Dr. Ed Iannuccilli: The Mt. Hope Farm Contributes

Dr. Ed Iannuccilli: The Mt. Hope Farm Contributes

I am encouraged by the many contributions that people and organizations are making to their communities in these difficult times. If you just scratch the surface, you will find people doing good things for their fellow man around every corner. The Mt. Hope Farm in Bristol is one of those.

I enjoy going to The Farm. I am lucky to be a member of its Board. With its bucolic setting, roaming animals, serpentine trails, sturdy barns, location by the bay and gardens, it is exciting, inviting and quite peaceful. This day, urged by Jon Feinstein’s, “You know, they grow a ton of vegetables every year and send it to The Food Bank,” I visited the vegetable gardens and its curators while thinking, “My goodness! A ton?”

I strolled past the sheds and the greenhouse to the welcoming gate of the gardens. With a gentle push, I walked to an area that Poet Laureate Robert Frost would have loved. Ordered and peaceful, busy chirping birds and a few bleats from contented goats, welcomed me. Beehives were nestled in the far trees and just beyond was the hum of traffic. Every day on this beautiful farm, urban meets rural in most surprising ways.

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I had been in this garden before, but under different circumstances. It was the setting for a rather remarkable fundraising cocktail party. Socializing distracted me then, but not now. The gardens were hushed; two women were working in silence.

Nancy Stratton and Beth Battey looked up from their work of planting. They have been volunteering in the gardens since directing the building of the beds some years ago. To my right was a table of inviting, freshly picked large radishes. I walked among the perfectly ordered raised beds; near each were seedlings, winter-nurtured in the greenhouse by Nancy and Beth, ready for their allotted spots. Yes, I had heard correctly. One ton of food per summer, fresh produce every Friday to The East Bay Food Pantry in Bristol. “Vegetables to market.” What a nice ring that had.

Much like The Victory Gardens (food gardens for defense) of WW I and II where governments encouraged people to plant to supplement rations, aid the war efforts and boost morale, The Mt. Hope Farm was on the same path of reducing pressure on the public food supply while reaping the satisfying rewards of produce.

The Mt. Hope Farm vegetable garden works in conjunction with The URI Master Gardner’s program; Larry Ashley is the coordinator. URI donates plants and sends volunteers who help to fulfill their mission to educate citizens in environmentally-sound gardening practices through the dissemination of factual, research-based information.

Nancy and Beth volunteer at The Farm every Wednesday and Friday; hands in the dirt, smiling with a need-based purpose. I asked what they, in turn, might need. “Volunteers, we need volunteers. And we would be remiss if we did not say financial support.”

One ton a year. Thank you, Mt. Hope Farm. You are making a difference.

Dr. Ed Iannuccilli - As the author of three popular memoirs, “Growing up Italian; Grandfather’s Fig Tree and Other Stories”, “What Ever Happened to Sunday Dinner” and “My Story Continues: From Neighborhood to Junior High.”  Learn more here.