Elizabeth Patten's Page
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Thanks for the invite and info. Won't be able to attend but am interested in the DIY programs.
Wolfe’s Neck Farm JAMboree! at Wolfe's Neck Farm
August 29, 2009 from 1pm to 3pm
JAMboree: Create and can delicious Maine blueberry jam in our version of the coast-to-coast community canning event, "Canning Across America," happening the weekend of Aug. 29-30, 2009. Instructor: Beth Richardson, Master Preserver
It's part of Fou…
The Maine School Garden Network is being refurbished and you're invited to share your project. See www.msgn.org to add your educational garden or school greening initiative to the directory or to suggest favorite resources or curricula. Any content…
Share your updates here about school garden projects and other related activities: resources, volunteer requests, etc. Kitchen gardens can play an important role in expanding access to local food!
Profile Information
- Where in Maine do you live and eat?
- Freeport
- What issues are you and/or your group interested or expert in?
- organics, health and nutrition, food justice, school gardens, hunger and local foods access, CSAs
- If you produce foods of some sort, please choose one of the following:
- I produce foods only for my own and my family's consumption
- Other info about Me (please mention any food, fishing, agriculture, or community groups you are affiliated with):
- Interested in helping others access local [especially organic] foods, and revitalizing the Maine School Garden Network. Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils Teachers' Guide co-author.
Freeport/Pownal "Fresh from the Pantry" program wins cash award
"It's the perfect marriage of two ideas, both sustainable and healthy," according to Sue Mack, Freeport/Pownal Food Pantry Director. "Fresh from the Pantry" brings fresh farm products regularly to food pantry customers, thanks to "seed" money provided by Healthy Casco Bay (HCB), a group funded with tobacco settlement dollars from the Fund for a Healthy Maine. The goal of the project is to educate food pantry clientele on affordable ways to access healthy foods.
The "Fresh from the Pantry" pilot project involves Freeport Community Services and two farms, Laughing Stock Farm in Freeport and Tir na nOg Farm in Pownal, which both run on a community-supported agriculture (CSA) model -- where members buy seasonal farm shares in exchange for fresh produce, eggs, and other animal products. The grant monies will help not only facilitate the budding program but also provide cooking and nutrition classes.
Laughing Stock Farm is an innovative, MOFGA-certified farm run by Lisa and Ralph Turner. Their greenhouse heating system operates with renewable fuel from restaurants' used animal fat and vegetable oil, supplying fresh baby greens and a bounty of vegetables even in mid-winter. Grower Holly Morrison of Tir na nOg Farm raises heritage-breed livestock including chickens, pigs, and cattle as well as growing old-fashioned vegetables and fruits. Delicious, ready-made meals--created from the fresh local ingredients--are distributed to pantry customers by Freeport resident Lindsay Sterling, a former line cook at Fore St Restaurant and the Harraseeket Inn. Robin Metcalf, a Cooperative Extension nutrition aide, focuses her classes on the health benefits of daily fruits and vegetables, combining menu ideas and preparation tips with tastes of the farm-fresh foods.
Part of the grant funding will be used to develop a guide to share the model program with other areas, and as a basis for an expanded summer season program.
FMI contact Elizabeth Patten
Comment Wall (2 comments)
- At 8:22am on April 24, 2009,
Deborah Gideon said…
- Oh, thanks. I don't think it's the same woman I remember from Lincolnville. Weather's getting so delightful. Have a great weekend.
- At 7:40am on March 26, 2009,
Deborah Gideon said…
- Hi Elizabeth. It's good to hear from you. Some exciting things happening these days. I love the local (and slow) food movement. Oh, I finally got my website up. Check it out at www.beeblossom.com if you want. Happy Spring! BTW, do you who the Robin Metcalf is mentioned in the article about the Freeport/Pownal food program?
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2nd Annual Maine Farmers' Market Convention at The Hutchinson Center
January 29, 2010 to January 30, 2010
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Your Input Needed: Take Back Control of Your Food! | Fair Food Fight
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Wed, 12/23/2009 - 16:00
Please send an Email letter before December 31, 2009. This could be some of the most important work our Department of Justice has to do for ag…
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