Programming Partnership with Trustees of Reservations

We are happy to announce a partnership with The Trustees of Reservations who will offer a robust and diverse educational program at the Boston Public Market!

The new partnership will bring the Trustee’s experience and expertise in community programming to the Boston Public Market.

Within the Market, an area devoted to outreach and programming will be managed and staffed by the Trustees of Reservations, offering year-round educational opportunities for customers of the Market, residents, and visitors. The programs will be produced by the Trustees and delivered with a diverse set of non-profit partners. They will address culinary education, health and nutrition, youth engagement, sustainability and conservation, and will include programing such as chef-led cooking demonstrations, nutrition classes, market tours, and workshops.

The agreement is the culmination of an ongoing collaboration between The Trustees and the Boston Public Market. The two organizations have worked together to raise funds for the design and build-out of the market, especially the demonstration kitchen that will serve as an educational hub.

The Trustees’ programming at the Boston Public Market will reach a broad and diverse range of visitors and residents. The Trustees currently offers around 900 public programs on about 60 of its 113 reservations annually, but the new arrangement with the Public Market constitutes the first time the organization will offer programming on a site that is not its own reservation. The Trustees has offered a regular selection of walks, talks, hikes, classes, workshops, tours, and performances to its many visitors, members, neighbors, and community groups as part of its effort to get more people to enjoy and experience its growing portfolio of sites. Annually, the organization estimates that it has more than 1.2 million visitors on its reservations and about 250,000 attending its public programs.

Historically, the Trustees has protected over 200 farm properties, including the nation’s oldest, Appleton Farms, and the organization is the largest private farm-land owner in the Commonwealth. Recently the Trustees began to see its properties as ways to help facilitate healthy connections to locally grown food. The organization has begun to focus on building a sustainable food system and is actively involved in community supported agriculture (CSA), farm stands, pantry donation, “food by prescription,” apprenticeships, day camps, and a full-fledged dairy operation. Last year, it launched Appleton Cooks, a culinary based program out of a demonstration kitchen at Appleton Farms and this fall has opened Powisset Cooks, a similar program at Powisset Farm in Dover.

The Boston Globe has published an article featuring this new partnership – you can read the full article here.