Dear Farm Friends,

As 2023 comes to a close, we want to share the highlights of Newton Community Farm's accomplishments with you, since we could not achieve this without your involvement and support!  This was the 18th year of operation for this small but mighty farm, and we are proud of the many collective achievements of the staff, volunteers, donors, and community.  

There were some really big challenges including extreme heat, flooding, and plant theft, but our amazing farm manager, Greg Maslowe, and his farm operations team still managed to grow and distribute 50,000 lpounds of produce. They also donated 10% of it to people in need. There were some big projects that were completed including installation of the solar energy array and operations of the new Dr. Gene Rubin Greenhouse. We sponsored several well-attended events including the Seedling Sale (700 customers!), Dr. Walt Willet's talk on sustainably feeding 10 million people (100+ viewers; thanks to the Bard Family for the funding!), our Open House and ribbon-cutting in the spring (200+ attendees!), and our Fall Family Party (130 party goers!).  

We also said good-bye (and a big THANK YOU!) to our beloved ED, Sue Bottino, and then welcomed our new director of administration and programs, Allyson MacKenna, to our team. As you can see from Allyson's introduction in this newsletter, she is an experienced nonprofit manager and has already hit the ground running.  

Whew...it has been a whirlwind, yet successful, year. We are so grateful.  We are already planning for 2024 and look forward to seeing you on the Farm.

Paul Holt and Dede Vittori, NCF Co-Presidents 

Newton Community Farm is happy to welcome Allyson MacKenna as our new director of administration and programs. Allyson brings many years of nonprofit leadership experience to the Farm. She has always worked in the nonprofit sector, helping individuals with disabilities lead independent lives, advocating for families facing financial hardship and foreclosure, and promoting animal welfare. She was drawn to the Farm because of the impact it has on the community in so many ways. She is especially passionate about teaching others the importance of sustainability so that generations to come can enjoy a healthy life and a healthy planet.

Allyson brings with her our new CEO (canine executive officer), Mariah, her adopted Golden Retriever. Mariah takes her duties very seriously, especially supervising the chickens!

Allyson and Mariah are looking forward to meeting you in 2024 at farm events and programs!

NCF completed its 18th year as a small working farm and thrived thanks to our talented staff (two full-time, two partial year, and several seasonal), active core volunteers (~100+) including eight high school summer field crew interns, committed community (2,500+ newsletter readers), and many generous donors.  

EDUCATION, OUTREACH, and PARTNERSHIPS 

• Through funding by the Bard Family Environmental Education Fund, hosted a well-attended (100+ viewers; on-site and virtual) forum focused on climate change education. Dr. Walt Willett of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health delivered his presentation entitled "Can We Feed 10 Billion People With a Diet That Is Both Healthy and Sustainable?."
• Hosted 200+ attendees at our May Open House and ribbon-cutting for the new Dr. Eugene Rubin Greenhouse and we recently installed a solar energy array on the Barn. 
• Engaged with more than 1,500 people through classes, tours, activities, volunteering, and service-learning opportunities on- and off-site and at Newton's Earth Day, GreenExpo, and Pumpkin Smash festivals.
• Hosted Kids’ Fall Fun Party for 130 people in October. 
• Ran our educational, hands-on Summer High School Field Crew Intern Program—our 11th year—with eight high school student interns led by our intern supervisor. 
• Supervised nine other high school and middle school students during the year in service-learning engagements including field crew work, program analysis and administration, and study of ways to improve use of EBTs (government food subsidy programs) by NCF customers.  
• Offered other programming and service-learning opportunities during the year to ~100+ people including the following: Weed Crew; volunteer sessions for businesses (Wegmans and others) and several schools; a monthly book group to discuss books about agriculture; periodic Gardening Circle to share ideas; story time and a StoryWalk on the Farm; a cookbook talk; a sustainable floristry class; and farmer training sessions. 
• Produced educational newsletters with an average of 2,500 readers each month. 
• Developed relationships with more grantors and increased our grant income to support programs and initiatives including our Produce Donation Program, greenhouse renovations, new equipment, and signs. 

SUSTAINABLY-GROWN PRODUCE DISTRIBUTION 

• Grew 50,000 lbs. of 50+ varieties of produce and herbs on ~1.25 acres of farmable land. Also offered fruit shares, flower shares, and produce from other local farms.
• Distributed ~28,000 seedlings of more than 90 plant varieties to ~ 700 customers through our annual seedling sale and seedling donations in the spring of 2023. 
• Distributed produce through our sold-out Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs from June through December 2023 to 150 summer and 35 fall families.  
• Increased our produce donations to $16,000 in value distributed over 26 weeks to the Newton Food Pantry and Freedge and the Boston Area Gleaners in response to increasing food insecurity in our community. NCF has donated produce to the community since our first growing season in 2006. 
• Added MA HIP (Healthy Incentives Program) to the list of benefits we accept as payment, in addition to SNAP, WIC and Elder checks and increased number of EBT customers at the Saturday Farmers’ Market. 
• Sold and distributed 50 bags of nutritious produce from NCF and other local farms through our Thanksgiving Harvest Bag program. 
• Sold our produce at the Newton Farmers’ Market on Saturdays since 2006. 
• Ran our on-site farm stand three days a week, June through November. 

SITE IMPROVEMENTS & ENVIRONMENTALLY-SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES

• Commenced operations of the new Dr. Eugene Rubin Greenhouse and made operational modifications to the existing greenhouse. 
• Completed numerous Community Preservation Act-funded farmhouse modification projects totaling ~$100k including electrifying the heating system in line with the City of Newton’s energy priorities. 
• As of May 2023, completed installation and commenced operation of the barn solar panels and storage system, which is projected to annually provide 99% of agricultural electric use. Funding via MA Department of Agricultural Resources grant and City of Newton energy funds. 
• Installed a new historical sign near the farm stand and translated the information into five languages on our website.
• Installed security cameras on the farm to minimize risk of another incident of plant theft. 

You can make an important difference in our community by supporting the Farm as 2023 comes to a close. We could not accomplish all we did without your generous support! Your gift will allow us to expand our educational opportunities, increase our donations to fight food scarcity in our community, and offer more free programs so that all may attend. Thank you!

Sign-up for 2024 Summer CSA Program starts in January!  

If you enjoy eating fresh, delicious, locally grown produce, then consider signing up for our 2024 Summer CSA program. At the beginning of each growing season, CSA sharers purchase a “share” of the upcoming produce, which helps the Farm cover a substantial portion of the costs of our agricultural operations. In return, NCF provides sharers with a supply of sustainably grown, fresh vegetables and herbs each week throughout the farming season. 

We have the equivalent of 80 weekly shares available. Some of our sharers enroll for an alternate-week share, which means they pick up produce every other week. Other sharers enroll for a weekly share for their family or else they split their share with another friend or family (or two!). Sign-up for the program will be in stages starting in January. Our January newsletter will include more information about dates and the registration process.  

Chilean Squash

INGREDIENTS

 1 large butternut squash

 1 cup chopped onions

 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

 1 teaspoon ground cumin

 1 teaspoon chili powder

 1-2 dashes cayenne pepper

 1 cup red bell peppers; coarsely chopped

 1 cup green bell peppers; coarsely chopped

 1 teaspoon salt

 4 eggs, beaten—you may choose not to use the yolks

 1 1/2 cups corn kernels; (fresh or frozen)

 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese—you may use other cheeses

INSTRUCTIONS

Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds.

Bake cut sides down at 425 degrees for 45-50 min. or until very soft at thick end.

Let squash cool and scrape the flesh out of the shell; mash as smoothly as you can.

Meanwhile, sauté onion, garlic, and spices in olive oil until onion is translucent.

Add peppers and salt, stir, cover and leave on low heat for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir beaten eggs into mashed squash.

Add corn and sautéed veggies, stir to mix well. Put grated cheese on top.

Bake 20 minutes covered; uncover and bake another 20-30 minutes.

Serving Size: 1 (367 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 8

Recipe from Moosewood Cookbook, by Molly Katzen, modified by Paul Holt, NCF Board Co-President

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. Please also check with your employer if matching funds are available.

NEWTON COMMUNITY FARM

303 Nahanton Street

Newton, MA 02459

617-916-9655

www.newtoncommunityfarm.org

[email protected]