Farming and Harvesting Fresh Produce to Feed our Neighbors in Need.
1 in 3 residents in Southeastern MA is food insecure, meaning they don’t know where their next meal will come from, and despite their best efforts, food pantries struggle to source more than shelf-stable foods. Join Frogfoot Farm – Neighbors Feeding Neighbors and be part of the effort to grow and harvest fresh produce for our regional food system.
New Beginnings
Incubated within our Southcoast Food Policy Council and in response to the 2021 Food System Assessment of Southeastern MA, Frogfoot Farm will grow, farm, and harvest food for neighbors in need across Southeastern MA (Bristol, Plymouth, and Norfolk counties). A.D. Makepeace has generously committed use of six acres of land, along with soil improvements and irrigation. The Marion Institute must fundraise to support all other costs associated with designing, managing, and operating farm operations, which include:
- Growing fresh, culturally relevant produce, and
- Establishing a volunteer gleaning program to harvest food from area farms that would otherwise go to waste in the field. Every year, thousands of pounds of food go to waste because farmers either do not have the labor to harvest a crop or the market to sell it to. The Marion Institute’s trained gleaners will work with regional farmers to harvest the crop before it’s lost, and deliver it to local food pantries or commercial kitchens to be made into prepared meals for food-insecure individuals and families.
Operations at Frogfoot Farm will turn two critical food system gaps in the region – access to fresh produce in food relief programs and food waste – into one solution, in one location.
This program builds upon the Marion Institute’s long history of incubating local food initiatives, our belief in the power of food as medicine, and the important role nutrition plays in supporting individual and community health.
Once we reach steady-state production and gleaning, we anticipate harvesting 250,000 pounds of produce annually for the regional food relief system-first as raw product, and then as partnerships with commercial kitchens develop, as prepared meals for food insecure individuals and families in our region.
Accomplishments in the First Year
Frogfoot Farm operations employ climate friendly, regenerative farming practices to build up and protect soil life while ensuring plants, wildlife, and the environment thrive within the agricultural system. We made incredible progress over the past year. Most notably we:
- Recruited an Advisory Committee of agricultural and environmental experts.
- Established a thoughtful regenerative-farming plan to develop our land.
- Began monitoring and improving the biodiversity (i.e. plants, animals, fungi) of our land.
- Hired both a talented Farmer and Farm Manager.
- Installed an 8’ deer fence to protect our crops.
- Have begun restoring the soil and operationalizing our 2024 crop plan,
- Recruited over 100 volunteers who have put in over 150 hours of work in a few short months, and
- Planted our first crops: beets, carrots, radishes, spinach, and turnips.
Looking Ahead to Year Two
With our farm team in place and farm plan developed, we will continue implementing an intensive soil regeneration plan that includes, compost, soil amendments, and microbial enhancements, harvest our first crops in the fall of 2024, and prepare for our 2025 planting season.
Additionally, we will recruit and train a growing body of volunteers and establish farm and food pantry partnerships to launch our gleaning program.
Have a few hours each week? Roll-up your sleeves and join us as a volunteer – we would love for you to make Frogfoot Farm your community farm too!
Fundraising Will Dictate our Rate of Growth
On October 10th, we will hold our annual Boogie at the Bog fundraiser to benefit Frogfoot Farm. Critical infrastructure needs that we need support for are outlined below, with naming rights available.
- Soil Health Plan ($25,000) Building healthy and resilient soil is a critical and ongoing process that will allow us to grow and provide nutrient dense produce to our food pantry partners.
- Biodiverse Pollinator Hedgerows ($17,000) These native buffers will provide a windbreak for the farm, and groundcover to increase habitat for our pollinators as well as be a resource for native seeds and plants.
- Farm Equipment ($12,000) Our most pressing needs include a BCS Walk-Behind tractor, Compost Spreader, Jang Seeder, Neversink Inferno Flame Weeder, and Connecta series wire hoes.
- Adopt-a-Row of Produce ($1,000) This supports the farm’s year-round efforts to plant, grow, care for, and harvest produce for our neighbors in need.
- Greenhouse ($250,000 with $42,000 raised to date) This is a big ticket item for sure! Help us build an environmentally sustainable greenhouse with recycled glass that reduces our dependence on plastics and other non-renewable resources, while providing an environment to grow year-round.
- Refrigerated Van ($65,000) Keeping produce fresh as we work with the realities of farmer and food pantry schedules is a key element of our farm-to-food relief operation.
You are part of the solution
We invite you to stay involved throughout the year and to Make Frogfoot Farm your Community Farm too!