Community farm still not firmly rooted

By Joshua Myerov / Tribune Staff Writer
Monday, August 9, 2004

WALTHAM -- Practically from the moment Waltham Fields Community Farm got off the ground in 1995 by taking a rototiller, borrowed tractor and plow to four acres of what were fallow fields, Community Farm's future has been in doubt.

This year as the non-profit organization expands three new acres at the Lyman Estate and continues to grow more than 40 kinds of vegetables for charity and educational purposes, Community Farm still wonders what the years ahead hold in store.

In 1999, the cash-strapped landlord, the University of Massachusetts, threatened to close the entire 56-acre site on Beaver Street near Bentley College because the property was not generating enough revenue and lacked a mission.

Now, UMass says, after this year's harvest, it will be closing its beaten-down greenhouses on the site, which will force Community Farm to build and heat its own facilities.

Supporters are wary that the move could spell the beginning of the end for what is the city's remaining working farm.

Wednesday, Community Farm, other field station tenants and city officials will sit down with UMass representatives to make the case for keeping the field station open. Other tenants include the Federation of Massachusetts Farmers Markets, the Waltham Land Trust, which have office space and GROW (Green Rows of Waltham), which sponsors 110 garden plots on the grounds.

Community Farms now works six acres and uses the main building.

City officials, including Mayor Jeannette McCarthy, say they not only want the tenants to stay, they want them to have longer term stability than they do now. According to Ward 6 Councilor Kenneth B. Doucette, "A lot of people don't realize the benefits that come out of that facility."

While the city might not have the power of persuasion over UMass, it could try to ensure that the parcel is never taken over by developers. Doucette said the city will look into preservation through zoning; rezoning the land as conservation land, or as a historic or farming district so it cannot be built on.

The justification for the historic or farming designation would likely come from its one-time owner, Cornelia Warren. A dairy farmer and philanthropist, Warren specified in her will that the property be used for agricultural and educational purposes.

Those wishes have been granted to date.

After her death in 1921, the site was conveyed to the Massachusetts Agricultural College (now UMass), which ran an agriculture research program on the grounds and developed a new strain of squash still eaten today: Waltham Butternut.

But if the land's history can't save it, farm officials hope that finding new ways of generating revenue will. Community Farm is already largely self-supported through its Community Supported Agriculture project, which, for $500 shares provides produce to buyers throughout the year.

This year, 185 shares were sold, said Gretta Anderson, president of the board of directors of Community Farm Outreach, which oversees the education, charity and preservation aspects of the farm.

The 9-year-old organization, which has about a $150,000 budget, Anderson said, also relies on corporate and individual donations and fundraisers. But according to the farm manager, Amanda Cather, Community Farm needs to generate more revenue, without losing the country-simple charm that makes it so special.

Now, Anderson said, the farm donates about 30 percent of its harvest. It is a major supplier of fresh produce for the Waltham Salvation Army and Red Cross food pantries, Sandra's Lodge shelter in Waltham, Food For Free in Cambridge and the Helping Hand Food Pantry in Porter Square.

And it has educated countless school children and other volunteers. This year, a group of Americorps volunteers, mainly from the West Coast, are living and working on the grounds.

If the worst does come to fruition and Community Farm is evicted from the field station, it just got a new insurance policy. When Steve Parker, a local farmer who was working three acres on the Lyman Estate, decided to give it up, Community Farm jumped right in and leased the property.

For Community Farm, that means a 50 percent increase in acreage. For Waltham, however, it means one less farmer, and only one still standing.