September Hatch, Maari Glendinning, and Brooklyn Haley help Twin Villages Foodbank Farm harvest carrots during a field trip. (Photo courtesy Sara Cawthon)
This October, fifth and sixth graders from Great Salt Bay Community School participated in field trips to Twin Villages Foodbank Farm, where they harvested fresh food, rain or shine, and cooked with FARMS at the Y.
Students harvested carrots and beets, storage crops for the farm’s winter deliveries, with the help of volunteers and teachers. Many of the carrots will go into over 400 area Thanksgiving baskets for families who need it most in Lincoln County. Each class of 20 students harvested nearly 500 pounds of food each in a little over an hour.
Foodbank farmers wash all root crops in a barrel washer then weigh, pack, and label totes before heading to
Mason Michaud holds the fruits of his labor after harvesting with Twin Villages Foodbank Farm in Damariscotta. (Photo courtesy Sara Cawthon)
the large walk-in cooler at the community storage hub in Darrows Barn at Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust, where fresh food will be stored for several months and delivered weekly as needed to area pantries.
FARMS at the Y cooked outdoors with a crew of students, preparing in-season recipes for the whole class to taste. FARMS and students prepared stir-fries with kale, onions, and sweet potatoes as well as sauteed tender cabbages and vibrant beet greens. Everyone ate fresh carrots and adventurous eaters tried raw beets, resulting pink-dyed hands and mouths.
The partnership with GSB, FARMS at the Y, and Twin Villages Foodbank Farm is a powerful one, where all students fifth to eighth grade visit the farm to plant, harvest, and start seeds in the greenhouse, getting dirty while doing meaningful work side by side.
“FARMS at the Y’s food education program is proud to be part of this service-oriented field trip for GSB students,” said Leslie Wicks, director of FARMS at the Y. “Learning how to cook local vegetables that (Twin Villages Foodbank Farm) grows ensures that the farmer’s efforts are supported to create a healthier and equitable community.”
Growing fresh food for free on three acres, to Twin Villages Foodbank Farm produces 45,000 pounds of food annually for low-income programs. For more information, go to twinvillagesfarm.org.
Twin Villages Foodbank Farm partners closely with Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust. For more information, go to coastalrivers.org.
