Waltham Fields Community Farm

We acknowledge that Waltham Fields Community Farm cultivates land located within the Quinobequin watershed and the traditional, contemporary, unceded territories of Indigenous nations including the Massachusett and Pawtucket (sometimes called the Pennacook or Merrimack) Tribes. 1990-1994- A group of volunteers, organized through Food For Free, a Cambridge food bank, and coordinated by Oakes Plimpton, began gleaning area farms for produce to donate to local emergency food programs, soup kitchens, and shelters. Interest in the preservation of local farming led to a proposal to farm the fallow fields at the UMass Field Station site in Waltham. 1995- Our first season of farming. Four acres were planted on the UMass fields that had not been used for seven years. 1996- We incorporated under the name Community Farms Outreach, as a nonprofit 501(c)3 charitable organization with a mission of hunger relief, education, and farm preservation, deciding to name the farm Waltham Fields Community Farm. 1997- Our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program was created in order to garner funding for effective farm management and expand our provision of local food to a broader range of constituents. 1998- The Children’s Learning Program is created. 1999- Friends of Cornelia Warren Farm was formed to advocate for the preservation and rehabilitation of the UMass site. 2000- First annual spring celebration and fundraiser was held, now called Sprout. 2001- A banner year for produce donations, which totaled 27,000 pounds. 2002- Year-round Farm Manager and Assistant Farm Manager positions were created. The CSA sells a record 150 shares with still more interested parties left on the waiting list. 2003- A record number of volunteer hours were logged. Organizational members, community groups, and an Ameri Corps team contributed 6,000 hours of field labor, and in the process learned about how food is grown. 2004- Waltham Fields Community Farm expands, farming an additional 3 acres of land located at the nearby Lyman Estate. Farm staff and volunteers erect a heatedgreenhouse. 2005- We celebrated our tenth anniversary.