Saturday, September 12, 2009

Gaining Ground and Time For Lunch!

On Labor Day, I had a wonderful time with Slow Food Boston at their Eat-In at Gaining Ground in Concord.

The pavilion

Begun in 1994, Gaining Ground grows fruits and vegetables using organic methods. ALL of Gaining Ground's produce is donated to food pantries and meal programs within 20 miles of the farm, and within 24 hours of harvest!!! With a small staff and most of the work on the farm performed by volunteers, it's great what Gaining Ground is able to accomplish! And anyone can volunteer - read more details about volunteering here.

What a huge scale!

Onions galore

Drying the garlic

Love the bees!

Slow Food Boston's volunteer day at Gaining Ground involved 1-2 hours of farm work, with plenty of weeding!

The Crew

Afterward, we broke for the Eat-In portion of the day with a delicious potluck that included potatoes with home-cured bacon, red quinoa, a beet salad, and much more! The Eat-In was a part of Slow Food USA's Time for Lunch Campaign.

The Child Nutrition Act, which governs the National School Lunch Program, is reauthorized in Congress every 4-5 years. Since school budgets have been cut, schools have been struggling to give children the real food they need. And because the Children Nutrition Act is being reviewed this fall, it's time to tell Congress that real food needs to be in school lunches! If you are concerned about the food that is in school lunch, sign the petition and read more about how to get involved!