By Amy L. Dempster, Westford Eagle Contributor
Gloria Gilbert is the founder of Sustainable Westford – Westford Farmers Market. She lives in Westford with her husband, son, and exchange student.
Q Where did you grow up?
A I grew up in Ipswich on the north shore of Massachusetts. My family moved about every 8 years from West Virginia to New Jersey before I finally settled in Boston.
Q Was there a vegetable you disliked as a child?
A I disliked all of them. My sisters may disagree with me here but I didn’t think my family ate very well. I was a product of that Campbell soup and hotdog generation. We ate a lot of the processed foods that were being sold as the new way to consume food. It changed in my early 20’s when I had my own family. I started eating salads and never looked back.
Q What vegetable do you look forward to coming into harvest?
A My favorite thing, hands down, is broccoli. If I could eat broccoli every day I would. I also enjoy arugula and basil.
Q What did you study in college?
A I studied environmental planning and design. Out of college, I became a landscape architect for different groups and a park planner. Then, essentially, I had my own landscape business until I had my son. I found it difficult to maintain a professional career as I raised my family. But I continued to dabble in it especially with community projects such as the redesign of the Westford town common.
Q Why this focus on giving back to the community?
A It’s because of my mother. She got her masters at Andover Newton Seminary and, like her siblings from a first generation immigrant family, she was heavily involved in the church. All her life she’s been a person who was always contributing heavily to community efforts. I didn’t really join her in those causes when I was young. But, you know, it’s funny. I am one of five daughters and we all pretty much do this community stuff. That has a lot to do with mom bringing us up that way though I wouldn’t have admitted it back then.
Q What was your goal when you initially started the Westford Farmers Market and how has that changed after 4 seasons?
A The initial goal was an idyllic dream of biking up to the common with my son, buying a somewhat healthy cookie, sitting down and enjoying the music, sunshine and fresh air. That was my ideal and I think we achieved that. Four years later I find our opportunity is being able to educate and promote environmental issues. That’s where I see it going from here.
Q What was the importance of using the town common as the gathering place for the market?
A It was paramount and the reason why the market exists. The town common is the jewel of Westford and it was being underutilized. It is absolutely one of the nicest things that Westford has and I felt we should use it as a frequent gathering place. Now we do and it’s wonderful.
Q There are many farmers both small and large interested in selling at the market. How do you go about selecting your farmers?
A The complexity and make-up of the farmers is really important. First off, we know we need to provide Westford with a steady, consistent, decent amount of great vegetables. But it’s also important for us to be able to support a small handful of up and coming vendors. They tend to be more experimental but they benefit greatly from our backing. Finally, we look to include farms with unique offerings such as Hmong Farms who brings Asian vegetables.
Q Do you get any sort of financial compensation for all the work you do with the Farmers Market?
A Not yet but I have always said from the start that I am trying to create a position where one director would receive a small stipend. The struggle is that there are many volunteers and programs that would benefit from whatever money there is left after costs. I’d love to give one of our Westford Academy student volunteers a scholarship. What it comes down to is that the market needs sponsorship or grant funding for all we want to achieve.
Q How much time do you spend each week organizing events and vendors for the Farmers Market?
A Too many in my opinion. Honestly, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why the day is over before I know it. This year, I gave up my long held habit of going to the gym every morning. I think, “What did I do this morning during those two hours?” It’s emails, phone calls and meetings. I know that if I don’t make those important calls, which right now are about organizing a winter market, that I might not get fresh dibs on space and vendors. Before you know it my son and our foreign exchange student from Thailand are home and, switch gears, it’s family time.
Q Speaking of your foreign exchange student, why take on that additional responsibility?
A I do not see it as taking on additional responsibility although I understand that it is. I look at it as a way to reach out and help others and to understand and expand my own horizons. If we all had more acceptance of others then we would all be in a better place. I absolutely love hosting Baas. It is so cool for me and my family to learn of another’s cultural values and traditions.
Q You don’t get paid. You put in numerous hours a week. Why do you do it?
A I think doing something worthwhile and with a real value to the community is really good for a life. It gives me satisfaction but also helps me. It gets me out there and gives me a purpose. That’s hugely important to me. Plus, I get to work with wonderful people. There are people who support you and connect with you. It’s great being part of something good - and cool.
Q What does Sustainable Westford and the Westford Farmers Market look like in 5 years?
A The Westford Farmers Market will always take place on the common as a community gathering place including fun, events and food. Sustainable Westford will be much larger and regionally connected. It will be the place to link up and partner. I would love to get federal funding for grants and promote green technologies for not only Westford but the greater region. That’s what I would hope to see.
Q What are some things you do personally to maintain a sustainable lifestyle?
A That’s a really hard question because I wish I could do better but time and cost are a factor. Basically, I try to live simply and be thoughtful in my consumption and habits.
I’m energy efficient. I hang clothes and run less energy-producing appliances. I keep my freezer stocked. I recycle as much as I can. I conserve gas and emissions by driving a smaller car. I keep my house down to 58 degrees in the winter which is a fun challenge about how low I can go. I put ugly plastic over every single window during the winter. I try not to buy a lot of throwaway plastic wrap. I pack lunches in washable containers. I use a lot of hand-me-downs. My front lawn is given over to berry bushes, a vegetable garden, and experimental cover crop to avoid the cost of keeping a green lawn. And most recently I started raising a small flock of egg-producing hens.
But I’m a busy mother and I can’t always do it all. I’ll run out to a big box store if I need to buy beef to feed my family. You won’t see me biking to buy my groceries but I do what I can.
Q Anything else you would like to share with Westford Eagle readers?
A I don’t feel I deserve the spotlight because I am simply doing something important to me. I know I can only do so much and I’m okay with that. I think the most important thing is to do what you can.
