New England farmers have been struggling with what we think of as present-day problems—finding fertile and affordable land, competing with larger farms outside the region, balancing food prices with labor and other costs—for nearly two centuries. But the story we often tell about small-scale farming in this part of the world is an over-simplified one, emphasizing decline and farm abandonment rather than continual reinvention and adaptation. The story of how farmers like the Lockes and their neighbors adjusted to changing markets offers important insights for today’s efforts to build a fairer, healthier, smaller-scaled food system. Join us for a presentation and discussion about an expanded and exciting role for historic sites and farm museums within today’s “food movement.”

Cathy Stanton is an anthropologist and public historian with a longtime interest in how people make use of the past in their present-day lives. She has studied and written extensively about historical reenactment and industrial heritage sites. Her recent work focuses on food and farm history; with Michelle Moon, she is co-author of Public History and the Food Movement: Adding the Missing Ingredient (Routledge, 2018). She teaches at Tufts University and lives in western Massachusetts, where she is actively involved in local food projects.

The session will be held at 7:30 at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester on Wednesday, August 22 in our beautiful 1827 Barn, and will be followed up with a Q&A session. We will also offer a casual supper before each presentation. For more details, check out our website, http://wlfarm.org, or to RSVP, email Kim Kneeland at kkneeland@wlfarm.org.