We are thrilled to welcome Caroline Pam as our new Co-Executive Director, joining Noli Taylor to lead our work to build a strong local food system for all on Martha’s Vineyard. Caroline comes to us after 18 years of running Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland, Massachusetts, where she and her husband built and managed a much-loved and highly respected 50-acre organic vegetable farm.  

Caroline brings an incredible skill set to IGI, with a background in co-leadership, farm ownership, managing a commercial kitchen tied to a farm, a deep commitment to sustainable and just local food systems, strong connections to leaders in the regional agricultural community, and extensive human resources, administrative, and finance experience.

Caroline is succeeding Michelle Gittlen, who has been our Co-Executive Director for this past year and who has done so much for IGI. We will miss you Michelle, and welcome Caroline! Read more about Caroline in the Vineyard Gazette. 

IGI's Summer 2025 CSA sign-ups are now open! Secure your weekly share of regeneratively-grown produce from our farm from June to October. Membership not only provides you with an abundance of summer produce, but also supports our work for the community, including food education for children in every Island school, food access programs that impact more than 1 in 5 year-round Islanders, and innovative regenerative farming methods.

This year, Fire Cat Farm, who grows flowers at the IGI farm, is also offering a flower CSA you can add on to your produce CSA to brighten your weeks with beautiful bouquets! Please note that you will need to sign up for the flower CSA separately here.

Island Grown Initiative is in the running to receive a $5,000 Community Impact Grant from the Martha's Vineyard Bank Charitable Foundation. In order to receive this grant, we need your vote! Voting opens Monday, March 31st. Stay tuned!

In 2024, IGI’s incredible team of volunteer gleaners gathered almost 64,000 pounds of food from local farms and gardens to donate to local food access programs. 43,000 pounds of that total came from the IGI farm!

Half of the gleaning harvest went to the Island Food Pantry, and the rest was distributed through our partners from the Island Food Equity Network, including local schools, Councils on Aging, health care providers, Kinship Heals, church community suppers, and more.

The gleaning total includes over 13,000 pounds of food that was harvested at the IGI farm by more than 600 Island students, who came for farm field trips over the course of the year. Wow!

A huge, heartfelt thank you to all of our volunteer gleaners, distribution partners, and donors who made this happen, and special thanks to Astrid Tilton and Jillayne Wheeler, our staff Gleaning team, for leading the effort.

Read more about our Gleaning efforts in a recent CAI article When times get tough, Martha’s Vineyard residents practice gleaning. 

We are hiring! IGI is seeking passionate, community-oriented individuals to join us in building a stronger food system.

Field Crew

We are looking for dedicated field hands to help us grow food and build soil throughout the 2025 growing season.

Food System Internship

We are accepting applications for our Summer Teen Internship Program, where participants will gain hands-on experience in the Island food system—from seed to fork. Interns will work alongside IGI’s farming and food equity programs to grow food and feed the community. This is a great opportunity to explore a future food-related career while giving back to the Island. The program requires 90 hours of attendance over July and August.

To learn more about our open positions and apply, click HERE.

We’re incredibly grateful to the Martha’s Vineyard Crop Hunger Walk for their generous support of our food equity programs. This year’s walk, which took place in October, raised over $10,000 for IGI. Thanks to the organizers’ hard work and the community’s participation, these funds will help us continue to make nourishing, local food accessible to all. 

The seeds we plant today will be harvested by Islanders for generations to come.