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Barn Usage

Access to our grafton barn space

Our meeting space is available for use by non-profit groups, and groups participating in volunteer farming may also use the space. Please read through our Barn Policies and Barn Use Checklist to see if the barn is appropriate for your group.

Your help in offsetting the costs of operating this space with a financial contribution for use is suggested.

We kindly request that you review our Barn Use Policies and Information to ensure the barn aligns with your group’s needs. 

Barn Use Request
Barn Use Checklist
Barn Use Policies
Brigham Hill Community Barn Barn Use Policies As of February 2024

  1. Ownership – The Brigham Hill Community Barn and the farmland immediately surrounding it are owned and operated by Community Harvest Project, Inc. (“CHP”), a nonprofit charitable organization which makes the barn available for a variety of charitable and educational uses.

  2. Use of Facilities Private Use – We are sorry, but the barn is not available for private events (weddings, private parties, etc.). It is not run as a business and any such private use would quickly overwhelm the capacity of the facility to fulfill its central mission. The primary use of the Brigham Hill Community Barn is to support the farming and educational mission of Community Harvest Project, Inc., a volunteer-based farming organization that grows fruits and vegetables for donation to those seeking hunger relief in our community. This means that availability may be limited during the growing season, as the barn will be required to accommodate groups of volunteers, and cleanup from the muddy farm work imposes an additional burden to make the barn ready for non-farm events. Additionally, while the meeting space may be available per your reservation, the setting is an active farm, and so staff, volunteers and equipment may all be working on the property during the growing season. Subject to this limitation, the barn is made available to local (Grafton and immediate environs) nonprofit, civic and governmental groups for meetings and events. Additionally, it will occasionally be made available to regional nonprofit and governmental groups, especially those working in the areas of hunger relief, farming and land conservation. Some use for area religious groups is also supported. Regular Meetings – To encourage broad-based use of the barn, in general, groups will not be scheduled for regular weekly or monthly meetings, with the exception of Community Harvest Project, Inc. and the Grafton Land Trust, Inc., which make their headquarters at the barn. General Usage Policy – All usage is at the exclusive discretion of CHP, and also subject to the barn’s busy schedule. Groups wishing to use the facility are advised to schedule their use several months in advance to insure availability on the desired date. The facilities of the Brigham Hill Community Barn will not be made available to any group which discriminates or foments hatred or intolerance on the basis of race, color, sex, gender, religion, age, marital status, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state or local laws.

  3. Suggested Donation for Use – Your help in offsetting the costs of operating this space with a financial contribution for use is suggested, in order to ensure the ongoing use and availability of the barn. This donation will assist CHP in covering costs such as cleaning, utilities and maintenance of the facility. Depending on your group/organization size and budget we are willing to work with you to make the space available to groups that fit the above intent for use. Please email barn@community-harvest.org for more information.

  4. Condition of Facilities – We will endeavor to provide the barn facilities in reasonably clean and operable condition. However, we cannot guarantee that our cleaning service will in all cases be able to maintain the facility between events, or that all equipment will be operable for each event. Particularly from May through October users must recognize that we are an operating farm with thousands of volunteers visiting the property to engage in our mission. If there is a particular requirement you have for audio, computer or projection facilities, kitchen facilities etc., please make us aware of the requirement so we can make every effort to ensure its availability. We also ask that you leave the facility in at least as good condition as the way you found it. Use of our closing checklist will help insure that the next user of the barn will find it in good condition. 5. Food Service – The barn is equipped with commercial-grade kitchen facilities, and can be used for events requiring food service. Usually this is handled by professional caterers, and you are free to bring in any caterer you wish to use for your event. If desired, we also have several local caterers we can recommend. All food served on the property must be prepared in a local health department licensed and ServSafe certified kitchen. No home prepared baked goods or potluck meals are allowed. Prepared trays/sandwiches/baked goods from local supermarkets such as Wegmans or Stop and Shop, sandwich shops such as Pepperoni Express or Bushel and Peck and caterers such as Struck Catering, Peppers Artful Events and Elm’s Cafe are all good choices for use in providing food for your event/meeting. If you intend to have volunteers providing food service, please be aware of local Board of Health requirements for public food service, including the requirement for a permit for your event. Our kitchen is inspected annually, but you also will need to have a Food Protection Manager who has passed an accredited food safety test on duty for your event. In addition, you will need to provide this individual’s ServSafe Certification. You should bring everything you will need to use preparing, serving, and eating food. You will need to provide your own utensils, cookware and dinnerware along with any other cooking supplies. After your event please remove all food, drink and paper goods.

  5. Alcohol – Alcohol may only be served on the barn premises subject to one of the following conditions: Professional bartender – You may hire a professional bartending service (some caterers can offer this service) for your event at the barn. A certificate of insurance must be provided indicating that Community Harvest Project, Inc. is being indemnified against liability arising from alcohol service. Volunteer bartender or self-service – If you intend to provide your own alcohol service, your organization must provide a certificate of insurance for host alcohol liability specifically naming Community Harvest Project, Inc. as additional named insureds for your event. In either case, if you intend to provide alcohol for sale, local regulatory requirements must be complied with, including the need to get a one-day alcohol permit from the Grafton Board of Selectmen.

  6. Liability In using the Brigham Hill Community Barn – Your organization accepts all liability arising out of your event and your use of the premises, and agrees to indemnify and hold Community Harvest Project, Inc. harmless from any liability action brought that arises out of your event or your use of the facilities.

  7. Liaison and Responsibility – Each organization using the barn should establish one person as liaison, who will be the main contact for scheduling, orientation, and emergencies. If this is the first time your organization will be using the barn, we ask that you schedule an orientation visit to view the facilities and discuss particulars for your event. The liaison is also responsible for ensuring that our checkout procedure is fully complied with, and that the barn is secure at the end of the event.

  8. Emergency Closure – Some conditions which may arise, including loss of power, loss of public water or sewer service, etc., may create circumstances where the barn cannot safely be used for public functions. The liaison you name on the Event Registration form must be available for contact in the time leading up to your event in case we need to contact you about such a condition. During the winter months we strive to provide a clean and accessible parking area and sidewalk. You should consider rescheduling for any event that may align with an impending winter storm. You should give some thought as to how you could notify your attendees in the event of an emergency closure.

  9. Public Health – Community Harvest Project reserves the right to cancel any pre-approved dates for use of the barn during public health emergencies. We follow the guidelines of the CDC, Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Town of Grafton. In addition, we require that any requirements that are put in place by the aforementioned authorities are followed by users and agreed upon as terms of use of the facility.

  10. Scheduling the Barn – To schedule an event at the barn, please first review the above information, particularly Section 2 (Use of Facilities). Then, feel free to contact us at (774)551-6544 or barn@community-harvest.org with any additional questions. In order to request use of the barn please submit a barn use request form via our website.