The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Long Lane Farm grant to improve fresh produce access
MIDDLETOWN — Long Lane Farm, located at the intersection of Long Lane and Wadsworth Street, is the recipient of a 2021 Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship Seed Grant from Wesleyan University.
The grant will allow the student-run organic farm to continue operations and provide Middletown residents with affordable — or free — fresh produce.
Since its founding in 2003, Long Lane Farm has worked toward a model of food sovereignty, in which all people not only have access to healthy meals, but also have a say in how their food is produced. In 2019, the farm produced more than 4,000 pounds of ecologically grown vegetables, of which 80 percent of this produce went to the broader Middletown community in the form of market sales and donations.
“Following the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic to both the farm and our communities, we will look ahead, strengthen and expand our role in the community, and shore up our strategies for the future,” Wesleyan senior and Long Lane Farm member Franny Lin said.
As a recipient of the Patricelli Center Seed Grant, the studentled social venture will receive $5,000 in unrestricted funds, as well as training, advising, mentoring, incubator workspace and other resources.
With support of the grant, Lin hopes to use the farm as a means of helping fight food insecurity in Middletown. The student farmers seek to create a farm stand, launch educational initiatives, and host community events to bring people together while working towards their goal.
“As the pandemic eases, this is the time for us to rebuild our relationships with the Middletown community,” Lin explained. “This grant would allow us to hire more farmers, giving us the freedom to focus on community building and food insecurity without having to sacrifice our ecological growing practices or vegetable yields. It will also allow someone to focus on the longevity of these relationships.”
Seed grant judge, Wesleyan alumnus, and Patricelli Center Advisory Board member Syed Ali said the seed grant competition demonstrates “the best of Wesleyan.”
“While Long Lane Farm has existed for many years, we know that its potential as a point of connection to the greater Middletown community has room to grow,” Ali said. “We [as judges] were universally excited for students’ commitment to Middletown, and their desire to root the farm deeper into the fabric of community organizations and public institutions that already exist.”
Long Lane has traditionally hosted open workdays, planting workshops, pick-your-own harvests, and other family-friendly events for people to mingle, work, and create shared visions together. Although the pandemic has forced the farm to cease many of these events, members have continued to donate vegetables, and sustainable food production remains its primary goal.
“This summer we hope to strengthen and expand our role in the community in whatever way we safely can,” Lin said. “This will mean hosting virtual seed starting events and creating knowledge sharing videos. If restrictions allow, we would love nothing more than to get community members back on the farm in person to participate in the growing process.”
Long Lane Farm members sell produce at the North End Farmers Market, and plans for a drive-thru CSA/farmstand certified to accept SNAP benefits are under development.
Editor’s note: Olivia Drake works in the Wesleyan University office of communications.
Long Lane has traditionally hosted open workdays, planting workshops, pick-your-own harvests, and other family-friendly events for people to mingle, work, and create shared visions together. Although the pandemic has forced the farm to cease many of these events, members have continued to donate vegetables, and sustainable food production remains its primary goal.