The Newton Farmer
September 2021
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Dear Farm friends,
It's Newton Community Farm's 15th anniversary and we're having a party! A decade and a half of incredible support from this community has helped make NCF the success that it is today, and we hope you will join us for a casual get-together outside. You can eat some tasty, fancy taco-truck food, listen to live music, bid on terrific auction items, mingle with friends, and enjoy some time on the Farm. See below for more information on how to buy tickets for this event on Saturday, September 25, 5–8 pm. We can't wait to see you and reconnect.
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Our summer classes for kids are winding down this week and it has been a wonderful experience for us all. We enjoyed being with the children so much and we received a lot of positive comments from the kids and their families. Some of my favorite memories from this summer include seeing their excited, smiling faces when they arrive at the Farm, their detailed drawings in their field journals, the questions they asked about the chickens, and their eagerness to help in the Learning Garden. Their artwork was amazing and the activities were fun and often hilarious. We are so lucky to have had Mr. D and Ms. Annie as a phenomenal instructor team. And I'm thrilled to announce that Mr. D is staying on at the Farm as our Director of Education. Our fall classes for kids are now posted on our website and are available for signup.
We continue to work through weather challenges this summer, but thanks to Farm Manager Greg and Assistant Grower Evan, along with a hard-working team of volunteers (Fiona, Yael, Nyssa, Laura, Rohan, and our Saturday helpers), the crops are doing great and the harvest is bountiful. Sales are brisk at the Newton Farmers' Market and at our on-site farm stand. And on September 22 at noon we will open registration for our Late Fall CSA Program. Sign up early so you don't miss out.
With gratitude,
Sue Bottino
Executive Director
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Join us to celebrate Newton Community Farm's 15th anniversary! Buy your tickets today and come to the party on Saturday, September 25, from 5–8 pm at the Farm. Tickets include a light meal of tacofied cuisine (delicious food in taco-form) from the food truck HG80 out of Providence, RI. (Meal includes two tacos, Israeli salad or hand-sliced potato chips, and a scratch-made sparkling drink). Enjoy popular music from ragtime to doo-wop performed live by the Cambridge-based Rubin Brothers and a silent auction with great local offerings to bid on such as tickets to venues, services, artwork, and housewares. We'll also have Farm T-shirts available for purchase.
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We hope you will join us for this memorable event where you can catch up with old friends and make new ones while celebrating 15 years at this special place. This is a casual get-together so feel free to bring your own chair if you like. Tickets cost $36 each and we have a limited number for sale. The deadline to purchase is September 17 at noon, and prepurchasing is required. Get yours today before we sell out! Tell your friends, too!
If the event is cancelled due to bad weather, the food will be available for pickup to take home and enjoy, and the silent auction will be moved online to a later date.
We are looking for volunteers to assist with set-up, staffing check-in tables, selling T-shirts, helping to make this party a low-waste event, and staffing the silent-auction tables. If you are coming to the party and wouldn't mind helping out for a shift, please sign up here. We appreciate your help!
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Summer Program Wrap-Up and
Fall Kids' Classes
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We had a wonderful summer of classes for kids! Thanks to everyone who entrusted their children to NCF for our Farm Fun in the Sun classes. In total, 118 students learned all about farming over eight weeks: identifying parts of a plant; planting, tending, and harvesting crops in the Learning Garden; observing chickens and bees; identifying healthy and nutritious food; understanding life cycles; appreciating our natural resources; and taking care of the Earth through activities, farm chores, nature walks, games, and by creating field journals and crafts.
We are grateful for our amazing summer instructors, Anne Linders (Ms. Annie) and Matt Durham (Mr. D). Annie has returned to teaching at the Solomon Schechter School here in Newton this fall, and we wish her much success with her students this year. We are thrilled to share that Mr. D will be remaining at NCF as our new director of education! He has lots of great ideas for programs and partnerships. See below and stay tuned to our website for more offerings!
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Fall Classes for Kids
Join us on Wednesday afternoons for fun, informative classes on the Farm with Mr. D. We will have two-hour classes for elementary school age students once per week from 1:30–3:30 pm for eight weeks from September 22–November 17. The cost of the program is $360 and enrollment is capped at 12 students. Kids will take care of the Learning Garden as we transition to the fall season, learn about the changing natural world around us and, of course, spend time with the chickens. We look forward to seeing both new and familiar faces! Preregistration is required and you can register here. Please note that masks are required to be worn by students and the teacher. Sign up before we fill up!
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Late Fall CSA Program
Registration Opens on 9/22
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Newton Community Farm is offering a Late Fall CSA Program consisting primarily of our own produce with additions from regional farms such as Drumlin Farm (Lincoln, MA) and Picadilly Farm (Winchester, NH). Registration for this program will open on September 22 at noon on our website. The contents of the share will be determined at harvest and may vary over the four distributions. Shares may include arugula, spinach, lettuce and/or salad mix, kale, chard, garlic, onions, leeks, carrots, beets, radishes, cilantro, parsley, hot peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, popcorn, or winter squash.
Note: Each CSA applicant must be a current Friend of the Farm (FOF). You are a Friend of the Farm if you have donated $50 or more since November 2020. If you are not a current Friend of the Farm, please make a donation when you sign up for the Fall CSA program.
COST: $180 per share
DURATION: Four pickups on Tuesdays between 3–6 pm: October 26, November 9, November 23, and December 7
REGISTRATION OPENS ON OUR WEBSITE www.newtoncommunityfarm.org ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, AT NOON. WE EXPECT THAT THIS PROGRAM WILL SELL OUT QUICKLY!
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Community Organization Spotlight:
Centre Street Food Pantry
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The Centre Street Food Pantry serves Newton plus the surrounding communities of Brighton, Brookline, Needham, Waltham, Watertown, Wellesley, and West Roxbury. In 2020 the number of households who received food assistance from this pantry doubled from the previous year to 8,000 household visits representing 22,000 individuals. Over 550,000 pounds of groceries and personal-care items were distributed from its Homer Street location with 70% of products provided by the Greater Boston Food Bank and the remainder sourced from many generous corporate partners and private donors. |
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The pantry’s website welcomes visitors in English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Russian, and approximately 250 volunteers strive to carry out the pantry's mission “to provide consistent access to nutritious food with kindness and dignity.” To receive food from the pantry, households are asked to fill out a registration form. No financial information is required, only proof of current address. Prior to the pandemic, shoppers, with the assistance of volunteers, selected items displayed on shelves, but this store-like protocol has changed to a socially-distanced, drive-
through operation where families pick up prepacked bags. The pantry is open every Tuesday afternoon and two Saturday mornings per month and they are looking for Saturday volunteers. For more information, check out their website at www.centrestfoodpantry.org.
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Food Insecurity Awareness |
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Instead of a book review, this month we are highlighting the movie A Place at the Table. This film was shown at City Hall as part of the recent NewtonEats week of programming, which took place August 22 through 28. The week of events, organized by the Newton nonprofit NewCommunity, focused on food insecurity awareness. NCF helped to introduce the movie to the public and also organized a beginning gardening class. (See below for more information on the class and how to view it.)
A Place at the Table is a documentary that tells the stories of individuals and families who have insufficient access to healthy food in America through several narrators including an elementary-school student in rural Colorado and a single parent in Philadelphia. Experts and lawmakers explain the systemic issues that contribute to this crisis, and the featured individuals show the effects of food insecurity, from problems paying attention in school, to lifelong health conditions resulting from inadequate nutrition, and the difficulties of qualifying for supplemental programs.
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While charities, nonprofits, community and religious groups are working their hardest to fill the gaps, the fact is that these organizations were once used on an emergency, temporary basis, not to fill the giant void created by a chronic, broken system. For example, the number of food banks and pantries in the U.S. grew from 200 in 1980 to 40,000 in 2011, and one of every two children in the U.S. will be on food assistance at some point in their lifetime according to the film.
The experts highlighted that the problem of hunger in America is not one of insufficient food supplies but rather of poverty, power, and class, and they make recommendations for change including increasing SNAP program benefits and subsidizing healthy food more than processed food. As the movie powerfully states, "Everyone deserves a place at the table."
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Let's learn more about each other and discover new reads through book recommendations around our common interests in farming, gardening, the environment, food, and good health. Send your review and a note to describe yourself to sue@newtoncommunityfarm.org. |
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Gardening in a Small Space on a Budget |
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As part of NewtonEats, a week of programs August 22 through 28 that were focused on raising awareness about food insecurity, NCF offered the program "Gardening in a Small Space on a Budget." It was taught by gardener extraordinaire Brian Rogan on August 23 and you can view the recording on our website.
Brian explained how with a community-garden plot, a small space in your yard, or even in containers you can grow food to supplement a healthy diet. He demonstrated "square-foot gardening" and taught how to plan, start, and maintain your garden and pick the right seeds and seedlings to give the best yield possible.
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Where You Can Buy NCF Produce |
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At the NCF On-Site Farm Stand
You'll find us in the little red shed packed with produce on Winchester Street.
Farm-stand hours are:
- Thursdays and Fridays, 1:30–6 pm
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Saturdays, 9:30 am–1 pm
In addition to a selection of produce right from the Farm, we have perennial blend soil from Vermont Compost Company and perennial herb plants and basil plants for sale, too. We accept cash, credit cards, Senior Farmers' Market coupons, and WIC. We also accept SNAP on Thursdays and Fridays at the farm stand.
The Saturday Newton Farmers' Market is held at Newton North High School (352 Lowell Avenue) from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. We accept cash, credit cards, Senior Farmers' Market coupons, WIC, and SNAP.
Don't forget to bring your reusable bags!
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Grocery Bag Programs Donate to NCF |
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Stop & Shop on Needham Street
in September
For the month of September 2021, Newton Community Farm will receive $1 from every purchase of a $2.50 reusable Community Bag at the Stop & Shop store located at 165 Needham Street in Newton.
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Any Star Market Anytime
Every $2.50 Give Back Where It Counts Bag comes with an attached Giving Tag. This tag provides the opportunity for shoppers at any Star Market location at any time to designate the $1 donation from the purchase of the bag to Newton Community Farm.
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Newton Community Farm is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, EIN #20-2482452. If you would prefer to donate by mail, please send a check payable to Newton Community Farm at the address below. Don't forget to ask your employer if matching funds are available. |
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NEWTON COMMUNITY FARM
303 Nahanton Street
Newton, MA 02459
617-916-9655
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