On the very chilly 32° Friday morning the week before Thanksgiving, Senator Jamie Eldridge, Representative Danillo Sena, and Acton town officials enjoyed an abbreviated tour of Boston Area Gleaners (BAG), located at Stonefield Farm in South Acton, with Usha Thakrar, BAG executive director and Dylan Frazier, director of operations and strategy. The occasion was the delivery of a big check from Acton’s state legislators, Eldridge, Sena, and Representative Simon Cataldo. The $120,000 earmark will partially fund the construction of a cold storage building that will have three times the space currently available at the site for storing produce.
Currently, the cold storage consists of two narrow refrigerated trailers. The food cases are crammed in, and BAG often has to turn down food donations from local growers because they just don’t have enough space to store it. The new building will have drive and walking aisles that will enable more efficient operations for staff and volunteers. Additional needed funding comes from a $943,255 Food Security Infrastructure Grant from the MA Department of Agricultural Resources, and close to $400K in donations from private donors. The non-profit has another $600-700K to raise to complete the project which Thakra says should be substantially completed by next spring.
Standing among the collards in a greenhouse that extends the farm’s growing season, Eldridge asked Thakrar to remind him of another earmark the organization had received. Thakrar easily recalled the year, 2022, and the amount, $200,000. This author asked how long BAG has been at Stonefield, and Thakrar asked, “Do you want to know the exact date? I was at Town Meeting when Acton voters approved the purchase of the APR (Agricultural Preservation Restriction). It was June 21, 2021.”
BAG has grown considerably since relocating its headquarters to Acton after purchasing the 51 acre Stonefield Farm. The food systems organization provides produce, both grown at the farm in South Acton and gleaned from farms around the region, to 60 food pantries now. Gleaning is the practice of harvesting surplus food from farms. Each of the pantries accepts between six and 280 cases each week for a total of 3000-3500 cases distributed weekly. BAG is also facilitating the distribution of produce to food partners from other farms that donate it.
Patricia Costa, Acton‘s Economic Development Director, shared closing compliments with BAG staff, “I’m confident with your success in securing financial support from the state that you will continue to do great work in the areas of food waste and food supply. I’m so proud to have Boston Area Gleaners as part of the Acton community.”
Alissa Nicol often writes for the Acton Exchange on community events and organizations.
