Gaining Ground Farm Celebrates 25 Years with New Book

Gaining Ground, a non-profit organic farm in Concord, Massachusetts, has released a new history detailing 25 years of growing food and giving it all to people in need. The book outlines a visionary project that became a practical success, with an annual production of 100,000 pounds on just a few acres of once depleted farmland.

“Volunteers made it possible from the start,” said Sue Mildrum, president of Gaining Ground’s board of directors. The farm currently attracts more than 2,500 volunteers a year. Schoolchildren, church groups, scouts, people with disabilities, employees of local businesses and nearby corporations have all helped. They plant, weed, harvest and deliver the plump, healthy organic produce to hunger-relief organizations from Maynard and Ayer to Lowell and Boston.

The new publication tells the story of this successful venture through the testimony of farmers, board members, volunteers, and recipients. Together, these witnesses recount the start of the farm in 1994 on private land in Concord, its expansion to a garden at the historic Old Manse, and its establishment in 1999 on a few acres behind Thoreau’s birthplace on Virginia Road.

Concord and surrounding communities provided support. Individuals, churches, charitable foundations and businesses gave money, materials and expertise. A major annual fundraiser by Concord schoolchildren called Read for Seeds raised funds to buy seeds, which many of the students come to the farm to plant. A pavilion was built by volunteers with supplies contributed by local businesses, and in a few years, a sugar house that would produce gallons of maple syrup followed. In 2015, a community barn-raising with 200 volunteers put up a barn in a single day.

Gaining Ground:The Story of a Community Growing Food and Giving It All Away is available from Gaining Ground, 341 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742. Visit the farm’s website at www.gainingground.org or call 978-610-6086 for more information.