News and blog
Over two hundred people (all ages!) rode the hay rides with Farm Manager Kevin Overshiner and Assistant Farm Manager Katie Bekel taking turns at the wheel. Wow!
What a glorious Fall day! All enjoyed great activities, fun music with the always enjoyable Little Jed and the Phat Daddies from Millis, nature crafts, fabulous (professionally done) face painting, pony and mini-train rides (thank you to Newfound Farm from Holliston), honey from our Farm hives with Nancy Ann's Honey, gifts, snacks, and lots of veggies at our pop-up market.
Thinking about a Fall Share? There a few Thursday pick-up slots still available. Starts October 11th & 13th, with five pick-ups, every two weeks. Also Egg Shares, and Mushroom Shares (NEW!) available. Check it out. Click the link on the left!
Thank you for your support and we look forward to another year to come with our friends and neighbors visiting and helping move our Mission forward. Thank you also to all of the wonderful volunteers who made the day possible.
Little Jed and the Phat Daddies will be back again with fabulous music and entertainment on Sunday, September 25th for the Medway Community Farm Fall Festival from 12- 4.
Save the date for the Medway Community Farm Fall Festival! MCF will be hosting our annual Fall Festival Sunday, September 25 with a variety of activities for children of all ages, including tractor and pony rides, crafts, races, face painting, as well as farm-grown produce, local treats, yummy specials from the Pangea Cuisine food truck, and other seasonal refreshments for purchase.
This is always a fun event and we hope you will join us! Tell your neighbors, bring your friends.
Soon the installation of our new, self-guided walking tour of the Farm will be complete and ready for you to stroll all around our main location. Each of the 15 stops along the way provides information about aspects of our community farm: the history of the Farm and education about our agricultural mission, resources, and practices are included. Check it out, beginning at the big sign near the Farm Stand.
See you this Sunday, on a beautiful Fall day.
2016 Farm to Fork Fundraiser Dinner
Again this year we are collaborating with Krista Maloney, Medway resident, Medway Community Farm CSA member, gourmet chef, and owner of Sweet Pea's Catering, to create a fresh and fabulous event that will highlight the delectable potential of the summer's bounty.
The evening will include passed appetizers, beer tasting provided by Peak Organic Brewery, wine, family style meal, live music with hot band~Worcester-based Hip Swayers, coffee provided by Red Barn Coffee Roasters, and a dessert buffet.
Linger over s’mores around the fire.
Held among the old apple and beech trees on our farm, just steps from the field where the produce we will be serving is growing, the setting provides a romantic and nostalgic feeling that is not to be missed. Come be inspired, and support our mission of food, education, and community.
This is a night of indulgence that you can feel really good about...invite your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors.
Saturday, August 20th
6:00-10:00 pm at Medway Community Farm
Tickets are $100 per person. A portion of the purchase price will benefit the education and community missions of MCF and you will receive a receipt reflecting your donation to our 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Presenting our local, seasonal menu for the
Farm to Fork Dinner
All produce for this meal is sourced from our Farm
Passed Hors d’ Oeuvres:
Potato latkes with creme fraiche and green onion
Cantaloupe skewers and blue cheese drizzled with grapefruit white balsamic or beet and goat cheese skewers with a fig balsamic
Turkey and zucchini burgers with green onion and cumin
Eggplant ricotta nests with red pepper tomato salsa
Plated First Course:
Provencal stuffed tomato over field greens, shaved Parmesan Reggianno and toasted pine nuts drizzled with white truffle oil
Family Style:
Slow roasted chicken and potatoes over green lentils and basmati rice
Mixed vegetables and Greek yogurt with green chili herb oil
Crushed carrots with harissa and pistachios
Chopped Israeli salad of cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, red onions, calamata olives and feta with a light lemon vinaigrette
Dessert Buffet:
Carrot cake with a lemon verbena marscapone cream
Zucchini cobbler bars
Grilled stone fruit with orange blossom water
Coffee & Tea
Make your own s’mores around the campfire
~~~
Reserve Tickets
Hailing from the hills of West Tatnuck, the Hip Swayers are a good time, get up and dance band. Their music combines tight rhythms, searing solos and soulful harmonies in an eclectic mix of catchy originals, old time country, and twangy, reverb-soaked surf that keeps your toes tapping and your hips swaying!
"These performers from Worcester, Massachusetts are not to be missed! A bit of Hank Williams sensibility, Carter/Cash authenticity, and infectious personality." - Music Editor, San Francisco's City Guide
Dear Everyone,
It is regrettable that someone took the drop safe from the Medway Community Farm stand. We have reported the incident to the Medway Police Department and are cooperating fully with their investigation.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to meeting our goals of serving our community, providing food and education.
We are very grateful for the continued strong support that we receive from our community each and every day.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Yorkis
President
Medway Community Farm
Food, Community, Education
~~~~~
Update: New Honor System Lockbox installed. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.
Medway Community Farm, Inc.
50 Winthrop Street
Medway, MA 02053
Medway Community Farm Inc. is a non-profit farm on town-land in Medway, Massachusetts with 6 acres in vegetable production. MCF uses non-certified organic methods, to manage a diverse vegetable operation that produces food for Spring, Summer and Fall - Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares. Other activities include a farm stand, a local farmer’s market, sales of produce to a local restaurant, and donations to a local food pantry. We offer a variety of educational programs, community events and volunteer opportunities for the public.
Spring Share begins April 26th (sold out).
Have you registered for your Summer
(and Fall!) Shares?
every week, choose a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday Pick Up
A few Full and Partial Summer Shares still available.
Register today. Sign up here.
Click here for more MCF CSA information
We acknowledge the devotion and hard work of our founding farmer, Brittany Sidway Overshiner and wish her every success and happiness as she moves on to new opportunities in her career. Brittany's enthusiasm is contagious and she has inspired many people of all ages. We shall miss Brittany greatly and we thank her for all that she has given to all of us, and for her contributions and efforts that have made Medway Community Farm a success.
We also recognize the service and leadership of Jeanne Raffa who, as a Member of the Board of Directors and President, served from 2011 to 2015. We salute Jeanne for her hard work and steadfast dedication to MCF.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, our Farm Manager, and the entire farm staff, we wish you an excellent 2016 and we hope that you will make MCF an important part of your year.
MCF Board of Directors
(An excellent opportunity to complete your CSA volunteer-hours!)
The Fall Festival is a great family activity for participants, but also a great volunteer activity for families! We need help setting up, running and taking down our event on Sunday, September 27th at the Farm (50 Winthrop St). We are happy to accept help from all ages (we’ve had lots of parents enjoy volunteering with their middle school and high school aged kids!). An adult should accompany anyone under the age of 14. Sign up for multiple shifts or just one shift and then enjoy the Festival!
Saturday Farm Clean Up/Fall Festival Set Up!
9am-Noon: Help us complete our clean-up/preliminary set-up to-so list!
Sunday, Fall Festival
10am-Noon: Set-Up, 10 volunteers
11:30-2:00: Running Events/Crafts, General Help, 16 volunteers
1:50-4:10: Running Events/Crafts, General Help, 16 volunteers
4:00-6:00: Clean Up! As much help as we can get!!!
Email volunteer@medwaycommunityfarm.org, to sign up! Please forward to anyone you know who might be interested in volunteering!
Blueberries from Jane and Paul's in Norfolk, MA
marcone almonds and fig glaze
Vegetarian Option: Zucchini noodles with eggplant meatballs, slow
roasted tomatoes and peppers
¬ Red Barn Coffee & Tea
Details for the event are here: Farm to Fork Tickets: Get them while they last!
Last week we were able to donate nearly 1000 pounds of food to the Boston Area Gleaners, a nonprofit organization that coordinates volunteers to come and harvest extra produce on farms around Boston and then distributes the produce to local food pantries. They are a fabulous organization making sure good food gets to people who need it!
We are hosting our second gleaning day on Monday, July 27th from 9am-noon. We'll be harvesting cucumber, zucchini (wear long sleeves - they are spiky), summer squash, peas and scallions. Email volunteer@medwaycommunityfarm.org to RSVP. Or just come by. Even if you can only come for an hour, your help would be greatly appreciated. Please no children under the age of 14 unless they are supervised by an adult. Parking will be by the farm stand. Check our facebook page for updates about construction and best ways to access the farm.
We also donate weekly to the Medway Food Pantry and Ashland Food Pantry. We are looking for someone who could deliver the produce on Wednesday to the Medway Pantry any time between 2:00 and 3:00pm. Please email volunteer@medwaycommunityfarm.org if you are interested!
Brittany celebrates our largest donation since the start of the farm, 6 years ago!
Here is the letter of gratitude we received from the Boston Area Gleaners after this visit:
Hello Brittany,
Thank you for taking the initiative to contact us to glean at Medway Community Farm on July 15, 2015. We were able to harvest a total of 235 pounds in 10.50 cases with the help of 3 volunteer gleaners. This donation consisted of:
Peas, sugar snap: 75 pounds in 2.50 cases.
Scallions: 160 pounds in 8.00 cases, in addition to (our estimates): cucumbers: 500 pounds in 10 cases. and summer squash/zucchini: 240 pounds in 6 cases.
Your timely and generous donation will help nourish many hungry families in the greater Boston area. Most of this load will go to our distribution partners, Food For Free in Cambridge and the Greater Boston Food Bank, and they in turn will distribute the produce among 600+ pantries, shelters and meal programs in and around Boston.
Fresh produce is one of the first items people have to forgo when they become food insecure. But it is probably the most important part of anyone's diet in order to remain healthy. These choices especially impact the elderly and the young. According to Project Bread, Massachusetts has one of the widest income gaps in the nation (tied with Arizona for first place), and more people in the Boston area are food insecure now than at any time since this data has been recorded (2013 Status Report on Hunger).
With your donation of fresh produce, you helped us put a significant dent in those figures, and, with your continued support, we will continue to build this important new supply chain that enables the recovery of fresh nutritious produce from the waste stream and redirecting it to our neighbors in need in the Boston area.
To the Harvest!
Duck Caldwell, Executive Director
Matt Crawford and Dylan Frazier, Gleaning Coordinators