Boston, MA

Changing the landscape of Boston farming

Published

2 years ago

June 5, 2022

Press Room

Changing the landscape of Boston farming

Meals

The Meals Venture grows 200,000 kilos of fruit and greens on the 70 acres of farmland it maintains.

Teen volunteers lead harvests, and assist run the neighborhood supported agriculture (CSA) packages and farmers’ markets that The Meals Venture is concerned in.

Each summer time when the kids taking part in The Meals Venture program start their first day on the job, they normally are a bit overwhelmed by the grueling bodily labor.

“It’s a little bit of a shock to the system,” mentioned Danielle Andrews, The Meals Venture’s Boston farm supervisor.

Typically, a number of the 120 teenagers from Higher Boston and the suburbs could have some expertise tending to their household backyard. However, as Andrews explains, that’s very totally different than laborious farming — which is how the 14-17 year-olds spend their days.

Collectively, they domesticate and harvest greens, herbs, flowers, and fruit on about 70 acres of city and suburban farmland utilizing pure rising strategies with out chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

The Meals Venture started in 1991 because the brainchild of a farmer in Lincoln and a minister in Roxbury. Since these early days, it has advanced right into a nationally acknowledged nonprofit.

Its employees, Board of Trustees, and legions of volunteers are all pushed by its mission: to create a neighborhood of youth and adults from numerous backgrounds who will work collectively to create a sustainable meals system.

With six farms in Lynn, Lincoln, Wenham, and Boston’s Dudley neighborhood, The Meals Venture’s objective is to provide wholesome meals for all residents within the metropolis and suburbs and to assist fulfill the correct to meals and enhance entry to recent, wholesome meals for all, defined Yasser Aponte, the Higher Boston neighborhood packages supervisor.

The Meals Venture grows 200,000 kilos of fruit and greens on the 70 acres of farmland it maintains.

Half of that’s distributed to people fighting meals insecurity via farmers’ markets and relationships with companies in Boston’s Dudley neighborhood and the town of Lynn, the place multi-generations of households work to beat meals inequities, Aponte mentioned.

The Meals Venture works to determine a mannequin the place recent meals could be offered in an inexpensive, accessible approach for each the farmers and the purchasers.

Becoming a member of the crews

All of it begins with the younger, volunteer farmers.

The Meals Venture has a number of ranges for teenagers to maneuver via: the Seed Crew, or the primary stage the place the youngest teenagers develop and distribute 1000’s of kilos of produce. The teenagers additionally attend workshops on sustainable agriculture, meals entry, and social justice.

The subsequent stage is the Filth Crew, the place teenagers develop on their data and abilities by constructing raised-bed gardens in Lynn, Dorchester, and Roxbury. The crew additionally leads volunteers on the farms and helps neighborhood occasions.

Within the Root Crew, teenagers foster the abilities from their work to create and facilitate workshops that deal with the causes and impacts of meals entry inequities, lead volunteer teams on city and suburban farms, domesticate crops in greenhouses, and mobilize friends. This crew leads harvests and helps run the community-supported agriculture (CSA) packages and farmers’ markets that The Meals Venture is concerned in.

The Meals Venture additionally gives fellowships to highschool graduates who’ve accomplished at the very least one session on a crew.

“These youth need to make an impression of their neighborhood,” Aponte mentioned. They carry out outreach and construct relationships with neighborhood organizations and different nonprofits and church buildings.

Volunteers with The Meals Venture (Courtesy)

Dudley Greenhouse

One other approach The Meals Venture meets its mission is thru the Dudley Greenhouse, which was created via a brownfields remediation grant from the Environmental Safety Company, Andrews and Aponte mentioned.

At 10,000-square toes, the greenhouse is “a considerable measurement for a small neighborhood,” Andrews mentioned.

The indoor farm, positioned in a close-knit neighborhood, is run by The Meals Venture and residents and overseen by an advisory committee, Aponte mentioned.

The greenhouse permits native farmers and residents to have a rising house and likewise gives house for assets and academic workshops.

Fledging gardeners collaborate with and be taught from skilled growers. The neighborhood additionally has entry to seedlings, high quality compost, and gardening instruments.

Along with widespread greens, specialty crops geared towards neighborhood residents are harvested within the greenhouse, reminiscent of cousa squash.

“We’re fortunate to be in a neighborhood that’s wealthy with growers,” Andrews mentioned. “Folks care about [the greenhouse and the farmland] and be careful for them.”

A LASTING IMPACT

Since its inception, The Meals Venture has:
● Constructed greater than 1,500 raised-bed gardens in residents’ backyards and in neighborhood areas.
● Graduated over 1,800 youth from Seed Crew, Root Crew, and Filth Crew.
● Cultivated over 5,000,000 kilos of produce on 60 acres of city and suburban land.
● Supplied almost 100,000 hours of service at greater than 15 native starvation aid organizations.
● Welcomed greater than 44,500 serve and develop volunteers on its farms.

Info offered by The Meals Venture

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Boston, MA

Free Boston events: Live comedy, a JP night market, and more – The Boston Globe

Published

3 hours ago

July 8, 2024

Press Room

Free Boston events: Live comedy, a JP night market, and more – The Boston Globe

Summer is in full swing, and with it, Boston is coming alive with free concerts, comedy, and a slightly belated solstice celebration. Plus, coming up this weekend, Somerville’s longest-running street festival is sure to provide a day of inspiration for all.

LAUGH OUT LOUD Start your week with a free comedy show in the Seaport at Lucky’s Lounge. The Monday night shows feature a varying lineup of New England comedians — many of whom have graced the stages of major streamers — ready to make the crowd roar with laughter. Doors open at 7 p.m., and seating is on a first come first serve basis, so get there early for the best view! July 8, 7:30-9 p.m. Free with purchase. Lucky’s Lounge, 355 Commercial St. luckyslounge.com

STEP INTO THE SUN June’s heat wave postponed this event, but it isn’t too late to celebrate the summer solstice with MIT’s Open Space programming. The afternoon is packed with food trucks, DIY hanging planters with Grace Coburn of Old Dog Design, hot beats by Tim Hall and LOMAN, and ice cream on the house. Children must be accompanied by an adult. July 9, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free. Kendall/MIT Open Space, 292 Main St., Cambridge. openspace.mit.edu

BLOCKED OFF FOR A BLOCK PARTY Shop till sundown at Jamaica Plain’s biweekly Nite Market series. Every other Thursday through Sept. 5, musicians and vendors take over South Street, bringing snacks, handmade trinkets and art, floral arrangements, and more delightfully local wares. Bonus: kids on four or two (or eight) wheels can glide on over to the tennis courts to partake in action-packed fun hosted by Ferris Wheels Bike Shop. July 11, 6-9 p.m., 34-68 South St., Jamaica Plain, jpcentresouth.com

TASTY TUNES Sure, you can go to a bakery for your morning pastry, but you can’t always go to one for a concert. Mariposa Bakery is opening up after-hours for an evening of live music served with pastries, tea, and coffee. Local artists Tiny the Bear, Von Aldra, and Good Judgement will take the stage for a toe-tapping night at this independent bakery. July 10, 7:30-10 p.m. Free. Mariposa Bakery, 424 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. mariposabakery.com

A BEACH RETREAT Oh, those summer nights! Revere Theatre Thursdays offer an opportunity to relax by the seaside. With music, popcorn, cotton candy, and a screening at dusk, this free weekly film series is an all-family affair. Catch this week’s screening of “Trolls Band Together” by William G. Reinstein Bandstand. July 11, 6-8 p.m. Free. Revere Beach, 350 Revere Beach Blvd., Revere. revrec.org

PLANES, TRAINS AND … WATERCRAFT Celebrate Water Transit Month with Seaport TMA, A Better City TMA, and Lower Mystic TMA at their annual Water Transit Fair. Attendees can partake in photo-ops and panels and chances to win prizes, while learning the different ways to get the best use of the city’s water transportation options — including how to avoid this summer’s Sumner Tunnel closure, the greatest prize of all. July 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free. Christopher Columbus Park/Long Wharf 100 Atlantic Ave. eventbrite.com

LIVE ON THE WILD SIDE Somerville’s ArtBeat festival is back for its 38th year. With over 100 craft and food vendors, artists, and live music across Davis Square and a dance showcase at the Somerville Theater, the all-day festival’s theme is “wild” and there will be no shortage of ways to cut loose. July 13, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Free. 1 Davis Square, Somerville. somervilleartscouncil.org/artbeat/2024

JAZZ IT UP Charles Haynes and the Tabernacle, Keyon Harrold, Brian Richburg Jr., and more will take the stage at the Boston Jazz Foundation’s fourth annual Charles River Jazz Festival. Head out to Allston to soak in the sun and get lost in live jazz all Sunday long. Tickets are required and free or Pay What You Can but attendees also can purchase VIP or Platinum upgrades for perks like an Oyster Happy Hour and covered seating. July 14, noon to 9 p.m. Free. Herter Park Amphitheater, 1175 Soldiers Field Road, Boston. bostonjazzfoundation.org/crjf

Emily Wyrwa can be reached at emily.wyrwa@globe.com. Follow her @emilywyrwa.

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Boston, MA

Hot and potentially wet days ahead as Beryl rain arrives in Boston, NWS says

Published

11 hours ago

July 7, 2024

Press Room

Hot and potentially wet days ahead as Beryl rain arrives in Boston, NWS says

The week will start off hot and may get hotter as the days pass, before rain impacts from Hurricane Beryl are felt across the region, according to the National Weather Service.

The Boston region will be placed under a heat advisory as of Monday at noon, NWS Meteorologist Kyle Pederson told the Herald, and though it’s currently slated to end Tuesday at 8 p.m., the advisory may extend through Wednesday.

“The heat index is going to get into the upper 90s, especially in the suburbs of Boston,” from Monday through Wednesday, Pederson said, and “Wednesday looks the hottest of the three for the heat index.”

“Boston itself will be a little cooler since it’s right on the water, but you go a few miles inland and It’s going to be hot,” he said.

According to the heat advisory, it will be dangerously hot in southern Worcester, central Middlesex, western Norfolk, northern Bristol, and western Plymouth counties, as well as parts of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

The weather service warns the weather conditions “may cause heat illnesses.”

“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors,” the advisory reads, in part.

Monday will be hot and humid, Pederson said, with high temperatures in the low 90s expected under mostly sunny conditions. NWS forecasts are calling for patchy fog before 7 a.m. on Monday morning, and more fog early morning on Tuesday.

Temperatures on Tuesday will climb further, into the mid-90s, with similar humid conditions and mostly sunny skies.

Wednesday it could hit 97 degrees, Pederson predicts.

Thursday could bring some relief from the heat, with temperatures forecast in the middle 80s, but it could also bring the first scattered effects of Tropical Storm Beryl, which is expected to return to hurricane strength before its Monday morning landfall in Texas’ gulf region.

“That moisture left over from Beryl could come up this direction and we could see some heavier rain later this week. Details are still fuzzy, but we’re looking like a Thursday-Friday-Saturday time frame,” Pederson said.

NWS shows the chance of rain on Thursday at 40% and that the day will otherwise be mostly sunny.

More rain is possible Friday and Saturday — a 30% and 40% chance, respectively, according to NWS — with temperatures again climbing toward the 90-degree range. Sunday currently shows as mostly sunny with high temperatures near 90 degrees.

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Boston, MA

Amtrak restores rail service between New York and Boston after lightning strike causes power outage

Published

18 hours ago

July 7, 2024

Press Room

Amtrak restores rail service between New York and Boston after lightning strike causes power outage

Amtrak service restored after suspension

All Amtrak services between New York and Boston have been restored after being suspended for around 7 hours on Saturday. FOX 5 NY’s Duarte Geraldino has the latest.

NEW YORK (AP) – Amtrak rail service between New York and Boston was restored after a lightning strike was believed to have caused a circuit breaker to malfunction, the rail service announced Saturday night.

The malfunction caused a power outage on all tracks between Penn Station in New York and Union Station in New Haven, Connecticut, beginning Saturday afternoon.

Amtrak announced the service had been restored in a statement posted on its website.

Evening trains between Boston and Virginia were operating on schedule Saturday. Most trains were expected to be on schedule Sunday, although some Sunday train services were cancelled and others were expected to operate on a modified schedule, the company said.

Customers with reservations on affected trains would be accommodated on trains with similar departure times or on other days, the rail service said Saturday.

Amtrak said it would waive additional charges for customers attempting to change reservations.

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