Grow Food Northampton - CPA Application - September 2021.pdf
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION
PROJECT APPLICATION COVER SHEET
I: Project Information
Project Title:
Reclamation and Rehabilitation of Farmland on the Grow Food Northampton Community
Farm
Project Summary:
Grow Food Northampton seeks funding to reclaim and rehabilitate two parcels of farmland
on our Community Farm that have been encroached upon by forest and invasive plants,
shrubs, and vines. One parcel borders conserved City property along the east bank of the
Mill River on our “East Field” off of Meadow Street. The other is on our “South Parcel” in our
Organic Community Garden along Spring Street and between and beside private residences.
Once the brush and invasive plants are cleared, we will return the reclaimed area on the
East Field to productive organic farmland and from that point on, we will more easily and
regularly maintain the field edge. The reclaimed Organic Community Garden land will be
converted into additional garden plots (since demand for plots has increased dramatically in
the last two years), and into an “edible hedgerow” that is open to the public for foraging.
Estimated start date: March, 2022 Estimated completion date: April, 2022
CPA Program Area (check all that apply):
X Open Space X Historic Preservation
� Community Housing � Recreation
X Rehabilitation/Restoration
II: Applicant/Developer Information
Contact Person and or/primary applicant: Alisa Klein
Property Owner (if applicable): Grow Food Northampton, Inc.
Organization (if applicable): Grow Food Northampton, Inc.
Mailing Address: 221 Pine Street, Suite 349, Florence, MA 01062
Daytime phone #: 413.320.4799, x101 Fax #: 413.320.4799
E-mail address & Website: alisa@growfoodnorthampton.org;
www.growfoodnorthampton.org
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III: Budget Summary
Total budget for project: $20,000
CPA funding request: $20,000
CPA request as percentage of total budget: 100%
Applicant’s Signature:
Date Submitted: September 17, 2021
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Reclamation and Rehabilitation of Farmland
on the Grow Food Northampton Community Farm
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
1. Please read the entire CPA Application & Review Process before
beginning. ✅
2. Complete the application Cover Sheet. ✅
3. Include the following information:
Narrative
Grow Food Northampton (GFN) is a local non-profit organization that is building a just local
food system that nourishes our community and protects and enriches the earth. We do this by
work through three central pillars of programming: 1) land access and stewardship; 2) food
access; and 3) community education, specifically, by:
• Stewarding and offering productive and sustainably-managed farmland on the Grow
Food Northampton Community Farm to community gardeners and farmers;
• Providing access to nutritious local food;
• Mobilizing community members to exchange knowledge about gardening, farming, and
food; and
• Dismantling oppressive systems and structures in our local food and agricultural systems
and shifting power to community members most affected by food insecurity.
The Grow Food Northampton Community Farm is the anchor of all that we do. When Grow
Food Northampton was founded in 2010, in collaboration with the Trust for Public Land, City of
Northampton planners, and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR),
GFN acquired title to the 121 acres of land that is now our Community Farm. This expanse of
farmland, used continuously for farming as far back as the days of the Indigenous Nipmuc and
Pocumtuc tribes, is now protected in perpetuity by an Agricultural Preservation Restriction
(APR) that is co-held by MDAR and the City of Northampton. The APR prevents any use of the
property that will negatively impact its future agricultural viability.
Project location, including address and parcel number
Grow Food Northampton is requesting $20,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) Funding
to reclaim and restore two parcels of farmland on our Community Farm that have been
encroached upon by woody plants, shrubs, and vines. One parcel borders conserved City
property along the east bank of the Mill River on our “East Field” off of Meadow Street in
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Florence. The farm access road to reach this parcel is located on Meadow Street in Florence
across from the Corticelli Street intersection. The parcel ID is: 16D-001-001. The other
parcel is on the “South Parcel” of our Community Farm, home to the Grow Food
Northampton 320-plot Organic Community Garden. This parcel is located on either side of a
private residence at 67 Spring Street in Florence, adjacent and integral to our Community
Garden. The parcel ID is: 22B-011-001.
What Community Preservation criteria – both general and program-area
specific – does this project meet?
These funds are requested to cover the cost to reclaim, rehabilitate, and restore APR-
protected farmland that has been encroached upon by vines, brush, and plants so it may be
returned to productive, sustainably-managed farmland on our East Field, and community
garden plots and edible hedgerow, i.e. fruit and nut trees and bushes that provide food for
community foraging and food and habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects, birds, and
wildlife.
What community need(s) does this project serve? If the project serves multiple needs
and populations, please describe them. If the project serves a population that is
currently underserved, please describe.
On the East Parcel of our Community Farm, Grow Food Northampton leases acreage to a
certified organic farmer who sells his crops locally. By increasing the acreage of organic
agricultural production, we are able to ensure that more healthy, nutritious food is being grown
for our community and that we are building local climate resilience through farming practices
that sequester increased amounts of carbon, enrich the soil, and prevent runoff and erosion. In
reclaiming the parcel on our South Parcel, we are expanding our Organic Community Garden to
include additional garden plots and to grow edible fruits and nuts for community foraging, as
well as food and habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects, birds, and wildlife. Since
the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a steep expansion of demand for
Community Garden plots. Increasingly, Northampton residents are understanding the need for,
and crave, the ability to grow healthy, nutritious foods for themselves, their families, and their
neighbors. In order to accommodate this demand and facilitate this aspect of the creation of a
vibrant local food system, GFN is seeking every avenue (and hedgerow!) that we can to increase
local food access for our community. By increasing acreage in farming production and planting
additional gardens and edible hedgerows, we are also creating pollinator habitats that lead to
increased biodiversity in our region.
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What specific guarantees will assure the long-term preservation of the
project?
Grow Food Northampton is committed, after the initial restoration process for which we are
seeking CPA funds, to maintaining the integrity of the reclaimed farmland and newly-
established garden plots and hedgerows with routine maintenance such as regular mowing and
weeding. The farmer that leases the East Parcel will plant crops in the spring and maintains his
fields meticulously. Community gardeners and GFN staff will maintain the South Parcel area on
a rigorous schedule. The Grow Food Northampton community, e.g. staff, board, advisors,
partner organizations, academics, friends, farmers, and community and master gardeners, have
deep expertise in soil science, landscape design, regenerative and organic gardening and
farming practices, and other land reclamation-related techniques. This wide swath of expertise
has already been employed to restore other areas of the GFN Community Farm in the past, and
is being utilized again to ensure that this rehabilitated acreage will thrive once it is cleared and
the resulting debris is disposed of.
What community support does the project have? Explain the nature and
level of the support.
Grow Food Northampton maintains excellent relationships with abutters to the Community
Farm. Neighbors such as Peter Gazzillo, who owns farmland immediately adjacent to GFN’s East
Parcel, has been consulted and supports this work being done. Residents at 67 Spring Street are
in favor of this reclamation project, as well. In their letter of support attached to this
application, our community partner, Mill River Greenway Initiative, heartily endorses and
“enthusiastically supports” the work that we are proposing.
How will the success of this project be measured?
The success of the project will be measured, most tangibly, by the number of acres of land
reclaimed for use in organic farming, gardening, and/or community access and foraging. This
benefit will be achieved in the very short-term, i.e. almost immediately after the reclamation
project is completed.
Is ongoing maintenance and upkeep required? If yes, please explain how
this will be accomplished.
On the East Parcel, field edge maintenance will be ongoing and accomplished by Grow Food
Northampton staff. We own a 37 horsepower tractor with flail-mower attachment that will be
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used to maintain a grass border between the field and the forest multiple times per year. The
farmer that leases the East Parcel will maintain the additional acreage of farm field that will be
added to his lease. Our community gardeners perform “community service hours” each month
so between their service, volunteers that help out on our Community Farm regularly, and GFN
staff members, we will manage the growth of weeds, brush, and saplings in the South Parcel
area.
Project Budget: The total budget for this project, including specifically how CPA funds
will be spent. All items of expenditure must be clearly identified. Include project
quotes, or show why this is not appropriate or feasible. List any additional funding
sources, either committed or under consideration. Include commitment letters if
available.
The total budget for this project is $20,000. This entire amount will be used to cover the work
of Wagner Wood (please attached quote) to clear both areas.
Multi-Year Funding: If the project is expected to continue over more than one year,
or if bonding the project is anticipated, please provide annual funding requirements.
This will be a one-time project to clear these areas. Ongoing maintenance will ensure that the
current level of overgrowth does not return.
Project Timeline: Explain the various steps of the project and when they will be
completed.
Pending the approval of funding for this project and the weather and field conditions in the
early spring of 2022, the work will begin in March, 2022 and will take a total of approximately
six days to complete.
Feasibility: List and explain all further actions or steps that will be required for
completion of the project, such as environmental assessments, zoning or other permits
and approvals, agreement on terms of any required conservation, affordability or
historic preservation agreements, subordination agreements, and any known or
potential barriers or impediments to project implementation.
No additional steps will be needed beyond the work as described above.
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If the project is for open space acquisition, a CR or APR is required. A third
party holder of the CR or APR must be identified.
N/A
Maps and visual materials.
Please see attached maps and photographs.
= Area of proposed land clearing
September 12, 2021
Community Preservation Committee
City of Northampton
℅ Sarah LaValley
Dear Friends,
It is our great pleasure to provide this letter of support for Grow Food Northampton’s application
for funding to remediate invasive plant species on their Mill River floodplain farm in Florence.
The Grow Food Northampton Community Farm has become an indispensable hub of the local
food system since the land was preserved, in partnership with the City of Northampton, in 2011.
In just 10 years, the farm has grown to encompass eight diverse tenant farm businesses, 325+
community garden plots, and the Giving Garden, a half-acre microfarm that pushes close to
10,000 pounds of organic produce into the city’s emergency food system every year.
Currently, there is an estimated 3+ acres of arable farmland overtaken by invasive plant species
and overgrown brush. These acres could and should be producing food for the local community.
These incursions degrade the riparian ecosystem as well, displacing native plants that would
provide a great deal more habitat value for indigenous animal and insect species.
As community stewards of the Mill River, we enthusiastically support GFN’s intentions to reclaim
this floodplain farmland to better serve the needs of both the ecological and food systems of our
community. Thank you for being our partners in this work!
Respectfully,
John Sinton Gaby Immerman
MRGI Co-Moderators