At the Sharing the Harvest Community Farm, a non-profit organization run out of the YMCA Southcoast in Dartmouth, Farm Director Ashley Brister relishes the opportunity to connect with the community while cultivating nearly five acres of farmland and growing over 40 varieties of crops.
Largely a volunteer operation, the farm yields between 50,000 to 60,000 pounds of produce on average each year. This produce goes to the United Way of Greater New Bedford Hunger Commission, which then distributes it to dozens of local organizations. Between July and October, the produce appears at mobile markets at several locations around the city. In other months, the farm’s produce gets sent to local food pantries such as The Salvation Army in New Bedford, Damien’s Place in Wareham, the Dartmouth Council on Aging, and more. Through the Full Plate Project, the YMCA also hosts a mobile food pantry every other Tuesday with produce from the farm.
Brister, a handful of seasonal employees, and the volunteer efforts of hundreds of community members keep the farm running. In 2022, the farm welcomed 798 volunteers, more than half of whom were between the ages of 14 and 22. Sharing the Harvest Community Farm also hosts youth field trips and volunteer sessions for organizations including The Beyond House in New Bedford and South Coast Youth Courts. Other youth initiatives include the farm’s educational after school program, its summer cooking camp, and its workforce development opportunities with YouthBuild and United Ways Safe and Successful Youth Initiative.
Brister said she enjoys getting young people excited about sustainable agriculture and raising awareness about where their food comes from. To her, farming offers a unique opportunity to connect with the earth.
Originally from Cohasset, she studied English at the College of Wooster and worked for Outward Bound after graduation. After deciding to pursue her calling as a farmer, she obtained a certificate of ecological horticulture from the University of California Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. Brister eventually moved back East to work at Round the Bend Farm in South Dartmouth. Since 2018, she has found a home at the Sharing the Harvest, which she said has given her a strong sense of community both through the employees and volunteers and also through other local farms.
“The support that I get from other growers in this area is amazing,” Brister said. “It really is a unique farming community with people willing to share knowledge and resources and help each other out.”
When not out working in the fields, Brister can be found chatting with volunteers, coordinating the many pounds of produce transported away from the farm on a regular basis, and planning what to plant next. To her, this work matters because it provides reliable access to healthy food for people who may not otherwise receive it. In many cases, the produce gets picked the same day it reaches families in need.
In an interview with The New Bedford Light, Brister spoke about her relationship to farming, the importance of sustainable agriculture and food security, and the sense of place she’s found at Sharing the Harvest Farm.
New Bedford Light: What does farming mean to you?
Ashley Brister: The reason why I got into horticulture in the first place was not so much to start my own business but for more of cultural therapy — seeing how the connection and bringing people closer to the land and the sources of their food can be a source of healing, in terms of improving your access to healthy fresh vegetables but also just connecting with the earth and getting your hands in the soil. For me, it’s been really healing. So being here at the YMCA and being able to increase people’s access to those opportunities, to connect to the land and plants and the sources of our food, it seemed like it was a good fit for me here.
That’s what I think this place is all about: not only increasing the community’s access to fresh vegetables, but also creating opportunities for people to serve their community and connect to the land and connect with each other. At Sharing the Harvest Community Farm, we are all about building community around agriculture and food.
I had no real awareness and didn’t give much thought about where my food was coming from until college when I became a vegetarian after having conversations with friends about the sketchy cafeteria meat and questioning where that was coming from. And realizing the environmental impact industrial agriculture has on the planet and wanting to make a conscious choice not to eat meat. Then I met some people right after college who were working on farms and I thought it would just be fun to try to learn how to grow my food for a summer. I fell in love with the physicality of farming and being in the community.
NBL: What made you decide to pursue farming as a career?
AB: I knew I didn’t want a standard nine to five job. I have a BA in English. I worked for Outward Bound right after college and worked with youth in that capacity. Back in 2004, I apprenticed at a farm, just wanting to understand how to grow food. One of the tenets of Outward Bound is self-sufficiency, so I set out on an apprenticeship just to learn how to grow my own food, not thinking it was going to lead to a career. But then I was inspired by projects like The Food Project in Boston, where they’re connecting urban and suburban youth and bringing them together to grow food. I imagined that I would work for an organization kind of like that. So I just sought out different farm experiences to get that experience to be able to do this kind of work.
NBL: What challenges have you encountered as a farmer?
AB: It’s a lot of hard work. I think people have a lot of romantic notions about farming. This time of year, it’s a lot of keeping on top of the roots. And it can be really physically and mentally challenging, especially when it’s hot and dry, like last summer, or you’re just dealing with different environmental stressors, especially with extreme weather events. … It is fun and it is rewarding, but it’s also extremely challenging and sometimes stressful. Last year with the drought and extreme heat, it was definitely all of those things. I think most farmers are experiencing a lot of burnout. Usually it’s pretty typical in August to feel like that, believe it or not, but then September comes and it’s always beautiful.
You have to be OK with letting go when certain things are out of your hands and then try to strategize how you can control things better in the future. Since I took over management, I’ve been trying to slowly reduce the use of one-use plastic mulch. Agricultural land relies on a lot of plastic culture. So I don’t say we’re a sustainable farm. I say we’re a farm that’s working towards sustainability. Because there’s always room for improvement.
NBL: What are you growing at the farm?
AB: We have 4.83 acres, almost five acres, with access to grow on. I keep about an acre to an acre and a half fallow. This year, we’re growing on three and a half acres, on four of our five fields.
We just harvested garlic. We just planted some celery and our last succession of cucumbers here. We’re in transition from summer to fall crops right now. We’re going to have carrots for late fall/winter harvest. We’re going to do some winter spinach and kale. We also have some leeks that need to be weeded and some scallions just went in. We have some radishes and turnips that we’re gonna rototill and turn over and plant something else and probably put some cabbage in the ground. So we grow I would say 40 to 50 different varieties. We try to take into consideration the mobile market surveys that we get back from the clients to determine what we’re going to grow.
NBL: How does it feel to help people combat food insecurity in this way?
AB: Rates of food insecurity were on the decline before the pandemic. Now, with inflation, and the cost of food going up in the stores — the cost of everything going up — those rates are almost at the peak pandemic levels that they were. Sadly, some of the most expensive things in the grocery store are the least processed, like the fresh produce. So for me it’s about knowing that this food is going to families who really need it. We’re picking it; they’re often getting it the day that we’re harvesting it. For food that gets transported from California or Mexico or wherever it’s coming from, a lot of that nutritional value gets lost in storage or in transportation.
We’re improving access for people who really need it. I think about kids: there are studies that show the importance of good nutrition to one’s ability to concentrate in school and learn. So by providing nutritious produce, we are improving, hopefully, kids’ ability to concentrate in school and succeed in life. It feels pretty good. And then we’re providing opportunities for others to also give back to the community.
NBL: What’s your favorite part of the work you do?
AB: The community building and seeing the relationships that develop between our volunteers. Our volunteers are amazing. Some of them have been coming out since almost the beginning of the program and they have so much dedication to the farm. Some of those volunteers have definitely been here longer than I have, so they feel a real connection to the land and ownership of the farm program. It’s really a community-based farm. I feel like I’m just creating a canvas for our volunteers and the youth who come out to paint the canvas.
I guess what I like most is actually working with the younger farm staff in the 19 to 30 age range. These are young people who are really curious and passionate about changing our food system and making it more just and equitable. I love seeing this next generation really care about taking care of the planet and understanding the connection between how our food is grown and the effect that agriculture can have. It can have a huge impact, either negatively or positively, and seeing young people trying to change the way we grow food and distribute that food is what I enjoy watching. Then there’s the self confidence that develops the young people that I work with, who at first don’t know a lot about farming. I see them develop skills, and then I see their leadership skills and their competence develop even more.
NBL: What does the Sharing the Harvest Community Farm mean to you?
AB: I just want people to really understand what an amazing group of volunteers we have, people who are super committed to providing food for their neighbors in need. This is a place where folks, if they want to bring their families out and help and get involved and meet new people, anybody can come and volunteer with us. We’re always seeking new volunteers to look into our community. This is a place where, if you’d like to volunteer, you can come and volunteer and join our community and help grow food for your community.
Individuals can also support our mission with a financial contribution. Because we don’t sell any of our produce, we are reliant on our partnerships with generous local foundations and gifts from individual donors. We are especially excited to announce that we received a challenge grant of $22,000 from the Amelia Peabody Foundation. Donor gifts will make twice the impact this year thanks to this challenge grant.
Rachel Wachman is a correspondent for The New Bedford Light.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Ashley Brister’s dedication to community farming is inspiring. Sharing the Harvest Community Farm’s efforts to provide fresh produce and educate youth exemplify positive change. It’s heartwarming to see food security and community connection being nurtured