HELP US SAVE
THE WALTHAM FIELD STATION
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
The time is NOW! The Mayor has taken the issue of acquiring the Waltham Field Station into Executive Session. That means the City Council is actively debating the merits of acquiring the property and what their usage plan would be post acquisition. Now more than ever, it is important that we voice our concerns and advocate for a plan that accounts for our organizational needs.
We ask that you contact your local representatives, as well as the pertinent Waltham legislators listed below. We hope that community input will help to steer the negotiations henceforth and inform a solution that minimizes disruption to our programming.
Please use the contact information listed below. Email, write and call........ your voice matters!
We ask that you contact your local representatives, as well as the pertinent Waltham legislators listed below. We hope that community input will help to steer the negotiations henceforth and inform a solution that minimizes disruption to our programming.
Please use the contact information listed below. Email, write and call........ your voice matters!
- General Guidelines:
- Keep communications positive, focus on why the work of Boston Area Gleaners matters to you
- At this point we are hopeful that the land at 240 Beaver St will be preserved. Our main focus now is to advocate for keeping the building open so that the grassroots community of nonprofits working to address issues such as climate change, food insecurity, sustainable agriculture, community & ecological resiliency and responsible land management remains intact.
- Note in your communications if you are a Waltham resident
- Share widely, especially with stakeholders in the Waltham area
- **Please send a copy of your letter or email to charlotte@bostonareagleaners.org so we can compile a master document to hand out at city council meetings.**
What to include in your communication:
Our main goal is to obtain a formal commitment from both UMASS and the City of Waltham that access to the building will be maintained through this transitional time and into the future. This is what we would like to focus our communications around at this time. A facet of this "ask" could also be working to obtain alternative provisional office space on the property if the building is closed.
Relevant stats to include in communication at your discretion:
- Partner agencies in Waltham
- Jewish Family & Children's Service
- Bristol Lodge
- Healthy Waltham
- Waltham Salvation Army
- Chesterbrook Community Foundation
- Waltham Fields Community Farm Outreach Market
- Direct service to 49 partner agencies
- Total distribution reach, more than 1,000 hunger relief agencies across the region
- 75+ volunteer trips hosted at the Waltham Field Station in 2018 accounting for more than 300 volunteers hosted on-site
- 818,000 lbs produce gleaned in 2018 (3.3 million servings)
- Boston Area Gleaners founded in 2004 out of the Waltham Field Station
- 2.7 million pounds produce rescued since our inception in 2004
- 9,800% growth since our first season when we gleaned 8,240 lbs
It can be intimidating to write a letter of this type. You may feel nervous that you will say something wrong or not paint this issue in the perfect light. That's okay, we are not expecting you to voice our official stance. We have taken the time to write a press release in concert with other tenants that contains our official stance and we are managing the ever-evolving situation closely, including near constant communication with these representatives ourselves.
The most helpful thing you can do right now is to speak genuinely, in your own voice, about why the Field Station and the work that happens here matters to you personally. These legislators are aware of the situation, the history of the facility and what organizations are housed here at the Field Station. What they need to hear is why it matters to the community that this facility is kept open.
Therefore, a sample letter might be as simple as saying......
"I am writing to encourage you to protect and preserve the Waltham Field Station in its current use. The work of Boston Area Gleaners is important to me because [_____________]. Since 2010, the Boston Area Gleaners has distributed several million of pounds of high quality, nutritious fruits and vegetables through its operation base at the Waltham Field Station. All of this nutritious food is distributed to thousands of food insecure families across Eastern Massachusetts. This is a service that would not easily be replaced and the Waltham Field Station represents an integral part to the successful functioning of Boston Area Gleaners."
Federal Legislators of Interest
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Ed Markey- US Senator
975 JFK Federal Building 15 New Sudbury Street Boston, MA 02203 (617) 565-8519 Elizabeth Warren- US Senator 2400 JFK Federal Building 15 New Sudbury Street Boston, MA 02203 (617) 565-3170 Katherine Clark- US House of Representatives 701 Concord Avenue, Suite 101 Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 354-0292 |
State Legislators of Interest
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Since the property is owned by UMASS it is technically state property. Therefore, for ownership to be transferred to the City of Waltham the measure will have to be approved at the State level first. We are encouraging State representatives to consider tenants during this process and offer any protection to our tenancy they can.
Charlie Baker- Governor Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St. Office of the Governor, Room 280 Boston, MA 02133 (617) 725-4005 Michael Barrett- Senator 24 Beacon St. Room 416 Boston, MA, 02133 617-722-1572 John Lawn- Representative 24 Beacon St. Room 174 Boston, MA, 02133 617-722-2877 |
Waltham Mayor
Waltham City Councillors
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It is our hope that by conveying how much we value the Field Station now, these representatives will be more likely vote in favor of a plan that supports the Field Station when it comes to a vote. If you'd like to copy and paste all the councillors emails into one email please visit the link below: www.city.waltham.ma.us/city-council/pages/waltham-city-council-2018 Councillors at Large Paul Brasco, Council President (781) 209 2567 Robert Logan, Council Vice President (781) 893-3572 Kathleen McMenimen (781) 894-1247 Diane LeBlanc (781) 526-1285 Randall LeBlanc (781) 373-2465 Thomas M. Stanley (617) 529-4279 Carlos Vidal (781) 899-2282 Ward Councillors Dan Romard, Ward 1 Councillor (781) 571-6053 Bill Fowler, Ward 2 Councillor (781) 899-3095 George Darcy, Ward 3 Councillor (781) 266-8888 John McLaughlin, Ward 4 Councillor (781) 891-6486 Joseph P. LaCava, Ward 5 Councillor (781) 736-7836 Sharline Nabulime, Ward 6 Councillor (781) 893-1406 Kristine A. Mackin, Ward 7 Councillor (781) 786-8569 Cathyann Harris, Ward 8 Councillor (781) 697-4560 |
All City Councillors receive physical mail via:
City of Waltham Clerks Office City Hall Second Floor 610 Main Street, Waltham, MA 02452 (781) 314-3100 |