Lexington Observer speaks with Pamela Tames, Executive Director, and Mary Rose Scozzafava, President of the Board of Lexington Community Farm.
LO: What is Lexington Community Farm (Lex Farm)?
PT: Lex Farm is on a mission to grow local, feed local, and see local. We are a certified organic farm that produces about 100,000 pounds of food annually. In addition to selling our crops through CSAs and in our farm store, we donate at least ten percent of our crop to local food banks, including the Lexington Food Pantry and Food Link in Arlington.
This has been farmland for almost 400 years. Today, it is owned by the town and we lease the land. We would love to expand someday, because we are rapidly growing — and I don’t mean just vegetables and fruit. We’re growing as an organization, as well. We have two full-time farm managers — a field manager and a greenhouse manager, staff that help in the store, a very dedicated board, and about 300 volunteers that help us throughout the year.
The farm itself sits on eight acres, five of which we cultivate, while the others house different structures such as the farm store and protected growing areas. Our physical space serves as a gathering place for the community, where people can attend events and educational programs, shop in the store, or simply walk the beautiful grounds and enjoy being on the farm.
LO: What sort of educational programs do you offer?
PT: It’s a big range, and there are many different offerings. For example, school groups come to help plant and harvest in our learning garden, we host classes on food-related topics such as foraging and cooking, we organize big events like our October 6th Harvest Fest, and so much more. We also partner with several other community organizations, including LexCAN, the Arlington LABBB, and Cary Library, to offer both one-time and ongoing programming.
LO: Do either of you have farming backgrounds?
PT: I do not come from the agricultural world. I come from the nonprofit world, leading other organizations in different sectors. I started as a volunteer here and did that for a long time, including serving as a board member, before moving into this position. Our farmers decide at the start of the year what the field plan is going to be: what they’re going to plant, when they’re going to plant it, and when they’re going to harvest it. But our entire team helps wherever we can, especially during harvest time. We practice low-impact farming, which means we do no automated harvesting — we harvest by hand. You can imagine that is extremely time-consuming, so we all help out.
MRS: I am not a farming professional, either, but I enjoy growing and gardening. It’s fantastic to be able to actually get into the fields and work with the farmers, which we do here. I also work with other farms in the area whose missions are to grow food and donate it to local community systems. Our entire board is very hands-on. We have a working board of 14 members who run a lot of the events that happen on the farm and fill in gaps wherever needed, in addition to providing oversight and performing the typical duties of a traditional board. While our board members are not farming professionals, either, they all have skills that help the farm operate, from financial and legal expertise, to carpentry, landscaping, and other maintenance abilities.
LO: Pam mentioned low-impact farming. What is that?
MRS: It really comes down to soil health. Much of the automation and other farm machinery digs deep and disturbs the lower portions of the soil, which is where all a lot of the microorganisms, fungi, rich subsoil ecosystems are living. We do have some machinery that is specifically geared to ease the farming process (e.g., seeding, managing weeds) without compacting or disturbing the soil, but the rest is done by hand. That approach helps us better manage the long-term health of the soil.
LO: Does the farm primarily operate on revenue from crop sales?
PT: Yes, in a way. Our primary revenue source is from CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). It’s like buying shares in a farm. For our produce, customers buy shares in the winter, and then during harvesting, they pick up a bundle of food every week – from 10 to 20 weeks, depending upon the share. We also give CSA members the opportunity to harvest food, themselves, directly from the field. People really enjoy this. We also have an egg CSA, through which we sell about 60 dozen eggs per week.
LO: What do you want the community to know about Lex Farm?
PT: We want everyone in Lexington to know not only that they have a community farm, but also that they are invited and encouraged to come enjoy it!
MRS: Yes, there’s something really amazing about seeing food grow. It’s a miracle that happens every year. People can come here to learn formally, but also just to experience informally what it means to farm and gain an appreciation for where their food comes from. Lex Farm is special because, in this area, there is no other farm that is accessible to the community in this way.
PT: By doing the type of farming that we do, we want to be a model for what is possible, to show that food can be grown locally — hyper locally, even — that it can sustain and nourish communities without destroying the land. We have big goals for our future because we believe the work we are doing is important for the future.
LO: What is an example of a big goal you have?
MRS: We need to put infrastructure in place that will help us be resilient to the effects of climate change. The extreme heat and excess rain of the past several years has driven a need for additional protected spaces for growing. With our warmer winters, pests are emerging later and dying off later, which impacts that way we grow.
LO: How can people in Lexington help?
PT: In addition to shopping at our farm store, which provides another significant source of revenue, and contributing individual donations, we always need volunteers. It doesn’t have to be a long-term commitment, either. We welcome volunteers to help with events, because without volunteers our events can’t run!
We would also love to see more individual and corporate groups alike come out and spend a day doing field work. You’d be amazed at the difference even a few hours can make if there are ten, twenty people helping out.
To learn more about Lexington Community Farm, visit https://lexfarm.org
I’m proud that yearly I can buy a share of our community farm. It helps me feel part of this community as well as a communal effort to eat good healthful, farm grown food. Great article, Pam and Mary!
There is much about Lexfarm which merits praise and support but the prices for fresh produce from the farm and the other products sold at the store are very expensive. It’s great that large amounts of produce are donated to food banks but for middle class and low income lexingtonians the town supported farm does nothing to support better healthy food choices.