WALTHAM, MA — Waltham Fields Community Farm is one of the last working farms in the greater Boston area and one that has at within its mission to help others. But the future of the farm, after the farm's landlord announced its intention to close the farm's office space, is in question.

Following pushback from the community, the University of Massachusetts, the farm's landlord, offered to move the farm's field station main office to rented space on Mount Ida campus in Newton (which it just acquired) by the end of 2019. Then, last fall, it came out that the university and city officials were in closed-door talks about the possibility of having the city acquire the property. Some four months and one petition later, several city councilors have said they support the idea of the Waltham acquiring the farm. But it's unclear just where things stand. Residents and supporters of keeping the farm in Waltham as a working farm are trying to figure out what's next.

Enter Ward 6 Councilor Sharline Nabulime. She's hosting a town-hall style community meeting to talk about the future of the farm at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 9, in the Government Center auditorium.



"It's going to take our collective voice and unwavering support for our last [remaining] farm to win this battle. We are in for the battle of our lives - this farm is our community's livelihood," Nabulime said in a post on social media. Farm employees and volunteers have asked supporters to share their concern with City Council and the mayor as well as State Rep. John Lawn and Sen. Mike Barrett. And they're asking to make their concerns known to UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, too.

Nabulime said after an outpouring from constituents and residents, she sent the UMass chancellor a letter in early January requesting a meeting about the future of the farm and "asked that he conduct the land acquisition process in an open and transparent manner which should end with the City of Waltham acquiring the land to keep as a farm."

Shortly after, she met with a representative of the school.