Columnist Jess Breithaupt and a baby fawn, rescued at Veggies to Table (Photo courtesy Healthy Lincoln County)
Dear readers, it has been an honor to serve the Lincoln County community as the food security community connector, a job that started in 2020 with the Lincoln County Food Initiative. Though this is my last newspaper column, our talented team at Healthy Lincoln County will be continuing the efforts, so this will not be the last round-up of farmers’ markets, share tables, and food programs in the paper.
During my tenure working in the community, I’ve amassed sweet memories that I’ll never forget, like the scent of a sweet potato field at dawn, the weight of a baby fawn in my arms, or the sound of air brakes signifying that a delivery is here (if you know you know).
There is a quote by Fred Rogers that I’d like to share with you all: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
Each town has a coordinated group of helpers, and I’d like to talk about their selfless service, starting with food pantries, which are run entirely by volunteers. Each week they tirelessly pick up food donations and other supplies. They receive orders from Good Shepherd Food Bank, often delivered at the crack of dawn, which need to be unloaded quickly and brought upstairs, downstairs, to the basement, to the attic, you name it. There is endless manual labor and movement required to move, sort, clean, and ready food for distribution, and it often exceeds the 40 hours we determine for a “day job.”
“Lettuce” also talk about our farm partners, starting with the grow-to-give farms: Twin Villages Foodbank Farm and Veggies to Table. Their workdays start before dawn and end well after sunset, because outside of the physical labor of farming, they apply for grants and build endless community partnerships to continue their operations.
Our partners at Goranson, Morning Dew, and Begin Again farms also donate produce to food programs. This is not a complete list; I’m simply skimming the surface. If you thought that people in your community didn’t care deeply about feeding others, then you need to look in the right direction.
We have transportation helpers moving food for share tables; school staff like teachers and guidance counselors buying snacks for students out of their own pockets, spending weekends picking up donations so they can introduce kids to new vegetables. Educators teaching people how to cook nutrient dense vegetables at the FARMS at the Y kitchen, school garden programs showing kids how to grow their own food, and navigators fielding calls from families seeking resources and assistance.
There are caring directors at Camp Kieve and Wavus, who ensure that thousands of meals are prepared by their kitchens during the winter months and delivered to food pantries.
This network is a huge benefit to our county, but your constant and continued support is needed for it to continue to operate. Food pantries need your donations, as do the community organizations that support them. If we all contributed $10 a year to the pantries, grow-to-give farms, and community-based organizations in our towns, then amazing change and growth could occur within these programs. This is where I will be tithing my income in the future, and I hope you will too.
Jess Breithaupt picks apples with community helpers. (Photo courtesy Healthy Lincoln County)
Farm Stands
Broad Arrow Farm, 33 Benner Road, Bristol, open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday
Chase Farm Bakery, 333 Townhouse Road, Whitefield, open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday
County Fair Farm, Route 32, Jefferson, open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., year-round, self serve
Fuzzy Udder Creamery, 35 Townhouse Road, Whitefield, open 24/7, self-serve
Morris Farm Store, 156 Gardiner Road, Wiscasset, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Goranson Farm Store, 250 River Road, Dresden, open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., year-round
High Hopes Farm, 777 Bristol Road, Bristol, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Spear’s Farm Stand, Atlantic Highway in Waldoboro, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday; and Center Street in Nobleboro, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
Sunset Hill Farm, 98 Cross Point Road, Edgecomb, open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (cash, checks, or Venmo only)
Swallowtail Farm, 98 Main St., Whitefield, open daily using the honor system from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Switchback Farm, 195 Morgan Hill Road, Nobleboro, open for self service
Straw’s Farm, 30 Brick Hill Road, open 2-6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
Wanderwood Farm, 79 Sidelinger Road, Nobleboro, open 3:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday
