Dear Supporter of Waltham's Only Farm,

Last night, over the objections of an enormous swath of the Waltham community, the Waltham City Council voted in favor of the Mayor’s plan to shut down large parts of the farm property in order to do a remediation in a way that is both unnecessary and extraordinarily damaging to the operations of the farm. It puts the long-term financial stability and survival of Waltham Fields Community Farm at risk.

Councilors Bradley-MacArthur, Dunn, Darcy, and Paz voted to the support the farm. All other councillors voted against the farm, defending their initial vote—taken last week—when they approved the plan without having read the 800+ pages of documents presented to them by the Mayor just moments before their meeting began.

To be clear, none of the councilors spoke with tenants about the potential impact and numerous councilors admitted that they had not returned hundreds of calls and emails from constituents. But in the end, many took to the council floor to tell constituents our concerns are overblown. Repeatedly, they did affirm that the farm will not be evicted, before taking a vote to wholly hobble its operations. 

This is a sad day for Waltham, where a stubbornly performative and incompetent political leadership are at odds with basic decency; willing to put actual food and livelihoods at risk, and unwilling to listen to the people who know the land best.

We’ve been told that the Waltham Fields Community Farm leadership will meet soon to discuss next steps, but until then we ask that you help them prepare for the difficult months ahead by making an end of the year donation that can help them weather the challenges they’re about to face.

DONATE TO SUPPORT THE FARM HERE

Thank you for your continued support. Now, more than ever, we need solidarity in the face of a persistent, deep chasm between the city’s view that they love the farm, and the actions that show anything but that fact.