Local Foods and School News from
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area
Summer 2016
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Upcoming Events
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Slow Money Maine
Third Thursdays Odd Months 1:00-4:00pm
Location: Christ Church 2 Dresden Avenue, Gardiner
SNAP-Ed Cooking Matters Pop Up Store Tour
Faith Christian Food Bank, Gardiner
July 8 1-2pm
To arrange a pop up tour for your SNAP-eligible group, contact Emily Knipp
at 207.588.5081 or
eknipp@mcd.org
SNAP-Ed at the Farmers' Market
Farmers' Market at Mill Park, Augusta
July 19 2-3pm
Gardiner Farmers' Market
July 20 2-3pm
Farm to Table Dinner
Market Square Park
August 14, 2016
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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
SNAP/EBT, WIC, Credit & Debit, ME Harvest Bucks Accepted
Farmer Veteran Coalition of Maine Farmers Market
Turnpike Mall
Wednesdays 10am-6pm
Special Events: Saturdays
10am-1pm June 25, July 2, August 27, September 17, October 15
Viles Arboretum Farmers' Market
153 Hospital Street
Year round
Fridays 2-5pm
Gardiner
Gardiner Common
Wednesdays 3-6pm
SNAP/EBT, Credit & Debit accepted
Wayne
Route 133 next to the Post Office
Memorial Day-Labor Day weekend
Saturdays 9am-noon
Other Options:
Crown o' Maine Organic Cooperative,
f
or worksites looking to create their own mini farmers' market, buying clubs may be just what you need. To learn more visit
Somerset County
Madison
Main Street Park
May 1-October 30
Sundays 10am-2pm
SNAP/EBT & ME Harvest Bucks accepted
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
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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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Michael Hall
Augusta Downtown Alliance
Augusta, ME
Virgel Hammonds
Knowledge Works
West Gardiner, ME
Thom Harnett
Mayor, City of Gardiner
Gardiner, ME
Brian Heath
Combined Benefits United
Hallowell, ME
Kala Ladenheim, Secretary
Gardiner, ME
Barbara Moss, DO
Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency
Family Medicine Institute
Augusta, ME
Eliza Quill
Bread of Life Veterans Shelter
Augusta, ME
Emilie van Eeghen, Vice Chair
MaineGeneral Community Care
Waterville, ME
Tom Warren, Treasurer
Kennebec Valley YMCA
Augusta, ME
Frederick A. White, PhD, Chair
Private practice psychologist
Augusta, 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.
Please provide 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 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:
- Maine Farm to School Network, Coordinator
- National Farm to School Network Northeast Regional Steering Committee, Maine State Lead
- Maine Farm to Institution Leadership Team, Coordinator
- Reducing Food Waste & Increasing Access to Fresh, Local Foods in Southern Kennebec County, Project Coordinator
- FoodCorps Service Site, Supervisor
- Capital Area Food Council, Convener & Sponsor
- Maine Network of Community Food Councils, Member
- SNAP-Ed Provider
- Former USDA Farm to School Grantee
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| Help Keep FoodCorps in Our Schools |
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HCCA Celebrates 5 Years of FoodCorps Programming and hopes to keep this valuable service in our communities.
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| Digging In at Wayne Elementary School |
HCCA is celebrating 5 years as a FoodCorps Service Site. In that time FoodCorps Service Members serving with HCCA have:
- reached 7,881 kids
- had 160 local farmer/producer interactions
- logged 642 volunteer hours
- engaged 164 volunteers
- brought 324 pounds of local produce into classrooms
- served 512 pounds of local produce in school meals
- ...and much, much more
Service Members Laura Budde, Lily Joslin, Andrea Snow, Caroline Moore, and Jada Wensman have been connecting kids with real food to help them grow up healthy by teaching hands-on agricultural-based nutrition education, building and tending school gardens, and working with school nutrition programs to source more fresh, local foods for school meals in an effort to teach food origins, healthy food choices, and cooking and gardening skills.
Please help keep FoodCorps in our schools by donating now. Visit HCCA's FoodCorps GoFundMe page by clicking on the link below.
HCCA is grateful for all of the community and philanthropic support received over the years to keep FoodCorps going locally. This year the need is a bit more as longstanding revenue sources are no longer available and the cost obligation is increasing.
HCCA is asking for your support in keeping FoodCorps in the Capital Area going. Please make a donation today.
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| HCCA Receives Continued Funding to Support Farm to Institution in Maine |
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HCCA, on behalf of the Maine Farm to School Network, Receives $135,000 to Support Farm to Institution in Maine
 Healthy Communities of the Capital Area is the fiscal home to the Maine Farm to School Network providing staffing and oversight. The Network was recently awarded generous support from the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation to continue building Maine's cross-sector Farm to Institution movement. Farm to School in K-12 Schools is consistently growing across Maine and the nation. More recently, other institutions such as colleges and health care sites, are beginning to source more local foods for meals in an effort to improve health and support the local economy.
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| Increasing Access to Local Foods in Southern Kennebec County |
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Nutrition Educator Lily Joslin teaches CARA participants how to eat healthy on a budget using fresh, local foods.
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Healthy Eating Plate Brainstorm
Upon comparing USDA MyPlate and the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, CARA participants brainstormed foods that would fit into different food groups. |
As part of HCCA's Reducing Food Waste and Increasing Access to Fresh, Local Foods project, Lily Joslin delivered nutrition education to participants in Criminogenic Addiction & Recovery Academy (CARA), a program at the Kennebec County Correctional Facility that seeks to help repeat drug offenders break the cycle of rearrest by intensively addressing substance abuse
and criminal thinking.
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Quinoa Salad
One CARA participant mentioned quinoa as a grain she loved, which was unfamiliar to most of her classmates. This quinoa salad, made in a subsequent class, includes foods from every "Healthy Plate" food group. |
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CARA's "Healthy
Eating" sessions focused on developing healthy
relationships
with food and understanding how to eat and feed a family
well on a budget. When CARA participants complete the in-custody portion of their year-long program, they lea
ve with new skills and fresh understanding about how health and wellness can help them build a better life on the outside.
This educational partnership between HCCA and the Kennebec County Correctional Facility, funded by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, is part of a larger project supporting a local gleaning and food waste reduction initiative.
Participant Quote:
"The most memorable part of the class was learning all the recipes we could do with our children that are healthy AND simple, and learning how easy it is to make better, healthier food for myself and my kids. Thank you so much for coming and doing this class with us!" ~ CARA program participant
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Submitted by Lily Joslin
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| Renee Page Receives Community Service Award |
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Renee Page recognized by the Kennebec Sheriff's Office
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Renee Page (4th from left) accepting her award |
Renee Page was awarded the Kennebec Sheriff's Office Community Service Award at the Department's Annual Awards Banquet. Renee was recognized for her work in collaboration with the
Kennebec Restorative Community Harvest. The KRCH teaches hands on agricultural skills to inmates who help manage the department's 5 acre farm as part of the correctional facility's community service program. Produce harvested from the farm is then donated to hunger relief organizations. Renee worked with the program to help get some of the harvest donated to area schools. With support from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, HCCA is now collaborating with the KRCH to identify area farms for gleaning by inmates at the end of the harvest. That food will also be donated to those who need it most along with nutrition education. Additionally, inmates will have the opportunity to learn food processing and nutrition skills. To learn more about the project or if you are a farm that would like to participate, contact Renee Page at
rpage@mcd.org.
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| HCCA Annual Meeting Attendees Learn About Local Foods and Nutrition |
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HCCA Annual Meeting attendees participated in interactive displays by staff
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HCCA SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educators Emily Knipp (L) and Rachael Reynolds (R) conduct a pop-up grocery store tour.
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Participants at HCCA's Annual Meeting took part in a carousel style tour highlighting some of the organization's most successful projects over the past year. Meeting attendees rotated among interactive displays to learn about SNAP Education, substance abuse prevention, local foods, meaningful engagement, and more!
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| FoodCorps Service Member Jada Wensman (L) and Assistant Director Renee Page (R) lead a taste test activity and update participants on HCCA's local foods initiatives. |
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| Cooking Matters with Togus Veterans |
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Visit HCCA's
website to learn more about SNAP-Ed in the Capital Area
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Cook Off Judges: Togus VA Directors and Dietitians |
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Cook Off Awards Designed by SNAP Educator Emily Knipp
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HCCA SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educator Emily Knipp recently finished a series of
Cooking Matters classes at the Togus VA Hospital. Veterans developed
shopping and cooking skills and learned how to eat healthy on a
limited budget. Participants received hands on experience by cooking healthy recipes they can use at home. The series ended with a Cook Off, judged by VA directors and dietitians. The winning team made a fresh vegetable pizza and a green smoothie and took home a coveted Fork and Spoon award. Along with learning cooking, shopping, and budgeting skills, the group of seven veterans lost 40 pounds collectively over the six week period! This program has been a great success at the VA; another series is planned for early fall.
Quotes from the Judges:
"Cooking classes provide an exciting, creative way to establish a foundation of healthy eating habits. As a staff dietitian and judge, it was wonderful to see the 'fruits of their labor', empowering veterans to postively self-manage their chronic disease." ~ Lindsley Getchell, RD
"I thought it was a wonderful experience. The veterans were genuinely engaged and proud of the meals they prepared. A great job by everyone involved. The best part of course was the judging, since everything prepared was not only nutritious but tasted delicious!" ~ Daniel Howard, Acting Associate Medical Director
"Prior to participating as a judge, I was not aware the Cooking Matters Class existed as an opportunity for veterans. After learning more about the program, I fully support participation. I saw not only how powerful the class was with teaching veterans healthy eating and cooking habits, but I saw the expressions on the participants' faces and their body language. The participants were smiling, relaxed, confident, and truly proud of their accomplishments. The value in this is priceless." ~ Jennifer Bover, Veterans Service Center Manager
~ Submitted by Emily Knipp
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| Renee Page Presents at National Farm to Cafeteria Conference |
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Renee Page Represents HCCA and the Maine Farm to School Network in Madison, WI
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| Renee Page presents at Farm to Cafeteria Conference Poster Session |
Renee Page, HCCA Assistant Director and Coordinator for the Maine Farm to School Network attended the 8th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Madison, WI where she hosted a poster session titled, Local Foods: Key to improving nutrition, reducing obesity; A multi-pronged approach. Renee also co-led a workshop along with VT farm to school colleagues on Building and Sustaining Effective Statewide Networks to Catalyze Change. To learn more about farm to school and local foods efforts in southern Kennebec County and across Maine, contact Renee at
rpage@mcd.org.
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| FoodCorps Helps Build New School Garden |
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FoodCorps Service Member Jada Wensman helps lay out the raised bed frames. |
HCCA's FoodCorps Service Member Jada Wensman helps build new raised bed gardens at TC Hamlin School in Randolph. Special thanks to Mr. Ellis for helping build the garden frame and to Lapointe Lumber donating the lumber.
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| Measure twice, cut once! |
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| Local Schools Pass Revised Health Policies |
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HCCA Assists Local Schools to Revise Tobacco, Substance Use, and Wellness Policies to Protect Student Health
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SAMHS School Substance Use Policy Guide |
Augusta and RSU 38 Maranacook Area Schools recently revisited their Substance Use policies to ensure the language supports emerging substance use issues and that consequences for policy violations support student health while discouraging substance use. HCCA offered technical assistance, including model policy language as the districts adopted policies that address local needs.
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 for Augusta School Campuses
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| Free Tobacco-Free Campus signage from PTM |
Augusta and Winthrop Schools worked collaboratively with Healthy Communities of the Capital Area to develop model tobacco policy language that addresses emerging trends in tobacco such as e-cigarettes and vaping and includes alternatives to suspension for policy violators. The revised policies meet Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine's model policy guidelines, qualifying them for free Tobacco Free Campus signage.
RSUs 2 & 38 Revise Wellness Policies to meet Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act 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 content, communication, and implementation? HCCA supported RSUs 2 (Dresden, Hall-Dale, Monmouth, Richmond) and 38 (Maranacook Area Schools) in revising their policies to meet the new requirements to help combat childhood obesity and make healthier choices easier to make.
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| Seeking Recreational Anglers - Snap-a-Striper |
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Participating anglers qualify for prizes valued at more than $2,500 from L.L. Bean
Recreational anglers will tell you, pound-for-pound, few fish fight like a striped bass. A premier target of Maine sport fishermen, stripers have long been a cornerstone of Maine's recreational saltwater fishery. But
catches have declined dramatically in recent years - with landings down by 90%, according to some estimates - leaving both scientists and fishermen searching for answers. To that end, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) is partnering with the Maine chapter of The Coastal Conservation Association to launch a citizen science initiative called
Snap-a-Striper.
The program is a data collection effort that aims to compile photos of live-released and legally kept striped bass caught in Maine waters. Anglers are also asked to save and freeze the heads of legally harvested fish for further lab analysis.
GMRI is recruiting anglers, fishing guides, and captains to participate in the study. Beyond supporting a great cause, participants will also have the opportunity to win more than $2,500 in prizes donated by L.L. Bean.
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| Help Bring Generation Found to Augusta |
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Purchase your ticket today!
RATING: NR
GENRE: Documentary
RELEASE: 2016
DURATION: 84
From the creators of the groundbreaking film, THE ANONYMOUS PEOPLE, comes GENERATION FOUND, a powerful story about one community coming together to ignite a youth addiction recovery revolution in their hometown.
Devastated by an epidemic of addiction, Houston faced the reality of burying and locking up its young people at an alarming rate. And so in one of the largest cities in America, visionary counselors, law school dropouts, aspiring rock musicians, retired football players, oil industry executives, and church leaders came together to build the world's largest peer-driven youth and family recovery community.
Independently filmed over the course of two years, GENERATION FOUND takes an unprecedented and intimate look at how a system of treatment centers, sober high schools, alternative peer groups, and collegiate recovery programs can exist in concert to intervene early and provide a real and tested long-term alternative to the "War on Drugs." It is not only a deeply personal story, but one with real-world utility for communities struggling with addiction worldwide.
Help bring the new documentary film
Generation Found
to the cinema in Augusta. If Movie Captain, Darren Ripley, can sell just 65 more tickets, Gathr Films will host a showing. The goal is to host a showing in Augusta for Recovery Month in September.
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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 |
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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 a FoodCorps Service Member and is home to the Maine Farm to School Network and Maine Farm to Insitution. HCCA is a former USDA Farm to School and current Maine Ag in the Classroom, Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, 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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