Support Common Ground Farm

The world at large is rapidly transforming. We can feel the wild forces whipping around us. And we believe that the work of small, local, community-based organizations is the glue that will keep us together through this maelstrom of change. Common Ground Farm’s vision is one where communities are nurtured and sustained through food and the work it takes to grow it. We live and breathe this every day.

We welcome people to our land–from toddlers to adults–through our various programs and community events. We believe that love for the earth and for foods that nourish our bodies is cultivated through meaningful and thoughtful engagement. We do this through our many education programs–from Preschool on the Farm, to Chef in the Classroom, Farm Camp, and our many community partnerships.

Our markets extend our community food access work as well as our support for local agriculture and small businesses beyond our own fields, making fresh food accessible to more people while strengthening our local economy. Beyond that, our markets have become a Third Place–a public gathering spot where people connect and build relationships.

Our farm operation is the heart of our work and we are cultivating crops as well as growing young farmers. We ensure that the food that we grow is accessible throughout our community–from our donations to partnering food access agencies to our unique and beloved U-Pick program.

Our BackPack program brings everything we do together. Every week, we nourish 60 food insecure students in our local school district. These children see how fresh food grows through field trips to the farm. We ensure that these programs are meaningful to them by including fresh local produce from our fields or from partnering farms–many of which attend our markets as well–into their bags each week.

As a community organization, we care for the most vulnerable among us. We nourish children, we grow farmers, we support local businesses. And our donors fuel all of this–YOU make it possible. Please consider making a year end gift to support our work. All donors who give $150 or more will receive a special edition Common Ground Farm market bag. As the world around us feels like it is spinning out of control, we can hold together and be the model for the better world that our hearts know is possible.

$35 will help ensure that both the Beacon and Newburgh Farmers’ Markets are fully accessible for all members of our community, and will cover the cost of seven Greens4Greens coupons. Our markets accept all food benefits, in addition to our own community supported Greens4Greens program, which extends the purchasing power for families who use SNAP and FMNP. We have built an end of market donation program at our markets, delivering local nutrient dense produce to area community pantries.To learn more about our markets, click here.

$75 will sponsor a BackPack program participant for seven weeks, providing them with shelf-stable food, farm-fresh produce, milk and egg vouchers, and Greens4Greens coupons. Through our BackPack program, we ensure that Beacon’s most food insecure students have access to nutritious food year round. In the past year, demand grew from 41 families to 60. We provide the makings of six meals each week, or 12,600 meals over the course of the year. To learn more about our BackPack program, click here.

$150 will help us to ensure that cost is not a barrier in participation of our programs and will cover a full scholarship to Preschool on the Farm. Common Ground works to ensure that all of our education programs, serving toddlers to grandparents, are accessible and affordable to all. This year we provided 72 full scholarships for children so that they could attend Farm Camp. In addition, we reached 2,107 kids across 12 different schools and 8 different grade levels through our Farm to School programming this year. To learn more about our education programs, click here.

$500 will go a long way to ensure the farm has adequate tools and supplies to grow food for our community. In order to keep farming this year, we had to replace our greenhouse heater, purchase a waterwheel transplanter, and replace our disc implement. This winter we will need to reskin our greenhouse and high tunnel. We also need new row cover and shelter for our tractor. Click here to learn more about our farm growing practices.

$1,000 will help us support our dedicated and hardworking staff, as well as help cover costs in employing and training Next Step Green Teen and Our Core Teen Interns over the summer as they gather job and life experience. Labor is our largest expense and our most important resource. Support for our crew will help us train a new generation of farmers while we grow food for our community. Click here to learn more about our Food Justice Initiatives, click here to learn more about our collaboration with Green Teen, and click here to learn about Our Core.

$2,500 will make a tremendous difference in helping Common Ground build long term resilience to grow food for our community within our changing planet. Our vision is to uplift, nourish, engage, and celebrate our community as we care for and steward the land long into the future. Significant financial support helps us to build long term resilience in an increasingly turbulent world.

If you prefer to send us a check, please make your check out to:

Common Ground Farm

PO Box 148

Beacon, NY 12508

Common Ground Farm is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and donations are tax deductible. Our EIN is 01-0574675.

Thank you!