Your support means the world to all of us at Newton Community Farm. Not only does your contribution help pay for items like seeds and potting soil, education programs, phone bills and truck repairs, your donation also renews our sense of purpose.

When you give to the Farm, you show that you value our work and this space, where we strive to grow not only vegetables, but also our community. W sincerely appreciate each and every gift and put the donations to good use. 

In 2023, 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. See below for highlights of accomplishments.  

EDUCATION, OUTREACH, & 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.

Please make a donation today to support all that you value in this unique community treasure.