Founded in 1994, Gaining Ground is a nonprofit, 5-acre Concord farm where volunteers help grow organic produce that’s donated to food pantries, meals programs, and shelters. Joe Rigali of Concord got involved in 2003, helping to build greenhouses while his wife, Tracy Winn, served on the board. Rigali joined the board in 2006, serving in various capacities until becoming president and chairman five years ago.
Q. How can Gaining Ground afford to give away all the food it grows?
A. That is our mission, and it has been since day one, with funding from grants and generous individuals. Some organizations do a mix of donations and selling food through a CSA [Community Supported Agriculture farm], but we don’t want to choose whether a paying customer gets better produce than another recipient. Our approach is local and sustainable, with most of our produce distributed within 24 hours of harvest.
Q. What crops are grown?
A. We have a variety, but we primarily grow the foods we know recipients like to eat, such as tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, and squash. We also want to steer people toward very nutritious vegetables that are also easy to grow like kale, Swiss chard, and husk cherries. Sometimes we make additions in response to what our recipients want, such as when we grew lemongrass after groups in Lowell asked for it.
Q. How are volunteers utilized?
A. Throughout the growing season, we have close to 3,000 volunteers of all ages. Most are outside planting, harvesting, and weeding in the garden, but folks also help get appeal letters out or drive around town in the winter picking up sap buckets on trees for maple syrup. Disabled adults bundle greens, tie bunches of flowers, and sort beans, and we’re exploring other meaningful work we can offer them. Some nonprofits struggle with not enough for volunteers to do, but on a farm, that’s never a problem.
Q. What’s on the horizon?
A. Last summer, we gave away 60,000 pounds of organic produce to approximately 700 families who couldn’t have afforded to buy it. That’s an increase from 25,000 pounds a few years ago, just by adding farming staff, irrigation, and deer fencing. We also extended the season by growing tomatoes under cover. The more we can grow, the more we can provide quality food that makes our recipients feel valued.
For more information: 978-610-6086 or gainingground.org. Cindy Cantrell can be reached at cindycantrell20@gmail.com.
