Marion Institute

10/27/2026

We're grateful to SouthCoast Community Foundation for supporting our Fields to Families Gleaning Program with a grant to help increase access to fresh, locally grown produce for Greater New Bedford food pantries.

Together with our farmers, volunteers, and community partners, we're strengthening our local food system and connecting more families with healthy food. Thank you, SouthCoast Community Foundation, for investing in this important work!

Learn more about our Fields to Families program and how you can get involved here: https://www.marioninstitute.org/programs/fields-to-families/

10/26/2026

Music, community, and bags full of fresh veggies! 🥬🎶

On Saturday, October 17, our team joined the New Bedford community for Old Bedford Village’s annual Family Harvest Festival. Families enjoyed music, fun, health and community resources, and free, farm-fresh vegetables to take home!

Thank you to Buddy Andrade and Nicole Williams for inviting us to connect and share the harvest, and a special shout-out to YMCA Dartmouth Sharing the Harvest Community Farm for the beautiful cabbage!

10/22/2026

From harvesting fresh vegetables to making sauerkraut, Westport Community Schools Food Service staff got hands-on at Frogfoot Farm! 🥕🌱

Through Marion Institute Grow Education, we’re connecting the people who nourish students each day with local food and farming—and exploring how those connections can carry into school cafeterias.

Thank you, Sippican Week, for sharing the story!

Read more:

WAREHAM — The Marion Institute led staff from the Westport Schools Food Service Department on a tour of Frogfoot Farm as they learned about the connections between agriculture, nutrition and their work in food service. Nate Sander, the institute’s Grow Education program manager, led the Oct. 7 v...

10/21/2026

Help us bring in the harvest! 🎃🥬 Our Frogfoot Farm and Fields to Families teams have upcoming volunteer opportunities to help grow, glean, and share fresh, local food with neighbors in need.

FIELDS TO FAMILIES
🎃 October 22 | 10 AM–12 PM
Sort and recover Long Island Cheese pumpkins in Little Compton, RI. Just one spot left!

🥬 October 30 | 10 AM–12 PM
Help harvest cabbage and clear out delicious crops before the frost at STH/YMCA in Dartmouth, MA.

FROGFOOT FARM
🌱 7:30–11 AM on these dates:
October 23, 27, 28 & 30
November 4, 6, 11, 13, 18 & 20

Come for all or part of the shift—just note your availability when signing up!

Want to lend a hand? Register as a volunteer to receive weekly emails with the schedule and links to sign up for shifts:
https://www.marioninstitute.org/programs/volunteer/

10/21/2026

The Harvest Hopper just got a sunny upgrade! ☀️🚐

We recently added three solar panels to our refrigerated electric van, putting sunshine to work for Frogfoot Farm and Fields to Families!

The panels feed energy directly into the van’s battery, helping power our trips and the refrigeration that keeps produce cool—from crops grown at Frogfoot Farm to fresh food gleaned and recovered through Fields to Families.

More renewable energy helping us grow, glean, and share fresh food with our neighbors? That’s something to celebrate.

Read more about the upgrade:

New solar panels on the Marion Institute’s Harvest Hopper help power our refrigerated electric van, supporting Fields to Families and Forgfoot Farm food deliveries.

10/20/2026

Happy birthday to our Executive Director, Liz Wiley! 🎉

Brilliant, thoughtful, and often the funniest person in the room, Liz leads with heart—and keeps us laughing along the way. She listens closely, cares deeply, and always makes room for a check-in to make sure everyone feels heard and supported.

We’re grateful for her leadership, her friendship, and the joy she brings to our work. Help us wish Liz a wonderful birthday!

10/16/2026

Are you a local business, community organization, health & wellness provider, or creative looking to connect with families in New Bedford?

Old Bedford Village's Fall Harvest Health Fair & Family Fun Day is looking for vendors to join us for a day of community, connection, and celebration!

📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026
⏰ 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
📍 Monte Park — 211 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford, MA

Vendors can host a resource or vendor table, offer a family-friendly activity, showcase your business, and connect with local families and neighbors. The event will also feature free produce, music, food, and opportunities for community connection.

Interested in participating?

Contact Nicole Williams at [email protected] or scan the QR code on the vendor flyer to complete the participation form.

10/14/2026

Why is Bev so awesome? Let us count the ways...

Three gleaning days. Hundreds of pounds of fresh food. One volunteer making a difference.

Beverly joined our Fields to Families team to harvest:
🌶️ 82 pounds of Hungarian wax peppers at Heart Beets Farm in Berkley for Community Economic Development Center Kitchen and St. Anthony of Padua Church Pantry in New Bedford.
🍎 239 pounds of Golden Delicious apples at Fairhaven Acushnet Land Preservation Trust for local partners and the Fall Harvest Health Fair & Family Fun Day in New Bedford.
🥔 Butternut squash and potatoes at Ferolbink Farms in Tiverton alongside Hope’s Harvest, a program of Farm Fresh Rhode Island. Together, the teams gleaned more than 2,300 pounds of butternut squash! Our share—1,017 pounds of squash and 120 pounds of potatoes—went to Citizens for Citizens, Inc. in Fall River.

That’s the power of showing up. Thank you, Bev, for giving your time, energy, and pizazz to help fresh, local food reach more neighbors!

Be like Bev and volunteer here: marioninstitute.org.

10/09/2026

Just a bunch of foodies talking about food, thinking about food, and helping our neighbors get fresh food! 🌱💚

Thank you to the Sid Wainer & Son team for spending a service day with us at Frogfoot Farm—and introducing us to the “Sid Wainer Wiggle”! A little dancing while broadforking made soil prep a lot more fun. 💃

Healthier soil helps us grow healthy produce—all of it donated to neighbors in need.

Together we’re growing good food in great company!

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.