NOFA/Mass

n 1971, the Natural Organic Farmers Association was formed in Vermont and New Hampshire and in 1982 chapters were added in Massachusetts as well as Connecticut and New York. Later, chapters were formed in Rhode Island and New Jersey. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association was formed right around the time that NOFA was established. Together these two organizations have been the most powerful forces for education regarding organic agriculture in the Northeast for the past 40 years. NOFA changed its name to the Northeast Organic Farming Association in 1989. By that time the word "natural" had become somewhat commercialized. By changing "farmers" to "farming" the NOFA leadership attempted to be more welcoming to those who support organic farming, along with those who practice it.

NOFA/Mass welcomes to its ranks anyone who eats, anyone who grows food - large or small, urban or rural, and anyone who tends the landscape or lives the activist lifestyle.