thinking about how they can serve their partners by growing storage crops. Examples of storage crops include squash, root vegetables like carrots, and onions - crops that last in storage! Gaining Ground is also interesting in that they do maple sugaring in the winter, driving around Concord to tap over 50 different trees. With all of the produce going to food pantries, Gaining Ground experiences consistent demand. This gives their crew the flexibility to harvest entire fields and plant cover crops when it is most advantageous to them. The land where Gaining Ground is located is the traditional homeland of the Nipmuc and Algonquin Nations. The land was farmed for about 100 years for rhubarb and asparagus. Gaining Ground has been there for a little over 20 years.
At Gaining Ground, the farm runs on volunteer labor. This year alone, there have been over 1800 volunteers out to help the farmers with their harvest. In years past, the number of volunteers has been over 2500! The volunteer program connects people to the land and helps expose them to food access issues. This year is the first year Gaining Ground has had a farm Education Manager, Erin, who was nice enough to show us around and answer our many questions when we visited! In the last year, the organization has tried to push for the volunteer program to be mission oriented and educational as a way to engage people beyond volunteering. We also learned a lot about soil preservation from Erin, and the importance of thinking about the soil content. We got to see one of their high-tunnel greenhouses full of carrots with no weeds at all - Erin told us that “when you build microbes in the soil through no till practices it’s much harder for weeds to grow” which was incredible to see. No-till practices take a long time to show their impact though, so the work is a long term investment into the land for the future. The benefit of no-till means not having to feed the soil as much with fertilizers, having way less pests, and spending less time weeding in general!
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