Uprooted’s Sterling Doiron boasts bountiful veggies. (Courtesy photo)
Recently at the Healthy Lincoln County office, the team learned about an incredible farm in Waldoboro that not only accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Electronic Benefits Transfer benefits, but also has a senior farmshare program. I immediately wanted to learn more about the work that they were doing!
That farm is Uprooted: a family-owned and operated farm. I jumped at the chance to meet up with Sterling, co-owner of Uprooted, to learn more about what he and his wife, Kailey, are up to.
Sterling has a background in sustainable agriculture through a degree at the University of Maine. While he put his agricultural work on hold to pursue a career in the Air Force, it was during this time that he and his wife dreamed of having a farm of their own (their full story is on the Uprooted website and worth the read!).
They took the leap in 2021 and moved to their property in Waldoboro, after a job change led them to the Midcoast region of Maine.
Cue the present, where Uprooted is an established farm, practicing organic strategies. Sterling and Kailey spent their first season at the Farmington Farmers Market and were introduced to the Maine Harvest Bucks program, a state of Maine initiative that provides a voucher to make locally grown produce more accessible to individuals utilizing SNAP/EBT benefits. The pair signed up for the Maine Harvest Bucks program so that those using SNAP/EBT benefits can shop at Uprooted!
But the goodness does not stop there. Uprooted also partners with the Spectrum Generations Meals on Wheels program to make their senior farmshare accessible to the Lincoln County community. Last season they had eight seniors participate in the farmshare and look forward to growing the program this coming growing season!
So how can we support Uprooted? Sign up for their season-long community-supported agriculture program on their website for Saturday pickups, beginning soon, and be sure to visit them at the Waldoboro Farmers Market this year on Sundays.
Keep up to date with Uprooted by checking out their Uprooted Maine pages on Facebook and Instagram, as well as taking a look at uprootedmaine.com.
Food programs
Need help navigating the various food programs in Lincoln County? Call the food security hotline at 350-0536, and leave a message with your contact information. Project Coordinator Jess Breithaupt will call you back and discuss local options with you.
Cooking classes
Looking to hone your culinary skills? Curious about how long food keeps in the fridge? Ever wanted to start your own garden? Look no further! Skidompha Library is excited to offer a series of free food-centered workshops that will introduce participants to new recipes, kitchen skills, and garden techniques while also discussing the greater social, societal, and environmental impacts food has on our daily lives. We hope that you will join us for one – or all! – of the workshops below.
Registration is required. To register, email info@skidompha.org or call 887-0919.
Drawing Recipes for Adults and Teens (ages 16-plus), 10:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 13 at Skidompha Public Library. Do you enjoy food? Do you like to draw? Time to combine the two! Join us to explore the fun of reimagining your recipe cards as fully illustrated comics. The library will provide drawing supplies and short recipes, as we introduce participants to examples of comic recipes and try out making our own. Registration required.
Container Gardens for Adults, 10:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 20 at Skidompha Library. Want to grow a garden but you have limited space, time, or mobility? Come join Great Salt Bay Community School Agriculture Coordinator Hedda Scribner for a fun and easy container garden workshop. All participants will go home with a fully planted container garden to enjoy for months to come.
For seniors
Senior Commodity Boxes: People at least 60 years of age may be eligible for monthly food boxes. The boxes include nonperishable items like peanut butter, pasta, and instant mashed potatoes. Call Spectrum Generations at 563-1363, ext. 1, for more information and to sign up.
Meals on Wheels: Older adults can sign up for Meals on Wheels by contacting Spectrum Generations at 563-1363, ext 1. Adults in the Boothbay Region should contact Pat Wheeler at 633-4370 to sign up.
Weekend meal programs
The weekend meal program, also known as the backpack program, is available for families that need food support for their children over the weekend. Bags of food, usually consisting of easy to prepare breakfast and lunch items, are placed discreetly in students’ backpacks on Fridays. Sign up information for schools is listed below.
Bristol Consolidated School: The program is run by the nonprofit Caring for Kids. Parents can call the BCS main office at 677-2678 for more information.
Boothbay region: The program is run by Food for Thought. Parents should call the community navigator, Hannah Corkum, at 350-1743.
Dresden Elementary School: Parents can call the main office at 737-2559 to sign up.
Great Salt Bay Community School: To sign up, email or call Jill Davis at jdavis@aos93.org, or 563-3091.
Jefferson Village School: Parents can call the JVS main office at 549-7491 to sign up.
Nobleboro Central School: Parents can call the main office at 563-3437 to sign up.
Waldoboro: Parents can call the main office at 832-2103 and ask for Julia to sign up.
Wiscasset Elementary School: The program is run by the nonprofit Feed our Scholars. Parents can call the Wiscasset Elementary main office at 882-7767.
Food drives
Food donations are always accepted at Healthy Lincoln County, at 281 Main St. in Damariscotta. For more information, call Jess Breithaupt at 350-0536 or email jbreithaupt@healthylincolncounty.org.
The CLC YMCA will be doing an all-day food drive at Main Street Grocery on Friday, May 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Staff from First National Bank, Damariscotta Police Department, Healthy Lincoln County, and the CLC YMCA on site to collect food, house supplies, personal hygiene items, pet food, and diapers.
CSAs
CSA farm customers commit early in the year to buy a farm’s harvest by purchasing a farm “share.” Throughout the growing season, CSA members receive boxes of the farm’s harvest. Participating farms in Lincoln County include:
Bristol: High Hopes Farm, 380-3197
Damariscotta: Clark Farms, clarkfarmsme.com or 549-3363
Dresden: Goranson Farm, goransonfarm.me or 737-8834
Newcastle: Morning Dew Farm, morningdeworganic.com or 350-5075
Nobleboro: Spear’s Farm, 832-4488
Waldoboro: Coppertail Farm, coppertailfarm.com or 541-729-5769; Uprooted Farm, uprootedmaine.com or 612-9053
Westport Island: Tarbox Farm, tarboxfarm.com or 522-0840
