Seth Magaziner

Suzanne Magaziner, who recently passed away, was known for her community work in Bristol, Rhode Island.

In 2003, she established a community farm on her family's property to donate produce to local food banks.

The farm delivered thousands of pounds of fresh produce annually for two decades to help the food insecure.

Magaziner's son, Congressman Seth Magaziner, described the farm as a key part of her legacy of supporting Rhode Islanders.

Suzanne Magaziner, who died this week, was known widely for her work in the Clinton White House alongside her husband, Ira, but in Bristol, where she and her family have a home, she was known for giving back to the community.

One of her causes was feeding those in need. In 2003, she opened a community farm on her family's land on Poppasquash Point. All the produce was donated to the food insecure.

“Under our mother’s supervision before her health began to fail, the farm delivered thousands of pounds of fresh produce to the Food Bank every year for two decades," said U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-RI, who is Suzanne Magaziner's son. "This is one of the many ways she quietly supported Rhode Islanders in need, and is a part of her legacy of impact that we cherish.”

Work wound down at Magaziner Farm three years ago because of a shortage of volunteers, said Emily Mushen, executive director of the East Bay Food Pantry. But once in a while, people still bring in blueberries and blackberries harvested from the farm.

"So some food is still coming in from the land, which is really nice," said Mushen.

I wrote about the farm's opening 23 years ago. Here's the story:

How Magaziner Farm got its start

Suzanne and Ira Magaziner bought a home in the expensive Poppasquash Neck neighborhood of Bristol in 1981 and bought pieces of the farm next door throughout the '80s from their neighbor, Joe Robinson, who continued to manage the farm until his death in 2001.

In 2003, the Magaziners connected with the Rhode Island Community Farm, which ran several nonprofit farms with volunteers to grow produce for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. The Magaziners' farm would be the third such community farm.

At the time, it was hoped that the farm would produce about 12,000 pounds of fresh produce in its first season for the 44,000 people the food bank served monthly.