Food for ME garden continues to grow

    EAST CHAPMAN, Maine — Many hands make light work — such was the case as a group of Job Corps students joined volunteers to plant this year’s crops for Catholic Charities’ Farm for ME garden off the East Chapman Road in mid-June.
This marks the second year the garden has been planted, with produce destined for Aroostook County food banks beginning in the fall. Last year about two acres were put in, with that size increased this year. Jim and Marty Pritchard not only donate the parcel for use for the garden but also volunteer each year in planting and maintaining the garden.
“We have doubled our planting this year and added crops to the mix. Last year we grew beets, rutabagas and squash. This year we are growing beets, rutabagas, squash (two varieties), onions, kale, cabbage and carrots, as well as a few tomato plants. We also put in 20 high-bush blueberry plants at our other farmland operation in Caribou,” said Dixie Shaw, Catholic Charities’ director of hunger and relief services.
Shaw said thousands of pounds of food were raised last year, with the goal to raise more this year.
“Over 8,000 pounds were distributed (last year), and we expect to easily triple that this year, with a better yield due to better crop management, more cooperative weather and less weeds,” she said.
She said the first year was “incredibly challenging, due to so much rain.”
“It affected our ability to thin the plants properly and control the weeds. We grow these vegetables organically, therefore the weed control is handled by constant tilling. When the ground is constantly wet, it poses a problem. Also, the land had not been farmed in years, so it was a bit out of control. We have worked it for two years now, so we are winning the weed battle — we hope,” said Shaw.
Planting was completed last week, with rutabagas, beets and carrots going in.
“They were planted by our Steering Committee member, organic crop guru and team leader, John Chartier. John is the Aroostook County representative for MOFGA (Maine Organic Farm Growers Association). He has advised us and directed us through this planting season. John, with the help of Bob Travers, put in seeds once the ground designated for them was tilled again,” said Shaw.
Shaw noted that it was a bit late to plant them but wasn’t as late as volunteers got them in last year.
“We planted our seedlings on Tuesday, June 17, with the help of many volunteers — the majority being from Loring Job Corps. We started at 8:30 a.m., preparing the land with weed-control barriers, setting out the seedlings of kale, cabbage, onions, squash and tomatoes, and finished around 1 p.m.,” she said. “We all worked hard and it took many hands.”
She said the young men from Job Corps had never done anything like this before but were so eager to learn and help.
“They expressed to me how happy they were to be part of this project. They all worked so hard to help us get this crop in. Without their help and all the other volunteers, we would have been days getting that much work done,” said Shaw.
The seedlings used were specifically grown for this project.
“John Chartier started the kale, some cabbage and squash in his greenhouse and Randy Martin of The King’s Gardener in Presque Isle donated the onion plants, some larger cabbage plants and more varieties — some cucumber plants and several large tomato plants — to our efforts,” noted Shaw.
She said Martin “supplied us with hundreds of onion plants in two varieties, which was a blessing since we could not find any by the time we ordered our seeds.”
“I contacted Randy and he ever so generously donated all we needed, plus added on the other seedlings. Since we received so many tomato plants from him, we also have a small garden in Caribou that we call ‘Fred’s Garden’ that Fred Schieber planted outside our Food Bank as a show-and-tell project. Fred is the assistant food bank director and wanted a small effort on site to show those who may not get out to our fields,” she said.
Shaw said the garden project is unique to other local growing projects.
“We distribute some of the vegetables fresh-picked from the field, such as last year we had beet greens available first and distributed them early. We picked a few rutabagas and squash and distributed them to our pantries right from the field. But the bulk of our efforts is sent to Northern Girl in Limestone and Van Buren to be stored in a climate-controlled facility, sliced, diced, vacuum packed and/or frozen in convenient two-pound packs for easy preparation in one’s own kitchen,” Shaw explained.
Northern Girl is a micro-processing company that specializes in organic vegetable packaging and sells their products throughout the state.
“This relationship with Northern Girl allows us the opportunity to distribute our vegetables to our pantries in the winter months of December-April, when people are struggling the most with food insecurity. The winter is the hardest time for folks in Aroostook. Heat costs and electricity bills and the darkness and cold of winter can be so challenging for so many. To have these locally-grown and nutritious items in convenient packages is such a blessing for so many,” she said.
Shaw said they have their own labels that indicate “they’re grown by our efforts at our Farm for ME project.”
“We have also been able to package some of the donated fresh veggies we have received from others, if the quantity is large enough,” she said.
This processing opportunity with Northern Girl has allowed the project to stretch the perishable food items’ window of opportunity to new heights, allowing more nutritious foods for more people in need.
“The pantries loved getting the Farm for ME products and the people who received the packages loved the convenience. A large rutabaga can be intimidating to a young person who may have never prepared or eaten one. It can also be overwhelming for an older person who may not have the ability to physically to prepare it or it may be more than they’re able to eat. Older folks don’t want to waste food, so they may pass an opportunity to get a fresh, whole rutabaga,” she said.
Shaw said the response was very positive last year.
“One of the most popular items we distributed last year was our sliced beets packed in a vinegar brine. People loved them. I must admit they were a beautiful package, as were all the packaged vegetables. Our hope is to replicate the project throughout Maine, therefore our project is called Farm for ME (Maine),” said Shaw.
The Chapman garden is one of two such projects in The County established to raise food for those less fortunate. The Caribou parcel was planted in early June.
“We planted 20 high-bush blueberry bushes on our own land in Caribou, behind our office building on South Main Street — formerly the Doctors’ Center. This land and building was donated to Catholic Charities a few years ago by Dr. Simone. We had hoped to do the majority of our farming on the nine acres of farmland up behind that office building, but when we had soil samples taken, it was not advised to spend the money and energy to get the land prepared for vegetable planting,” said Shaw, noting, “we were, however, advised it might be a good place for some blueberries or raspberry bushes to grow.”
Shaw said it was later determined the site would be used for planting blueberries.
“With the support of Sam Blackstone from Circle B Farms in Caribou, we chose 20 plants for this year. Sam explained and helped us with expertise on planting. Loring Job Corps students showed up to help us. We planted our first 20 plants in 40 minutes,” she said.
The hope is to expand the field annually.
“We plan to plant additional plants each year until we fill the field. We plant what we can afford each year, so money will determine how many plants we plant. But our goal is no less than 20 per year, until we have the entire plot filled,” said Shaw.
She said each plant will take four to five years to produce fruit, so this is a long-term plan.
“I call it my 20-year plan. I should be 80 for the first harvest,” Shaw laughed.
For more information or to make a donation, call Shaw at 493-8919.