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 The Cape Ann Farmer’s Market
The Cape Ann Farmers Market started in August of 2006 as a collaborative initiative of Sustainable Cape Ann, the Cape Ann Food Co-op, Essex Buy Fresh, The Food Project–North Shore, The Cape Ann Food Pantry, and a dedicated team of local residents. Now supervised by a working board of local food leaders and advocates (including Paul Bryant, Melissa Dimond and Mark McDonough), the Cape Ann Farmer’s Market is fiscally sponsored by Sustainable Cape Ann and managed by Sara Young with the support of a team of volunteers which include youth from Generation Conservation. The market supports local farmers and distributors and provides healthy food options for local residents. It takes place every Thursday (3.00-7.00pm) from July 12th to October 11th at Harbor Loop, along Gloucester’s historic working waterfront.
 The Food Project – North Shore
The Food Project - North Shore’s summer and school year paid employment programs provide local youth with unique opportunities to acquire work experience and leadership skills, while growing fresh, healthy food for the North Shore residents who want or need it the most. Forty-five young people are on the payroll each year. A substantial producer and distributor of fresh food, The Food Project – North Shore grows and harvests 35,000 pounds of vegetables and fruit each year on its Beverly and Lynn farms. The Food Project teenagers distribute the food they grow to low-income residents through local farmer’s markets and partnerships with food pantries. These teenagers learn to work hard and take pride in what they have achieved, while acquiring critical skills, earning money, and providing an invaluable service to Cape Ann and North Shore communities.
 The Open Door / Cape Ann Food Pantry
Since it began in 1978 The Open Door/Cape Ann Food Pantry has grown into a bustling food resource center for the community. The Food Pantry serves more than 1,200 Cape Ann households each year. Combining traditional hunger-relief programs, such as a food pantry and a hot meal program, with new solutions such as free farmers’ markets in public housing neighborhoods, the organization’s mission of food and hospitality provides people in need with access to good nutrition. Fresh produce, milk, eggs and meat join the standard canned corn and peanut butter in each client’s order. Other services include federal food stamp application assistance, a summer lunch program for kids, cooking demonstrations, a Brown Bag Market for seniors, and holiday meal baskets.
 The Green Thumbs Youth Project
The Green Thumbs Youth Project provides educational opportunities for Cape Ann youth to learn about vegetable gardening and the local food system through creative hands-on activities, volunteer assignments in the community, and interactive field trips to local farms. The project’s mission is two-fold. The first objective is to offer after-school programs that teach middle school students about where food comes from and train them to grow organic food themselves. The second is to develop a web of partnerships with Cape Ann schools and non-profits to multiply curricular and extra curricular programs designed to give all students meaningful hands-on opportunities to learn healthy food production and consumption practices, and develop important life skills.
 Sustainable Cape Ann
Sustainable Cape Ann brings together local organizations and individuals to create sustainable solutions that promote clean energy, sustainable agriculture, strong local economies and vibrant communities. The collaborative initiatives we have helped start-up and coordinate to date include the Cape Ann Farmer’s Market, the Clean Energy Fair, the “Where the Locals Go” Buy-Local Coupon Book, Generation Conservation, and Food Connections. In the food sector, our objective is to help expand and deepen collaborations amongst leaders and individuals involved in creating a vibrant local food system. We help mobilize resources, talents and public support for organizations and projects that strengthen our local food system, and we work to bring the community together around a bigger picture vision and strategy.
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