The new seedlings are off to a healthy start at Twin Villages Foodbank Farm.
As temperatures increase, Twin Villages Foodbank Farm is preparing for its fifth season of growing fresh food for donation to area food pantries and other programs. Demand is expected to be higher than usual during this time of uncertainty and change, when many families in the local community are already feeling the impact of lost wages.
TVFF is the largest source of fresh vegetables for Lincoln County’s hunger relief partners, which include food pantries in Wiscasset, Waldoboro, Whitefield, New Harbor, Damariscotta/Newcastle, Boothbay, and Jefferson, as well as several youth programs. However, while the farm has depended on hundreds of volunteers each season, current restrictions mean the farm’s workforce is now reduced to only a few people.
Farm directors Sara Cawthon and Megan Taft recruit their daughter Adley to help with planting seedlings.
In response, farm directors Sara Cawthon and Meg Taft are reorganizing the farm’s growing and distribution systems, putting a mechanization into place to ensure that the small farm crew can meet the community’s increased needs.
Cawthon and Taft have already planted over 20,000 seedlings. This represents an increase in production of fresh vegetables including beets, carrots, cabbage, onions, lettuce, sweet peppers, and broccoli.
According to Taft, much of the statewide distribution of food is moving towards pre-boxed, shelf-stable products. In light of this trend, she believes the fresh produce from TVFF will be even more important this year. To meet the demand in Lincoln County, Taft projects the farm will need to grow over 50,000 pounds of fresh food this season while sourcing another 10,000 pounds of food from local growers at its food storage hub at Coastal Rivers’ Round Top Farm.
TVFF started farming two acres of fallow land owned by Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust five years ago, producing 20,000 pounds of food in 2015. The farm has since increased to three acres of land with 60,000 pounds of food grown and aggregated. Taft attributes the farm’s success to generous financial and volunteer support from the community.
For more information about Twin Villages Foodbank Farm, visit twinvillagesfarm.org or email Farm Director Sara Cawthon at scawthon@twinvillagesfarm.org.
The farm receives fiscal and administrative support from its partner Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust.
