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Friday, March 24, 2023
Empower with Gardening 2023 - order your raised bed now
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Dec 6, 2022 - Community Preservation Committee meeting video available via YouTube
- Committee: Chair C Feeley, M Doyle, J Livingstone, P Malcolm,W Simarian, R Power (remote), L Oxford - [D McNeill, M Giardino absent]
- Town Administration: J Hellen, A Alleyne,
The committee approved the minutes of the prior meeting via roll call vote (7-0-2; 7 for, 0 against, 2 absent).
Motion to accept the proposed meeting scheduled for 2023, seconded, passes via voice vote (7 for, 0 against, 2 absent)
Town Administrator Jamie Hellen provides project updates on work underway
Red Brick School exterior renovation - doors and windows backordered
Nason St Tot lot site prep work being done now in advance of renovation in the spring
King St Memorial Field estimate and draft depiction of the field layout and work proposed. Timeline and funding remains TBD. Would be adding pickleball courts, would be including a paved path all around the park, would also be adding parking; questioned on if handicap access for the community garden is considered? I added that when the garden opened in 2010, it did have a stonedust entrance and among the first four beds on each side of the main gate. It was covered with mulch a few years ago. The base likely could be restored.
Jamie also provided a financial update, it had a minor error and would be further enhanced to better reflect what was approved vs allocated vs. spent, etc.
Committee entered executive session via roll call vote not to return to open meeting (7 for, 0 against, 2 absent)
depiction of proposed King St Memorial park improvements
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Community Preservation Committee recommends purchase of Schmidt Farm with CPA funds (video)
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Community Preservation Committee recommends purchase of Schmidt Farm with CPA funds (video) |
Monday, August 22, 2022
Annual Report Of The Recreation Department - FY 2021
Thursday, June 30, 2022
Franklin Food Pantry Awarded Community Investment Grant from The Greater Boston Food Bank
Franklin-based Non-Profit to Use Community Investment Funds to Advance Local Hunger-Relief Efforts
The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), the largest hunger-relief organization in New England, awarded $13,831 to Franklin Food Pantry of Franklin, MA to support its ability to combat hunger in the area, bolstering GBFB's network of food agencies and advancing hunger-relief efforts across Eastern Massachusetts in response to an increased need for food in the state.
The annual grant program, originally founded in 2013, pivoted this year to strategically identify and invest in communities facing a heightened need for food. This investment aims to strengthen Franklin Food Pantry's ability to provide nutritious food to the Franklin community.
The grant will be used to fund technology upgrades and supplies for the Franklin Food Pantry's community garden which grows fresh vegetables for the Pantry to distribute to its neighbors.
A GBFB partner, the Franklin Food Pantry provides choice-based shopping to over 1,100 people in the Franklin community. The Pantry offers a unique hybrid model offering its neighbors appointment-based indoor shopping or a curbside distribution. Neighbors can shop weekly. Other programs include weekend backpacks for Franklin school students, home-delivery, mobile pantries, three holiday distributions and a robust community garden.
"We are so grateful to The Greater Boston Food Bank for awarding us the Community Investment grant. Franklin Food Pantry is focused on providing our neighbors with the highest quality of fruits and vegetables is committed to programming that improves our neighbor's quality of life," said Tina Powderly, Executive Director of the Franklin Food Pantry. "Ninety percent of our donations go directly to supporting our neighbors. The GBFB grant enables us to invest in much needed technology to enhance our client service operations and improve our organizational efficiency, enabling our staff and volunteers to spend more time directly assisting our neighbors and fulfilling our mission. We are also grateful for the support to our Community Garden. Our neighbors enjoy receiving freshly grown organic produce each week. The GBFB support is critical as the Community Garden grows into a core Pantry program supporting the overall health of our neighbors."
This grant follows the release of GBFB's second annual report on food insecurity, equity and access in Massachusetts. The study, "Opportunities to Improve Food Equity & Access in Massachusetts," reveals rising rates of food insecurity in the state and sustained disparities in food access for communities of color; with Latinx, Black and LGBTQ+-identifying adults experiencing the highest rates of food insecurity.
"It is solely through collaboration with our network of partner agencies that we are able to address food insecurity across Eastern Massachusetts on such a large scale," said Catherine D'Amato, president and CEO at GBFB. "In response to the sustained inequities in food access, we aim to invest in those communities facing a heightened need for food and drive equitable progress towards hunger relief through strategic grantmaking to our network of partner agencies. As food costs continue to rise nationwide, we look forward to seeing how these funds bolster the Franklin Food Pantry's ability to provide nutritious meals to our neighbors in Franklin.
About the Franklin Food Pantry
The Franklin Food Pantry offers supplemental food assistance and household necessities to almost 1,100 individuals per year. The Franklin Food Pantry is not funded by the Town of Franklin. As a private, nonprofit organization, we depend on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other strategic partners. We are grateful for our many partnerships, including that with the Greater Boston Food Bank, that allow us to achieve greater buying power and lower our costs. Donations and grants fund our food purchases, keep our lights on, and put gas in our food truck. Other programs include home delivery, Weekend Backpack Program for Franklin school children in need, mobile pantry, emergency food bags and holiday meal packages. The Pantry is located at 43 W. Central St. in Franklin on Route 140 across from the Franklin Fire Station. Visit www.franklinfoodpantry.org for more information.
About The Greater Boston Food Bank:
The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England and among the largest food banks in the country. In response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, GBFB distributed the equivalent of nearly 97 million meals in fiscal year 2021 through its network of 600 dedicated food distribution partners and programs in the 190 cities and towns across Eastern Massachusetts. A member of Feeding America, the nation's food bank network, GBFB's mission is to end hunger here and it is committed to providing at least three healthy meals a day to everyone in need. For more information, visit us at GBFB.org, follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@gr8bosfoodbank) and Instagram, or call us at 617.427.5200.
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Community garden harvest at a Franklin Food Pantry distribution |
Sunday, April 3, 2022
Franklin Community Garden Updates
Just a reminder: Opening day at the Franklin Community Garden is April 23. Volunteers are needed to help: put out hoses and sprayers, fill one of the flower boxes with soil, put down some clover and move the picnic benches to their proper location. Come and meet your fellow gardeners! Amend your soil, plant some seeds, put up some cages and plan out your garden! Hoping for a sunny day!
May 14 is a seed and seedling exchange from 11-1. This is a time change from a previous email. White Barn Farm in Wrentham is having their plant sale that same morning staring at 9. We like to be there to get the best selection. If you go and purchase some plants and then discover you have too many then you can exchange for something else at our exchange from 11-1. Sometimes plants come packed in 6's or 8's and you only want 3 or 4. Great time to exchange!
If you are planning to start your plants from seeds you should have already started your pepper plants, eggplants, and tomatoes indoors. If you are interested in a growing snap peas, then you now can plant the seeds right in your garden bed. If you are interested in growing greens (lettuce, arugula, kale, shard, etc.) and or root crops (carrots and radishes) you can plant those in your garden beds. If you have a row cover, then you can cover them. If not, some straw or hay will protect them a bit. At the end in the month you can start from seed indoors: squashes and flowers can be started indoors also (like zinnias and marigolds)!
See you on April 23rd!
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Shade Sail installed at Community Garden
I'm happy to announce that our shade sail project has been completed and is now installed at the Community Garden. The area will be used for gardeners to enjoy lunch, read a book or just relax after tending to the garden.
We are lucky to have some incredible volunteers from the New England Chapel that worked for two days to install this structure. If you would like to send an email of appreciation to Dena Gauthier (dena@nechapel.org), and/or Robert Heriot (bheriot09@gmail.com), I'm sure they would appreciate it.The shade structure will typically be put up around Memorial Day in May and taken down around Veterans Day in November.
Director of Recreation
Franklin Recreation Department
275 Beaver Street
Franklin, MA 02038
Office: (508) 613-1667