Three Sisters Garden Project – Farm Update: A Partial Move

Three Sisters Garden Project

Dear friends, I’m writing to share a further update on our farmland situation. As you may know, we are moving part of our operation later this summer (read our first announcement about that here).

Since our start in 2015, we have operated on two separate sites at the Sisters of Notre Dame on Jeffreys Neck Road in Ipswich: farm fields at #30 Jeffreys Neck, and a work area for washing, cooling, and distributing produce at #10 Jeffreys Neck.

The Sisters of Notre Dame have renewed our land use agreement for 5 more years on the farmland at #30 Jeffreys Neck: we can continue farming there until at least the end of 2030. They also ended our use of space at #10; we must move out of that area by August 31, 2025. 

This is not the outcome we hoped for. We are grateful to the Sisters for allowing us to continue farming on the land – growing food is a core part our mission. Their land has been the primary “tool in our toolbox” for feeding our community: reaching food-insecure households in Ipswich and 19 other cities and towns across the North Shore, now in our 11th growing season and serving neighbors year-round.

But farming is more than growing food: washing, packing, cooling, and distribution are crucial aspects of our operation. Our farm office, staff parking, bathroom, and drinking water, and our greenhouse for seedlings and crop storage are all in the area we must move from. The timing of our removal is especially challenging as summer is the peak of the growing season. Further, many food access programs are being cut at both federal and state levels this year; it is a heartbreak and a challenge to have less food for our community this year, due to the costs and disruption of the move.

A (Temporary!) Landing Place

Thanks to Harborlight Homes, we will move our distribution to 2 Washington Street in Ipswich this August. Harborlight will be creating affordable housing there, and we can use the existing space for at least two years for post-harvest produce washing, cold storage, and distributions to CSA members and partner organizations, with staff bathrooms, drinking water, and space for our office. There is ample parking and this location is walkable for many folks we already serve.

We are so grateful to have a place to land. There are many benefits to being right downtown, and we can’t wait to see all of you there once we are settled into the new space.

Our summer CSA is abbreviated this year (10 weeks total, instead of our usual 18-20 weeks) and we hope to be set up in our new space so our fall share can take place as normal, but please stay tuned.

Many of you have reached out asking to help. We will have several volunteers days coming in July and August to help get the new space ready and pack and move items from #10 (including our farm office, greenhouse, and walk-in coolers!).

Our recent seedling sale, spanning 2 weekends, reminded us how incredible our local community is and how much support we have – THANK YOU!

Search for Long-term Home

This move pushed us to think big, with creativity and hope, about our future. We are on the hunt for a long-term home for our farm operation, actively searching for a location to put down roots and invest in long-term food systems solutions here.

We are working on a search with Essex County Greenbelt and others with a goal of purchasing land. Please stay tuned and let us know if you want to support this part of our work!

Our work continues during our land search. Our summer CSA starts next week, along with bulk donations to partner organizations like Wellspring House, Acord Food Pantry, and Nourishing the North Shore. Our farmers are hard at work preparing fields to plant and tending crops that are already growing and thriving. We are grateful for your support and committed to this work for the long haul. Won’t you join us? – Liz, Executive Director