Elmwood Farm is a truly magical place - where children learn the value of helping others, where families and neighbors achieve a renewed sense of purpose and community, and where hundreds of hungry families receive fresh, nutritious produce.

Rose and Bill Abbott, with farm manager Mike Parnell (center)

Our Story Begins...

...with a remarkable couple. Bill and Rose Abbott settled at Elmwood Farm in 1953. After long and productive careers, Bill and Rose retired to the farm. Not content to rest, and feeling a sense of deep compassion for their less fortunate neighbors, they began actively farming in 1970, donating the food they raised to hunger relief organizations in Massachusetts.

Mike and Bill in the greenhouse, where the growing season begins each year.

1988 was a momentous year...

In that year, the Abbotts organized Food For The Needy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing fresh produce for hungry families in need. This organization later became Community Harvest Project.

But their work was devoted to another mission as well - education. Schoolchildren began arriving at the farm by the busload, helping with farm chores while learning about hunger, about farming, and about the good feeling that comes from helping others.

Other people start to come as well. Some came from urban/suburban settings to reconnect with the earth. Still others found spiritual fulfillment in doing simple work that helps other people in a very fundamental manner.

In the Spring, volunteers plant one of the fields.

What is the Farm's Future?

In the mid-1990s, Rose and Bill's failing health caused them great concern for the future of the farm. No longer able to keep up with the rigors of farm work, or of insuring a flow of volunteers to the farm, they knew that steps must be taken to have this vital activity continue into the future.

They formed the Elmwood Farm Society, whose leaders ultimately became the board of directors for Community Harvest Project. The new board worked hard to gather new volunteers and donors to insure the farm's survival. Groups like the St. Blaise Church in Bellingham joined in, providing new energy to the farm's work.

Bill and Rose Abbott

In October 1997, Bill Abbott passed away, followed by Rose in 2001. However, their legacy and vision continue.

In 2002, the organization they originally founded, Food For The Needy, changed its name to Community Harvest Project to more fully reflect its mission. After intensive planning, a new farming site began in North Grafton, MA, as a test case for what may become a pattern of farms across the region.

A new barn on the Grafton site has become the organization's headquarters and learning center. And, more and more food is being grown each year to help end local hunger.

Throughout the growing season, there's still plenty to be done to nuture the growing crop.

Find your place at the Farm...

It's roll-up-the-sleeves time at the Farm. In Grafton and Hopkinton, we need your help to insure a good harvest. There are many reasons to become involved in Community Harvest Project, and many ways to help out.

• Who's been helping us
• How to volunteer
• How to donate