Gathering Ground Expands Team and Farm Operations, Advancing Its Vision for a Local Food System in Door County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nonprofit hires Market Garden Manager and welcomes two 6-month interns as it nears $1.1M campaign goal

Washington Island, WI — Gathering Ground, a nonprofit dedicated to sustainable agriculture education, is expanding its team this spring — adding a Market Garden Manager and two six-month interns as part of its growing effort to build a community-rooted food system in Door County.

The organization has hired Becca Boogert, a graduate of University of Illinois with a degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Science, as its new Market Garden Manager. Boogert will oversee production at Gathering Ground’s farm, with a focus on growing quality food for the local community through a partnership with the Door County Food Pantry Coalition, the farmers market, and local grocery stores. Her role will be central to ensuring the farm operates sustainably and delivers meaningful impact — both in fresh food access and in modeling organic farming practices.

Russell Rolffs, Gathering Ground’s Farm and Education Director, shared: “I’m excited to work with such a talented and passionate team,” said Rolffs. “Watching this organization grow — in people, in purpose, and in the ground itself — is invigorating.”

Beginning April 15, Gathering Ground will also welcome two interns for a six-month placement. Ava Anderson, who will graduate this spring from Lawrence University and Christina Eisenman, who has her B.S. in Environmental Science with a specialization in Environmental Sustainability and Resource Management. The interns will gain practical skills in organic farming and community outreach, while contributing directly to the organization’s mission and the wider Door County community.

These additions come at a pivotal moment for Gathering Ground. The organization is currently in the final stretch of its Planting For The Future campaign, a five-year, $1.1M fundraising initiative to support programmatic growth. To date, Gathering Ground has raised $900,000 toward that goal.

More information about the campaign and the organization’s work is available at gatheringgroundwi.org/planting-for-the-future-campaign.

About Gathering Ground Gathering Ground is a nonprofit organization on Washington Island, WI, with a mission to support, celebrate, and promote farming through sustainable agriculture education. The organization connects people of all ages to healthy food, their neighbors, and nature.