Gaining Ground

Gaining Ground envisions a future where everyone has equitable access to healthy, sustainably grown produce. Our mission is to provide free, sustainably grown, fresh, organic produce to people experiencing food insecurity. We do this with the helping hands of a diverse community of volunteers who work and learn with us on our farm.

We have been growing food for hunger relief on Concord land for over 25 years. In total, we manage approximately 20 acres, with three and a half acres actively cultivated to grow over 50 organic vegetables and herbs in fields interspersed with perennial hedgerows. A responsible steward to the land, Gaining Ground uses regenerative no-till farming practices and annually documents its management and land improvements for the Natural Resources Commission.

We began operating in 1994 as a small garden on private land. From 1997 to 2019, we managed the reproduction kitchen garden at The Old Manse, a Trustees of Reservations property. In 1999, we established our main farm adjacent to the Thoreau birthplace house on Virginia Road. In 2009, we expanded operations to an adjacent field under license from Massport. 

Over the years, Gaining Ground has made significant improvements to its farm operations. In 2005, we constructed a greenhouse. In 2009, we added a sugaring operation and erected a sugar shack for boiling maple syrup, all of which is donated to families in need. In 2012, we purchased a tractor for field preparation and added a hoop house shortly thereafter. As part our long-term strategy to increase the fertility and yield of the land, we added irrigation and deer fencing in 2014, a post and beam barn in 2015 and three additional hoop houses by 2019. Production has risen from 2,500 pounds at the start to 125,000 pounds in 2019, all of which is donated to over a dozen hunger relief organizations. We farm using no-till, regenerative agricultural methods and are a premier site for no-till education within the local farming community.

Gaining Ground envisions a future where everyone has equitable access to healthy, sustainably grown produce. Our mission is to provide free, fresh, organic produce to people experiencing food insecurity. We do this with the helping hands of a diverse community of volunteers who work and learn with us on our farm.

Gaining Ground relies on the support of thousands of volunteers, generous individual donors, funding organizations, and community partners. We deeply appreciate their belief in growing food and growing community.

Throughout the harvest season, produce from Gaining Ground’s farm goes to food pantries, meal programs, schools, and shelters in Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts. Our approach is local and sustainable—most of our produce is distributed within 20 miles of our farm and within 24 hours of harvest.

Some groups use our produce to prepare a free meal distributed to people who need it. Others give it away as part of providing free groceries to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. We currently partner with the following organizations to distribute fresh produce to households and individuals experiencing food insecurity: Bedford Food Pantry, Bethany Hill Place (Framingham), Bridge Boston Charter School (Roxbury), Daniel's Table (Framingham), East Boston Community Soup Kitchen, Eastie Farm (East Boston), GreenRoots Chelsea, Head Start Lowell / Community Teamwork, Healthy Waltham, House of Hope (Lowell), Lowell Transitional Living Center, Open Table (Maynard/Concord), Rosie's Place (Boston), Sudbury Food Pantry, and the Westford Council on Aging.