As spare-time gardeners and full-time food-eaters, local food production is a big passion for us. We’ve been known to take breaks from editing sometimes to weed and water our small office garden, which rewards us with fresh salads all summer. So in addition to our work with Edible Cape Cod, we’re thrilled whenever we can collaborate with farmers to advocate for the hard — and vital— work they do.
This spring, we teamed up with The 300 Committee Land Trust and a working group of the Falmouth Agricultural Commission to help them explain their ambitious proposal to purchase Tony Andrews Farm. Ringing in at nearly 60 acres, this is the biggest working farm on the Upper Cape, and symbolizes Falmouth’s proud agricultural heritage (the town was once the biggest producer of strawberries this side of the Mississippi) as well as the Cape Verdean community’s role in that legacy.
The video played at Falmouth’s Annual April Town Meeting, where it helped garner unanimous approval for the town to do some legal work and put a deposit on the property. It will also be used in The 300 Committee’s fundraising efforts (they’re hoping to buy a dozen acres for conservation). In the meantime, residents will have plenty of say in the matter —the working group will hold a series of meetings seeking public input before coming to the Annual November Town Meeting with a proposal to make the final purchase.
Crowdfunding for food
Earlier in the year, we caught up with our farmer friends Matt and Jen, who started a GoFundMe campaign to help them purchase a tractor that can run on the biodiesel they produce themselves. Even though we shot the video in the dormancy of winter, it was refreshing to work with this power couple and their newborn, Jack, in the balmy greenhouse. For this, we received the most valuable payment possible – shares in their spring and fall CSA!
For more background on Pariah Dog Farm, check out our article, Diamonds in the Rough, in the Spring 2017 issue of Edible Cape Cod!
