In Boston and Oakland, members of the Northeastern community can sign up for a weekly selection of fresh produce delivered on campus. In Boston, spring deliveries start this week.
Northeastern’s campuses in Boston and Oakland host separate programs that offer a weekly, curated selection of organic produce. In Boston, Heavens Harvest Farm, based in New Braintree, delivers spring and summer produce boxes to Cullinane Hall every Wednesday between noon and 5 p.m.
In Oakland, shares are available to the campus and surrounding community through Mills Community Farm, situated on 2.5 acres of the Oakland campus. Students help run the farm, which also hosts an open farmstand every Wednesday.
Both farms are organic, and longstanding institutions on their respective campuses. Heavens Harvest owner and founder Ashley Howard has been bringing produce to Boston since the late 1990s; Mills Community Farm has been in operation since 2010.
Heavens Harvest is currently taking orders for spring and summer farm share subscriptions. Spring deliveries start March 19, but signup is available throughout the season. Prices per week and for the entire season are listed here. Boston farm share subscribers should bring their own bags so Heavens Harvest can reuse the boxes.
It depends on what’s in season in each region. The Oakland growing and harvest season is year-round, and the offerings rotate between “cool” crops and “warm” crops — which include fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs.
During the fallow winter months in New England, Heavens Harvest draws from its own local greenhouses and partners with an organic farm in North Carolina to round out its offerings. A typical small box in March can include potatoes, onions, garlic, greens and even citrus. By late summer, there are cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, corn and jalapeno peppers.
It’s a great way to encourage you and your family to eat more plants. Allison Dennis, an associate professor of chemical engineering in Boston, has been a Heavens Harvest subscriber off and on for years, changing the frequency and size of her orders based on household needs.
“We get a good mix of standard staples and a smaller number of veggies that I wouldn’t normally buy — or even always see — in the grocery store,” she says. “It encourages us to explore different recipes while supporting mostly local, seasonal vegetables.”