EVENTS
"We are people who love to cook, and to eat great local food at home, in restaurants, and with friends. We want to inspire others to do the same, while expanding educational and future job opportunities for young people in the culinary, ecological and hospitality arts." Edible Island and Culinary Center, www.edibleisland.org
First Annual Maine Gleaning Week 2017
www.mainegleaningnetwork.org
On October 7th-16th of 2017, members of the Maine Gleaning Network organized a coordinated food rescue effort, supported by the Quimby Family Foundation and Healthy Acadia, and more than 50 statewide partners. Our goal was to get as many people out into the fields to feel the power of the food rescue story first hand, discovering the realities of food waste while engaging in an act of resourcefulness that can rebuild the food system from the ground up. Throughout the week, different gleaning events were featured around the State, organized by each of the Maine Gleaning Network members. Through social media and the press we were able to illustrate the power of communities telling a different story of how food gets to people, outside of the market, with no governmental support, just people acting on their natural altruistic instinct.
With support from the Food Recovery Coalition the week ended with a World Food Day celebration, with speakers Kristen Miale, President of Good Shepherd Food Bank, and Steven Finn, UPenn and LeanPath. Refreshments were all made from gleaned product and included a cabbage salad, apple oat bars, cider, crudites, bread and fresh produce. The evening ended with Anthony Bourdain's screening of Wasted! The Story of Food Waste, and a discussion with the public.
Feeding the 5000 Portland, ME 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fEfpp3HYug
Co-led by Healthy Acadia, Natural Resources Council of Maine and Cumberland County Food Security Council, this event made its way into 24 media and news channels, and has deeply impacted how Maine's food economy perceives surplus food on farms, and wasted food in food business and homes. Since the event, Hannafords supermarkets in 10 different locations in Southern Maine have started a brand called Misfit produce, in an attempt to repurpose food that would have otherwise been wasted. A Food Recovery Coalition evolving from the event's organizing team continues to meet every two months in Portland, facilitated by Deb Bicknell Consulting Services and Hannah Semler.
Aragosta at The Barn - fundraiser 2015
www.aragosta.com
The rising need for food assistance in Hancock County brought Healthy Acadia, Healthy Peninsula, and Tree of Life food pantry together with businesses such as the Blue Hill Coop, Four Season Farm, David’s Folly Farm and Aragosta, to raise awareness of food security projects in our communities. We organized a dinner for 65 people, cooked by Chef Finigan (menu), and raised funds to supply our local volunteer powered food security projects with local food options, as a way of investing in the local food system as a whole.
