Marion Institute

10/08/2026

Creating change means questioning the way things have always been done, trying something new, and taking action together.

Yesterday, staff from the Westport Schools Food Service Department joined our Grow Education Program Manager, Nate Sander, at Frogfoot Farm to explore the connections between healthy soil, healthy food, and healthy communities.

They harvested spinach, carrots, and chard, then joined Rose from IndieFerm in Plymouth to make sauerkraut using ingredients grown right here on the farm. From replenishing soil to preserving the harvest, the day brought fresh ideas—and practical skills—to the people who help nourish students every day.

Every seed planted, lesson shared, and connection made helps us move forward. Together, we are reconnecting food and community.

Learn more about Frogfoot Farm and our Grow Education programs on marioninstitute.org.

10/07/2026

New farm partner, fresh connections! 🌱 Welcome to Chamberlain Farm in Berkley!
Our Fields to Families team gleaned 262 pounds of butternut squash, just as Bob was sowing cover crop seed. The entire harvest went to My Brother’s Keeper in Dartmouth, where it finished curing in their warm warehouse for about a week before it reached neighbors in need.

Thank you, Bob and Chamberlain Farm, for sharing your harvest! 💚

Volunteer with us, we are still going strong: https://www.marioninstitute.org/programs/volunteer/

10/06/2026

A golden haul! 🍏 Two volunteers harvested 295 pounds of Golden Delicious apples at Fairhaven-Acushnet Land Preservation Trust, helping Fields to Families bring fresh, local fruit to neighbors in need.

Thank you for making every harvest count!

Interested in volunteering? We'd love to have you! https://www.marioninstitute.org/programs/volunteer/

10/05/2026

09/24/2026

Register for tonight's food summit here: https://www.marioninstitute.org/food-summit-26/

Join us for the Southcoast Food Policy Council’s 2026 Food Summit! This year, we’re highlighting the people and programs strengthening our regional food system.

Get a preview of preliminary CARAT findings from six Southeastern Massachusetts counties, learn about the assessment process, and hear from community partners making an impact through Dock to School and Supporting New Farmers initiatives.

📅 Thursday, September 24, 2026
🕡 6:30–8:00 p.m.
💻 Virtual

Join us to explore how community knowledge, local data, and on-the-ground innovation can help build a stronger, more resilient food system.

🔗 https://www.marioninstitute.org/food-summit-26/

09/24/2026

Southeastern MA Farmland Protection Initiative - Webinar 2 Announcement!
Calling all municipal representatives!
Webinar 2 - Saving the Farm:
Municipalities' Right of First Refusal During Chapter 61A Transfer
Facilitated by Ch. 61 Expert Dennis Murphy

Wednesday, October 14, 2:00-3:30 pm

Register HERE! (https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QzKJBrIbSCyJmurADaU5hg #/registration)

Join us for the second webinar of the SE MA Farmland Protection Initiative's four-part webinar series. The Southeastern Regional Economic Development District (SRPEDD), Wildlands Trust (WT), and Old Colony Planning Councill (OCPC) are partnering to help protect valuable and vulnerable Chapter 61A farmlands in the SRPEDD and OCPC regions of southeastern MA by working directly with municipalities to support the use of farmland protection tools.

The second webinar will focus on municipal response strategies to a Chapter 61A purchase and sale notification and how to assist in saving the farm!

Webinar 2 Content:
What is a municipal Right of First Refusal for Chapter 61 land?
What is a bona fide offer on Chapter 61A lands?
Municipal response strategies for Chapter 61A sale notification.
Takeaways from Chapter 61A court cases.
Funding sources for exercising municipal Right of First Refusal
Chapter 61A Case Study: Picone Farm, Middleborough

Through project offerings municipal representatives and stakeholders can work directly with SRPEDD, OCPC, and Wildlands Trust to identify barriers to farmland protection, learn about farmland protection tools, and support farmland protection initiatives in their community.

Register for Webinar 2! (https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QzKJBrIbSCyJmurADaU5hg #/registration)
To register for the webinar and receive a calendar invite: Meeting Registration - Zoom

Join our Mailing List: To sign up for the SE MA Farmland Protection Initiative project mailing list, please follow this link (https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/iTMhj8x/munifarmprotect) or visit our website (https://srpedd.org/farmland-protection-initiative/) for more information.

09/24/2026

“I’m always advocating for people to use their voice. Going into your local seafood shop and asking for what is local is important, asking, when you go out to eat, if it’s local and sustainably caught. These are all things that people can really do.”

- Liz Wiley, Executive Director of the Marion Institute

Read full New Bedford Light - A community-news organization article on why eating local is so important here: https://newbedfordlight.org/flat-is-back-campaign-hopes-to-put-flounder-back-on-peoples-plates/

Join our food summit tonight from 6:30-8pm here: https://www.marioninstitute.org/food-summit-26/

The first-of-its-kind campaign, spearheaded by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, aims to build buzz around the plentiful yet underutilized flounder.

09/23/2026

We’ve GOT to get our hands on these apples tomorrow over at Fairhaven Acushnet Land Preservation Trust!!

If you can lend a last minute hand, mosey on over to https://www.marioninstitute.org/programs/volunteer/ to sign up to help 🙏🫶

09/23/2026

What can six acres of farmland do? At Frogfoot Farm, it can grow fresh food, bring people together, and help address food insecurity across the Southcoast.

Frogfoot Farm is located on land leased from A.D. Makepeace Company —an important partnership that helps make this work possible. Go behind the scenes with Marion Institute Executive Director Liz Wiley and Frogfoot Farm Program Manager Hannah Traggis to see how the farm operates—and how volunteers help make it possible.

A special thank-you to Wareham Week and videographer Benjamin Martins for visiting the farm and sharing our story!

Watch the video, then come grow with us:
https://youtu.be/swZywcusETA?si=tDoZP5HJftiJtVHa

For the Marion Institute, six-acre patch of marginal farmland a sho...