PEABODY — Newhall Fields Community Farm in Peabody aims to make fresh, locally grown food available to anyone who needs it, and is looking for donations to help its cause.
The organization is nearing the end of a 30-day fundraising campaign through SeedMoney, a nonprofit that hosts this annual campaign for school and community gardens around the world. Participants get 100% of the donations they receive.
Of the roughly 600 organizations participating in this year’s campaign, Newhall was fifth for most donors and 10th in overall donations, as of Tuesday afternoon. Top participants receive extra cash prizes from SeedMoney, and Newhall is looking at a $600 to $700 bonus for its number of donations.
The campaign runs through Dec. 15. As of Wednesday morning, Newhall had raised $3,630 from more than 50 donors, surpassing its initial goal of $3,300. The nonprofit now plans to increase that to $6,000.
“The goal for us really is to have a broader reach out into the community and to build awareness about the farm and what we’re doing,” Newhall Farm Director Jeannette McGinn said.
Newhall aims to reduce food insecurity in Peabody and its neighboring communities. The organization pays about 10 high schoolers to work there in the summer, but it’s largely volunteer driven.
The organization uses no-till regenerative agricultural practices and no pesticides or herbicides to grow 40 different vegetables and over 100 types of herbs on about a one-third acre of land on a 2-acre Lynn Street plot it leases from the city.
It was there that the Newhall Family operated their farm and Tillie’s Farm Stand for more than a century.
Patrons can use SNAP benefits to pay for the produce and the nonprofit is a part of the state’s Healthy Incentive Program, which puts money back on EBT cards when users buy local produce from HIP farm vendors with their SNAP benefits.
The farm also donates produce to Haven From Hunger, The Salem Pantry and other local organizations working to fight food insecurity on the North Shore.
Through the money raised in this latest campaign, Newhall looks to expand its fields on an additional quarter-acre of land in 2024.
The farm grew 7,000 pounds of food this year alone and has donated 20,000 pounds since it began in 2019. About 70% of all food grown goes to low- and moderate-income families through donations and the farm’s produce box program, which allows locals to buy boxes of fresh food, McGinn said.
“We’re growing food and distributing it in an affordable, accessible and inclusive way that meets the needs of the community,” she said. “We want to put healthy, nutritious and delicious food on every table.”
The farm is also looking for more volunteers. For more information about Newhall Farm and how to volunteer, go to https://newhallfieldscommunityfarm.org/.
To donate to its SeedMoney campaign, visit https://tinyurl.com/newhallseedmoney.