Local Foods and School News from
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area
Fall 2015
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Upcoming Events
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| Capital Area Food Council October 8 4:30-6:30pm November 12 9:00-10:30am December 10 4:30-6:00pm Location: HCCA 36 Brunswick Avenue, Gardiner FMI: Renee Page rpage@mcd.org Register Now Maine Farm to School Network 4th Annual Conference Friday, October 16, 2015 at Kennebec Valley Community College Alfond Campus at Maine Academy of Natural Sciences/Good Will-Hinckley FMI&Registration farmtoschool2015.eventbrite.com Save the Date Maine Network of Community Food Councils 3rd Annual Summit Friday, November 20, 2015 at Kennebec Valley Community College Alfond Campus at Maine Academy of Natural Sciences/Good Will-Hinckley FMI: Ken Morse kenmorse@mac.com Gardiner Farmers' Market Family Fun Day Wednesday, October 7 3:00-6:00pm on the Gardiner Common Visit members of HCCA's SNAP-Ed, FoodCorps, and substance abuse prevention team along with other community partners. Slow Money Maine Third Thursdays Odd Months 1:00-4:00pm Location: Christ Church 2 Dresden Avenue, Gardiner SNAP-Ed Cooking Matters at the Store Tours Look for store tour events coming to local Hannaford locations. Upcoming Events:
October 21 3:00-5:30
Cony Hannaford
To arrange a tour for your SNAP-eligible group, contact Emily Knipp
at 207.588.5081 or
eknipp@mcd.org
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Local Farmers' Markets
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| Kennebec County Augusta Farmers' Market at Mill Park 1 North Water Street, the old Edwards Mill site May-November Tuesdays 2-6pm December-April Tuesdays 12:30-2:00pm EBT, WIC, Credit & Debit Accepted http://www.mainefarmersmarkets.org/market/augusta-farmers-market-at-mill-park/ Viles Arboretum Farmers' Market 153 Hospital Street Year round Fridays 2:00-5:00pm Gardiner Gardiner Farmers' Market on the Common May-October Wednesdays 3:00-6:00pm Manchester Longfellow's Greenhouse, Puddledock Road Saturdays 9:00am-2:00pm Other Options: Crown o' Maine Organic Cooperative, for worksites looking to create their own mini farmers' market, buying clubs may be just what you need. To learn more visit
Somerset County Skowhegan Skowhegan Farmers' Market Somerset Grist Mill May-October Saturdays 9:00am-1:00pm June-October Wednesdays 3:00pm-6:00pm Saturdays 9:00am-1:00pm November-April 1st & 3rd Saturdays 10:00am-1:00pm EBT, WIC, Debit & Credit Accepted www.skowheganfarmersmarket.com |
Links to Useful Resources
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National Farm to School Network
NFSN enables every child to have access to nutritious food while simultaneously benefiting communities and local farmers.
FMI & Resources: farmtoschool.org
Maine Ag in the Classroom
MAITC provides information about agricultural concepts to teachers, students, and interested citizens.
FMI & Resources:
Maine School Garden Network
MSGN promotes and supports educational gardens for youth and encourages school programs that teach healthy eating and environmental stewardship.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for a Livable Future Food Policy Networks
Food policy council database and resources.
FMI & Resources:
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HCCA Board of Directors
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Mary Frances Bartlett
Local Health Officer
Augusta, ME
Dan Emery
Marketing Consultant
Augusta, ME
Rob Gordon
Kennebec Valley United Way
Augusta, ME
Virgel Hammonds
West Gardiner, ME
Kala Ladenheim, Secretary
Gardiner, ME
Barbara Moss, DO
Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency
Family Medicine Institute
Augusta, ME
Emilie van Eeghen, Vice Chair
MaineGeneral Community Care
Waterville, ME
Tom Warren, Treasurer
Kennebec Valley YMCA
Augusta, ME
Frederick A. White, PhD
Private practice psychologist
Augusta, ME
Jim Wood, Chair
KVCAP
Waterville, ME
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You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed or have been identified as a leader in your school or community around local foods and/or youth efforts.
I welcome any and all feedback on this newsletter's format and content and encourage others to submit local foods and youth articles, news, resources, and success stories that may be of interest or useful to others.
Help us spread the word! Feel free to lift articles from this newsletter for your own newsletters, facebook pages, and other communications.
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Enjoy!
Renee Page,
HCCA Local Foods Projects & Roles:
Central District Maine Farm to School Network Representative
National Farm to School Network Regional Steering Committee, Maine Co-Lead
Maine Farm to School Network Coordinator
FoodCorps Service Site Supervisor
USDA Farm to School Grantee
Capital Area Food Council, Convener & Sponsor
Maine Network of Community Food Councils, Member
SNAP-Ed Provider
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| Food Processing Training at RSU 38 |
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Healthy Communities of the Capital Area Hosts Nutrition Staff Training
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area, with support from a USDA Farm to School Grant, provided a day-long food processing training for the entire RSU 38 nutrition staff. The goals of the training are to develop skills to incorporate more fresh, local foods into school meals and to learn how to process and preserve some of the harvest in order to take advantage of the garden bounty all year long. Foods provided for the training came from the school garden, local farms, and the Kennebec Restorative Community Harvest.
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| Ron Adams Leading RSU 38 Local Foods Processing Work Shop |
Ron Adams, Local Foods Consultant and former Portland Public Schools Nutrition Director, led the day-long training in August. Participants learned how to make cucumber salad, kale salad, collard greens, marinara sauce, and more.
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| Ron Adams Teaching Proper Use of an Emersion Blender |
Beginning this school year, schools that participate in the USDA National School Lunch Program must meet minimum professional development standards for all nutrition staff. This training provided professional development hours toward the requirements. Please contact
Renee Page if you are interested in bringing this training to your district.
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| Prepping Kale for Kale Salad that Participants Enjoyed for Lunch |
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| Prepping Cukes for Cucumber Dill Salad |
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| Taking a Turn with the Emersion Blender to Make Marinara from Tomatoes Donated from the Kennebec Restorative Community Harvest |
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| FoodCorps Happenings |
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HCCA Welcomes FoodCorps Service Member Jada Wensman and celebrates FoodCorps' 5th Year!
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FoodCorps Service Member Jada Wensman
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Jada is motivated by a desire to share her passion for food and cooking, and the belief that everyone should have a solid understanding of food origins and how it's made. Originally from Minnesota, she spent several summers teaching at The Children's Farm in Lake Elmo, MN, where she encouraged young children to try new vegetables and explore the outdoors. Jada moved to Maine to study Environmental Studies and Education at Bowdoin College, and since has fallen in love with Maine. She continues to seek out food-focused jobs on the East Coast, including summer cooking with Cultivating Community's youth program in Portland, a stint on a USDA-sponsored food truck serving summer meals in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, and most recently a position at Salt Water Farm Restaurant and Cooking School in Rockport, Maine. Jada is thrilled to be working with FoodCorps and Healthy Communities of the Capital Area to bring healthy food and nutrition and gardening education to the Gardiner, Maranacook, and Augusta area schools. She hopes to continue to teach and cook far beyond her year of FoodCorps service.
If you are interested in supporting FoodCorps efforts in Augusta, Gardiner, and Maranacook area schools through material or cash donations, or by volunteering at a site, please contact Renee Page at
rpage@mcd.org.
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| HCCA Hosts School Nutrition Staff Knife Skills & Student Engagement Training |
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All RSU 2 (Dresden, Hall-Dale, Monmouth, and Richmond) Nutrition Staff Par
ticipate in Professional Development Opportunity
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| Certified Executive Chef Mike Flynn Demonstrating How Best to Break Down Peppers |
With s
upport from a USDA Far
m to School grant,
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area hosted a professional dev
elopment work shop for all RSU 2 Nutrition Program staff. Partic
ipants engaged in a hands on knife skills training led by Certifi
ed Executive Chef and Hyde School Nutrition Director, Mike Flynn. Attende
es learned how to properly sharpen and care for kitche
n knives as well as a variety of safe, efficient chopping and cutting techniques. These skills will support the district's move toward incorporating more fresh, local foods into school meals.
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| Practicing Proper Hand Technique |
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| Practicing the Perfect Dice on Potatoes Donated from the Kennebec Restorative Community Harvest |
HCCA Assistant Director, Renee Page, led a session about engaging student customers. Renee identified strategies to encourage diners to try new things as well as avoiding practices and language that may discourage students from participating in school lunch or trying new things.
This is the third Knife Skills and Student Engagement training HCCA has offered area schools with support from a USDA Farm to School Grant. Participants earn professional development contact hours now required of all nutrition staff in schools that participate in the USDA National School Lunch Program.
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| Certified Executive Chef Mike Flynn Addresses RSU 2 Nutrition Staff During Knife Skills Training |
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| HCCA Awarded $55,000 Elmina B. Sewall Foundation Healthy People Healthy Places Grant on Behalf of Maine Farm to School Network |
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Maine Farm to School Network to Begin Exploring Farm to Institution Collaboration in Maine
For nearly 10 years the Maine Farm to School movement has worked to increase the amount of locally sourced Maine food in school meals and develop hands-on agricultural-based experiential nutrition education through school gardens and greenhouses and curriculum integration in an effort to support Maine's economy, improve health, and develop understanding of food origins. This is done through a network dedicated to developing procurement strategies, policy initiatives, and networking opportunities. More recently, other institutional settings such as hospitals and colleges have begun developing systems for local food purchasing. The Maine Farm to School Network, with support from the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, is embarking upon a year-long process to knit together these Farm to Institution efforts by creating a learning and sharing community that will, over time, increase the amount of Maine harvested foods served in institutional settings across the state.
This initial phase will span July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016 and be coordinated by a Leadership Team led by Renee Page, Healthy Communities of the Capital Area Assistant Director and Maine Farm to School Network Coordinator. Additional Leadership Team members include Ron Adams, Consultant and former Portland Public Schools Nutrition Director; Katie Freedman, Healthy Acadia Food Programs Director and Maine Farm to School Network Downeast District Representative;
Emily Kain,
MaineHealth, Community Health Improvement Program Manager;
Ken Morse, Maine Network of Community Food Councils Coordinator, former Maine Farm to School Network Coordinator and co-founder, and local food systems expert; Riley Neugebauer, Farm to Institution New England Farm to College Coordinator; and Jen Obadia, Health Care Without Harm Regional Coordinator.
This process will honor historic missions and relations developed by the individual sector groups while drawing from their expertise and lessons learned to further develop Maine's local food buying economy. Some early strategies identified by the group include organizing the first Maine Farm to Institution Summit in 2016, support for statewide policy advocacy, local level technical assistance and training on procurement and education, assistance with resource allocation like grant writing, and creating communication structures to knit the diverse stakeholder groups together.
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area is the current fiscal home for the Maine Farm to School Network.
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| HCCA Awarded $4,000 Grant on Behalf of the Capital Area Food Council |
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Capital Area Food Council Gets Support from Shared Gifting Process
The Capital Area Food Council received funding to continue its mission to work to affect positive change in
the local food system. The Maine Network of Community Food Councils invited emerging and established foo
d
councils from across the state to participate in a unique shared gifting process where potential grantees come together to share and learn about each others' projects and then work collaboratively to allocate grant funds to those groups that establish the most need and readiness to show outcomes.
The Capital Area Food Council was awarded $4,000 to work on the following objectives:
- Identify a Coordinator
- Host two Maine Food Atlas Trainings
- Strengthen Municipal Engagement
- Select a minimum of one priority to address from HCCA's Spring 2015 local foods forum
- Support the Maine Network of Community Food Councils
If you would like to learn more about the work of the Capital Area Food Council, attend a meeting, or become more involved, contact Renee Page at rpage@mcd.org or 207.588.5020.
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| SNAP-Ed at HCCA |
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HCCA Winds up Another Year of SNAP-Ed
 HCCA celebrates a successful year of SNAP-Ed programming as fiscal year 2015 winds down on September 30. HCCA's SNAP-Ed team reached nearly 1,800 participants during fiscal year 2015 (October 2014-September 2015) and nearly 5,000 contacts (individuals who attend more than one nutrition education session). HCCA delivers nutrition education focused on healthy eating on a budget in a variety of settings including schools, early child care, food pantries, senior housing facilities, and more. SNAP-Ed classes vary from direct nutrition education to hands-on cooking classes to guided grocery store tours.
If you are interested in hosting SNAP-Ed or attending a class,
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| HCCA Can Help You Update Your School's Substance Use, Tobacco, or Wellness Policy |
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Substance Use Policy Guide Available
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| SAMHS School Substance Use Policy Guide |
Maine Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services updated its School Substance Use Policy Guide and Healthy Maine Partnership staff across the state are available to help schools update their substance use policies. Effective substance use policies are an essential part of creating a healthy, safe school environment for students, staff, and communities.
Key Components of a Model Policy:
- Philosophy Statement
- Community Involvement
- Communication of Policy
- Prevention Education
- Prohibitions
- Enforcement
- Consequences
- Intervention & Treatment
- Review & Revision
Free Campus Signage from Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine
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| Free Tobacco-Free Campus signage from PTM |
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area is your school's resource for technical assistance, model policy language, and free Tobacco Free Campus signage. Join other school districts across that state that have enhanced their tobacco policy language to meet model policy guidelines that address tobacco use prevention, alternatives to suspension, new and emerging tobacco products like e-cigarettes, and more.
Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act School Wellness Policy Requirements
In an effort to help combat childhood obesity, all schools that participate in the National School Lunch and/or Breakfast Programs must have a local wellness policy in place. But did you know there are new requirements for those policies related to policy content, communication, and implementation? Contact HCCA for technical assistance, model policy language, and resources.
It is recommended that schools review and revise their policies at least once every two years. FMI: Contact Renee Page at rpage@mcd.org.
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I hope you enjoyed learning more about local food and school happenings in southern Kennebec County. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more or becoming involved.
In Health,
Renee Page,
Assistant Director, Healthy Communities of the Capital Area Central District Maine Farm to School Network Representative National Farm to School Network Regional Steering Committee, State Co-Lead Maine Farm to School Network Coordinator FoodCorps Service Site Supervisor USDA Farm to School Grantee |
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Healthy Communities of the Capital Area (HCCA) is a coalition of local people who work locally to improve the health and quality of life in our communities. HCCA hosts the Central District Maine Farm to School Network Representative and a FoodCorps Service Member. HCCA is a USDA Farm to School, Maine Ag in the Classroom, and Maine Network of Community Food Councils grantee.
Maine SNAP-Ed is funded by the USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is administered by the Maine Department of Health and Human Serves (DHHS) and implemented through a contract with the University of New England (UNE). Utilizing the Healthy Maine Partnership agencies statewide as access points for SNAP-Ed delivery, we strive to educate Maine SNAP recipients on low-cost, healthy eating and active lifestyles.
HCCA is one of 27 local Healthy Maine Partnerships and receives funds from the Fund for a Healthy Maine.
HCCA's mission is to convene people, organizations, and communities to collaborate on quality of life and public health issues.
HCCA serves the southern Kennebec County towns of Augusta, Chelsea, Farmingdale, Fayette, Gardiner, Hallowell, Litchfield, Manchester, Monmouth, Mount Vernon, Pittston, Randolph, Readfield, Vienna, West Gardiner, Wayne, Windsor, Winthrop, and Richmond in Sagadahoc County. |
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