Canton’s Brookwood Farm celebrates 20 years

Brookwood Manager Hannah Helfner educates visiting students.

Canton’s Brookwood Community Farm is celebrating 20 years of providing fresh, healthy food through its seasonal Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program; education, volunteer and employment opportunities; and food access and hunger relief initiatives.

The nonprofit farm, which had its first growing season in 2006, operates two locations — the main farm site within the Blue Hills Reservation at 11 Blue Hill River Road, which is maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and a secondary site off Route 138 at the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate, which is owned by the Trustees of Reservations. Crops are cultivated at both sites but only sold at the Blue Hills location.

The final seasonal sale of fresh produce will take place this coming Sunday, November 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “It’s a regular event we do on the Sunday before Thanksgiving,” noted Brookwood President Cathy Smith.

Vegetables will be available for people who have pre-purchased a harvest box, which contain an assortment of herbs, greens and storage crops, as well as for those who want to buy fresh produce in bulk.

Smith started her long association with Brookwood in 2007 as a volunteer farmhand. She became a member of the farm’s board of directors in 2008 and became its president in 2017.

Brookwood’s mission is to help to ensure that all individuals have access to healthy, fresh, affordable foods through the development of new markets in under-served communities and through relationships with local hunger relief organizations.

While the annual CSA program begins in early June, Smith said the first public event of the season is its annual seedling sale, which is typically held in early to mid-May. “It’s a well-loved event where people come to get really well-produced seedlings for their own gardening,” she said.

The farm grows produce for its CSA shareholders, to sell at local farmers markets and at Brookwood’s own farmstand, and to support local organizations. They sell the produce at the Roslindale Farmers Market every season and supply the Mattapan Farmers Market with produce to sell for about six weeks during the summer.

Brookwood also delivers produce five days a week to other hunger relief organizations, including the Canton Food Pantry, Rosie’s Place, St. Matthew’s Church Food Pantry in Dorchester, the Milton Community Food Pantry, and the Germantown Neighborhood Center Food Pantry in Quincy.

The Brookwood team consists of salaried employees as well as a number of volunteers, many of whom return each year. Volunteers not only help with farming tasks but also pitch in at the farmstand — setting up tables, unloading produce, and making sure that things run smoothly. They may also package and deliver produce for donation.

In addition to the volunteers, Brookwood hosts people at the farm who wish to learn more about the growing process. “We welcome folks, whether they’re students or employees from a corporation, to come and spend some time on the farm,” Smith said.

The visitors learn about Brookwood’s operations or perhaps something specific to the season during which they are visiting. They then do some work in the field before taking a break or learning more about the farm. “People could help with planting things; sometimes they’re harvesting something,” said Smith. “Sometimes they’re helping to take out row cover (fabrics that protect plants) or ground cloth or stakes, depending on the season.”

The farmers at Brookwood grow a wide variety of crops, including different greens, root vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, radishes, salad turnips, and occasionally melons. They also purchase various types of fresh produce for sale or distribution, typically items that are more difficult to grow. For instance, Smith said they buy corn from small local farms and fruit, mushrooms and eggs for their CSA customers and to sell at the farmstand.

Smith said Brookwood has around 400 CSA members, who have the option of purchasing a variety of share types (veggie, fruit, mushroom, egg) in the spring, summer or fall growing seasons. Full shareholders receive a weekly allotment of seasonal crops while half shareholders receive their assortment of produce every other week. The farm also offers a pick-your-own flower share that runs for the duration of the summer season. “[CSA members] have a lot of choices about how they can participate,” Smith said.

Brookwood Farm has grown considerably over the course of its 20 growing seasons, starting in 2006 with one acre of land and then expanding to 2.5 acres. A few years later, Brookwood arranged with the Trustees of Reservations to use some of the land at the Bradley Estate. They now have a heated greenhouse at the Blue Hills site as well as two coolers, an outdoor wash station, and a deer fence. A second deer fence at the Bradley Estate is planned for 2026.

Looking toward the future, Smith said they would love to have better infrastructure at the Brookwood site. “That is something we are going to work on with the DCR,” she said. “We would love to farm more land at one or both sites so that some of the land can be rested, because we’ve been intensively cultivating the land for much of our existence. It can make it difficult over time since you’re depleting the soil.”

Brookwood’s farmers plant cover crops like peas, red wheat, and vetch (a legume) in areas where crops have been planted earlier, which helps to hold the nutrients in the soil in place.

Smith hopes to one day have an indoor climate-controlled space at the Blue Hills site that would house the coolers and wash station for the employees, giving them protection from the elements. She would like the space to provide real bathrooms instead of port-a-potties and to provide a spot for CSA customers to pick up their shares. She would also like to have a high tunnel — a structure that is similar to a greenhouse and allows for growing plants in the ground in the winter.

Smith is proud not just of the physical growth that has taken place at Brookwood Farm, but of the work of the farm staff. “I think that it’s important that over time, Brookwood has grown the community, but also, more specifically, grown farmers,” she said. “Some people come in with a variety of different experiences, but by working there, they are gaining a lot as far as their knowledge about farming. Folks have gone on to other roles in the farming or food industry after being on our staff.”

Smith added that technological advancements have aided modern-day farmers, who can now be found taking photos of their crops and entering crop information onto a laptop, as opposed to a paper notebook or ledger, which often did not hold up well against the elements.

Also key to the growth and success of the farm are its 400-plus members, who pay an annual fee ($55) to gain access to CSA share opportunities and numerous other member benefits while supporting Brookwood’s food access goals. Donations are also greatly appreciated, and as it wraps up its 20th growing season the farm has issued a call to action in hopes of raising $20,000 before the new year through its ’20 for 20’ campaign. For more information about becoming a member, donating, volunteering at the farm and more, go to brookwoodcommunityfarm.org.

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