Success Stories
Since its inception in November 2015, Merrymeeting Food Council (MFC) has been hard at work putting donations and grant funding to good use! Check out the list below to learn more about past and ongoing successes as we work towards our main goals to create a thriving, local food system.
The Hunger Vital Sign program is a validated 2-question food insecurity screening tool based on the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module to identify households at risk of food insecurity.
MFC distributed 1900 copies of Community Nutrition Resource Guides for 14 towns in March 2020 through schools, food pantries, town offices, libraries, Head Start programs and more.
Volunteer Cathy proudly displaying the Know Your Veggies booklet!
Goal #1 - MFC Connects consumers to affordable, healthy, local, and sustainable food through communication, education, and increased access.
Food Security Screening
MFC brought Good Shepherd Food Bank (GSFB), Mid Coast Hospital, and Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program together to pilot the Hunger Vital Sign program. Any patient screening positive for food insecurity, receives an emergency food kit to help them until they can connect with other community resources through the hospital’s referral systems and Community Resource Guides (below).
The pilot food security screening program started at Mid Coast Hospital’s Brunswick walk-in clinic in early 2019. Now, Mid Coast Hospital is expanding the program to 4 clinics in the region!
Learn more about GSFB’s work implementing the program around the state!
Resource Creation - Community Resource Guides
As part of the Hunger Vital Sign program, MFC created these Community Resource Guides to help connect community members with access to needed food, transportation, or other support. Through the program, hospital patients that have experienced food insecurity in the past year, receive an emergency food kit (from Good Shepherd Food Bank and available at Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program) to help them until they can connect with other community resources.
The goals of these guides are to:
Connect food access and health for both medical professionals and individuals
Normalize seeking support for accessing healthy foods
Increase knowledge of area food support resources in our communities
Resource Creation - Know Your Veggies!
To increase comfort with a wide range of gleaned produce, MFC staff and volunteers worked with Maine SNAP-ED to develop this produce information booklet including photos, information, and recipes for gleaned vegetables.
The Know Your Veggies book provides information on 50 types of locally gleaned produce! (FREE! Donations are appreciated to support printing.)
Download Know Your Veggies!
Expanded access to SNAP and Maine Harvest Bucks at Farmers’ Markets
Between 2020-2023 MFC worked with area farmers’ markets to increase the acceptance of SNAP and Maine Harvest Bucks at 4 area farmers’ markets. Working closely with Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets, vendors, and volunteers, MFC helped establish market-wide acceptance of the programs at the downtown Brunswick market, the Brunswick Winter market, and has helped transition and improve the programs at the Bath and Bowdoinham Farmers’ Markets.
Goal #2 - MFC Supports the production, processing, and distribution of Maine food and the needs of food system workers.
Merrymeeting Gleaners
In 2016, MFC’s launched a pilot program called Merrymeeting Gleaners. This group of volunteers supported by MFC and Bowdoin College interns organized into skilled teams harvesting surplus produce at Six River Farm and area Farmers’ Markets, donating over 14,000 lbs in our first summer.
Through the pandemic, the Merrymeeting Gleaners harvested over 50,000 lbs of produce from more than 35 farm partners; processed over 1,500 lbs of produce; and purchased an additional 5,000 lbs of food for distribution.
With the help of over 120 volunteers, that healthy local produce was delivered to more than 45 recipient organizations in over 20 communities.
After five years, MFC transferred management of the Merrymeeting Gleaners to our close partner Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program - in those five years, the Merrymeeting Gleaners connected area residents with over 207,125 lbs of local produce!
Community Garden Tool Kit
Did you know there are more than 15 community and school gardens in the Merrymeeting Food Council region?
This toolkit is intended for individuals or groups starting or maintaining community gardens in Maine. MFC created this in partnership with the Maine Cooperative Extension between 2019-2020. Learn about planning and managing a community garden, soil testing, volunteer management and data tracking, garden leadership, resources, funding and more!
Farm Skills Training Program
Our newest program, launched in 2022, this 11 week part-time paid training program offers a supportive pathway for individuals interested in learning skills to work on area farms and grow food for their own needs.
Learn more about this exciting program!
Two volunteers with the Merrymeeting Gleaners holding boxes of produce at Six River Farm in Bowdoinham.
Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust’s Tom Settlemire Community Garden, Brunswick. Photo: BTLT
Farm Labor Roundtable attendees, December 2019
Maine Food Convergence, March 2021
Goal #3 - MFC Strengthens the local food system by building a resilient and connected food system network.
Round Table Program
Our roundtable events are a way to bring together diverse stakeholders to address common challenges in our food system that are best addressed collaboratively. Through a combination of presentations and group discussions, these gatherings offer the community opportunities to discuss the challenge, identify both solutions and new connections, and share resources.
MFC hosts 1-3 Roundtables annually. Reach out if you have a food system topic you would like to see centered!
Maine Food Convergence Project
The Convergence convenes organizations, networks, groups, and individuals to catalyze collective action towards a thriving Maine food system that is equitable, just, and regenerative. Through information and story sharing we worked collaboratively to strengthen a food system that meets the needs of all Mainers. MFC was part of the core team that planned the 2020-2021 Maine Food Convergence events.
5 Regional Dialogues were held across Maine in August 2020.
The three week Convergence Event in March 2020 was attended by over 250 people working to transform Maine’s food system!
The event was facilitated by over 40 trained volunteers who created breakout rooms for network building and discussion.
Learn more (or You Tube channel for Convergence sessions)