Lexington Community Farm Coalition

Thank You, Arlington!

janetk — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:22:38 +0000

Today’s Boston Globe West section has a great article about Arlington’s concern for the fate of Busa Farm; it includes an interview with Arlington’s Selectwoman, Clarissa Rowe…

Cooperation asked on fate of farm land

Lexington Minuteman Op-Ed

janetk — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:55:14 +0000

The following is an op-ed that was published in the February 11th edition of the Lexington Minuteman.

Now that the question of whether the abutting property to Busa Farm will be sold to the Town (it will not), the Selectmen can finally proceed in forming the Master Planning Committee promised at Town Meeting last May – to make a recommendation on the use of the 7.9-acre working farm purchased by the Town with CPA funds.

And it is finally time for a direct answer by the Selectmen to the question of whether a farming interest – and specifically the Lexington Community Farm Coalition (LexFarm) – will have an equal voice and vote on that committee alongside other land use interests.

In the absence of any Town committee to represent agricultural interests in Lexington, LexFarm should fill that representative role. Since May of last year, the group has provided information about community farming through its website (www.lexfarm.org) and by hosting several educational forums in Town. Further, LexFarm has garnered over 1000 signatures of Lexington residents who support using the Busa Farm property for a community farm and has brought voice to the growing numbers of residents concerned about their food sources and who recognize that local, working farms are vital to a healthy, sustainable future.

Yet to date there has been no acknowledgement by the Selectmen of the group’s rightful place on the Master Planning Committee that will decide the use of Busa Farm. This must change immediately.

Residents need to know their government is open, transparent, fair and balanced. This means that everyone is not only allowed a voice, but encouraged to get involved and be active in the local issues most important to them. It means that when a decision-making process is defined, any citizen can follow the debate and understand the resulting decision. And it means that one interest group is not given preference or access over another.

In this case, the Town had already turned away from considering the Busa property’s primary use as farmland or conservation, when it had plans developed focused on ball fields and affordable housing for its presentation to the Community Preservation Committee and made them public only days before asking for a vote on the purchase by Town Meeting. Citizens were told that a Master Planning Committee would be formed to recommend the land use, but no information has been forthcoming regarding how the Selectmen will determine the appropriate composition of the committee.

As a result, many in town have worried that the land-use decision for Busa Farm is a fait-accompli. The burden is now on the Selectmen to prove this is not true – that in fact, a fair, open process of making that decision will begin, and it will begin with full and fair representation by all valid land use interests on the Master Planning Committee.

Janet Kern
Lowell St

Correcting a misconception

jayl — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:58:48 +0000

The following clip features LCFC’s Janet Kern setting the record straight regarding the necessity, or lack thereof, of a town subsidy to support our vision for a community farm. A diagram below shows an example community farm budget.

Well said, Janet!

Click to view full size

To clarify what we mean by “no town subsidy required”, take a look at the the diagram to the right. It is taken from a presentation given by Sam Robinson, board member of the Waltham Fields Community Farm, at a farm panel discussion hosted by the LCFC back in May of 2009. What it shows are the sources and percentages of revenue taken in by the WFCF organization. The largest percentage (in red) is revenue from their CSA and partnership sales. This revenue alone is more than enough to pay for the entire operational budget of the farm. This includes farm supplies, farm equipment, staff salary and benefits.

Community Farms are Recreational!

jayl — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:53:56 +0000

Listen and watch as Margaret Heitz, Lexington Precinct 4 Town Meeting Member and member of the Waltham Fields Community Farm, relates her experience on the farm at our recent Candidates’ Night event.

Sounds like fun, right? It’s Lexington Community Farm Coalition’s mission to bring that kind of multi-generational and, yes, recreational community experience to Lexington by establishing our own community farm right here in our town.

Busa Farm CSA members, speak up! I’m sure you’ve had similar experiences so tell us about it in a comment below.

“What kind of vegetable would you be?”

jayl — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:37:20 +0000

In a bit of comic relief, Candidates’ Night moderator, Meg Muckenhaupt, asked the candidates a somewhat silly question…

Look for more clips and the full length recording of our Candidates’ Night event to appear in the next couple of weeks.

Candidates’ Night Recap

jenniferz — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:38:46 +0000

(Pictured from Left to Right: Deb Mauger, Iang Jeon, George Burnell and Wendy Manz)

Thanks to all of the candidates and residents for joining our conversation last night at the LexFarm Candidates’ Night. Selectmen candidates, George Burnell, Iang Jeon and Deb Mauger, along with unopposed Planning Board candidate, Wendy Manz, answered (and sometimes dodged) many questions about land use, farming, and specific details about the Busa property. In general all the candidates seems supportive of the idea of retaining farming as one of the uses of the land, but were understandably reluctant to fully endorse a community farm over other interests, such as affordable housing and recreation.

A highlight was resident and town meeting member, Margaret Heitz, describing her experience as a member of the Waltham Fields Community Farm, and suggesting that participating in a community farm is just as much a “recreational” activity as anything provided by ballfields or tot lots. She also emphasized the multi-generational aspects of community farms. She then asked the candidates, “Do you get what I’m saying?” While all responded in the affirmative, don’t color me 100% convinced just yet. As evidenced by Wendy Manz’s response to a later question, there continues to be confusion regarding the difference between community gardens and community farms. There is still a lot education and enlightenment work ahead of us.

For those who couldn’t make it please watch for the event on LexMedia at some point in the near future.

Lexfarm Candidates’ Night

jenniferz — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:57:04 +0000

Lexfarm Candidates’ Night
Sunday 1/24 7:30-9pm
Church of Our Redeemer (6 Meriam St.)

The Lexington Selectman will be deciding what to do with the Busa Farm land – and two Selectman seats are open. Come ask candidates for Selectmen and the town’s Planning Board your questions, and see what they have to say about land use, farming, and other issues on your mind! Come to the Church of Our Redeemer, 6 Meriam Street, Lexington Center, at 7:30 pm Sunday, January 24.

Natick Community Organic Farm

jayl — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:17:04 +0000

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Update: This post has been updated with some photos we took in the fall of 2009. This is a great example of what a community farm in Lexington could look like.

Founded in 1974, The Natick Community Organic Farm is a non-profit, certified organic farm providing productive open space, farm products, and hands-on education for all ages, year-round.

Website: http://www.natickfarm.org/
Location:South Natick, MA
Contact: Lynda Simkins – Director
Email: lsimkins.ncorganic@verizon.net
Phone: 508-655-2204

Busa Farm Panorama

jenniferz — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:11:12 +0000

A panoramic view of Busa Farm pieced together with several shots. Lowell Street is on the far right and the Arlington Reservoir is on the left. Something green to brighten your snowy day. Click on the image to view a larger version.

Join Us for a Community Farm Discussion Panel

jayl — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:08:22 +0000

What is a community farm? Who decides what to grow there? Who grows it? What do children do there? The Lexington Community Farm Coalition is sponsoring a panel discussion titled “A Year in the Life of a Community Farm” as part of its series of educational talks about community farming on Thursday, December 3 at the Church of Our Redeemer, 6 Meriam St. Lexington. Light refreshments will be available at 7 pm; program begins at 7:30 pm.

Come ask real community farmers and farm managers your own questions. Hear about how community farms in neighboring towns operate through the seasons to provide fresh produce and opportunities to work, learn, and grow to people of all ages and abilities.

Panelists include:

Christy Foote-Smith, Sanctuary Director, and Matt Celona, crops manager at Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, Lincoln, a working farm and wildlife sanctuary that has been connecting families to nature since 1995
Verena Wieloch, Farmer at Concord’s Gaining Ground Farm in Concord, which has donated all produce grown since 1999 at its 17-acre farm site to area food pantries and meal programs;
Greg Maslowe, Farmer at Newton Community Farm, non-profit community farm located on the historic Angino farmstead owned by the City of Newton;
Jen James, Farm Director at Codman Community Farms, which has been farming a town-owned site in Lincoln for more than 36 years.;
Representatives from the Food Project, which works with over a hundred teens and thousands of volunteers to farm on 37 acres in eastern Massachusetts in the towns and cities of Beverly, Boston, Ipswich, Lincoln and Lynn.

The panelists will give brief presentations about their farms, then answer audience questions. For excerpts from the Lexington Community Farm Coalition’s previous program on community farming, see http://lexfarm.org/archives/category/video.

Update: for convenience in adding to an online calendar this event has also been posted at: