Students from Cumberland Middle School assist with the planting of vegetable seedlings at Franklin Community Farm in Cumberland.

RI Community Farm Programs Ready to "Grow"

In Woonsocket, a community venture dubbed GrowUp (Gardening Resources of Woonsocket Utilizing People) is the newest member of the Rhode Island Community Farm family thanks to the hard work and dedication of Family Resources, a member agency of the Food Bank.

Utilizing a parcel of land donated by the local YMCA and a grant to create 15 temporary jobs for youth to work in the community garden, the farm’s goal is to provide free, fresh produce to struggling families while also exposing the community’s youth to careers in the agricultural and horticultural fields. To help get started, GrowUp has collaborated with Cumberland’s Franklin Farm for guidance and best practices.

Additionally this summer, the Food Bank has grown its relationship with the Rhode Island Farm Bureau. This partnership will further connect the Food Bank and the local farming community with the goal of increasing the amount of locally grown produce donated for distribution to families in need.

Thanks to Ira and Suzanne Magaziner, who have generously set aside additional land, the Magaziner Farm, located in Bristol, has been expanded in size and is now the largest Community Farm of the group. With the added land, the farm has set a goal of growing 16,000 pounds this summer!

The Community Farm program is a group of local farms dedicated to growing fresh, nutritious vegetables for families in need while preserving open space. Last year alone, these farms grew more than 130,000 pounds of fresh produce for people in need across the state – its most successful growing season to date. With this year’s growing season underway, the hope is that 2009 will be even more successful thanks to additional land available for farming.

Watch NBC-10's Coverage of the Franklin Farm Planting Here