Maine Senior FarmShare Program Preparing for New Season

AUGUSTA – Maine’s Senior FarmShare program is gearing up for another season. Eligible seniors will once again be able to get free fruit, vegetables and herbs from local Maine farmers.

 

Last year, more than 19,000 seniors and 130 farmers took part in the program, which provides $50 worth of produce to each participant. Qualifying seniors contract directly with local farmers for pickup or delivery.

 

The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered in Maine by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF). Last year, Maine received just over $1 million to operate the program. The allocation for this year has not been finalized, but USDA anticipates receiving about $20 million to run the program nationwide, the same as in 2012.

 

“Our local farmers are the bread and butter of Maine’s agricultural community,” said Governor Paul R. LePage. “This funding will be used to leverage support to promote and support our farmers while helping our most vulnerable citizens.”

 

Application letters are now going out to farmers who took part in the program in the past. “We’re hoping for another strong participation level, so we can serve people all over the state,” said Julie Waller, the FarmShare program manager at DACF. “The people in the program, especially folks on fixed incomes, really appreciate the wholesome food the farmers provide.”

 

A survey of last summer’s participants turned up dozens of glowing reviews about the quality of both the food and the service. “The produce sure helps me get by,” wrote one senior.” I have only 42 percent of my heart, so picking berries is out of the question, but I can go to the farmer and get them.” Another wrote, “The farm stand where I shopped was very neat and clean. The people were friendly and helpful. I look forward to the next growing season. There is nothing more delicious than a red-ripe tomato from a local farm.”

 

To qualify for a Senior FarmShare, a participant must be a Maine resident, at least 60 years old and with a household income of not more than 185 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines. Last year’s thresholds were $20,665 for singles and $27,991 for a two-person household. 

 

DACF Commissioner Walt Whitcomb said the program has proven to be an asset for farmers and seniors. “Under our innovative approach, farmers receive the $50 per customer in the spring so the program provides them with working capital for the summer growing season,” he said. “And it helps ensure that Maine seniors have access to healthy, nourishing food.”

 

Participating farmers offer a variety of methods for providing produce. Seniors pick it up at a specific farmers’ market, or at the farm or farm stand. Some farmers offer home delivery. Eligible produce includes fresh, unprocessed fruit, vegetables and herbs.

 

Seniors may contract the Area Agency on Aging at 877-353-3771 to find participating farmers once the list is complete, probably by mid-March. The list also will be available at www.getrealmaine.com. 

Facebook updates

If you are on Facebook, I do almost daily updates there....
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dexterfarmproject/

GrowME Sprouts and Spurts!

Local collaboration will provide classroom activities

Dover Foxcroft -- While it might be difficult to think about gardening and farming in February, a group of area volunteers are doing just that as they plan this year’s GrowME program being offered to K-3 teachers and schools in the Piscataquis County area. The program is the result of collaboration between Valley Grange, PCSWCD (Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District) and UMaine Piscataquis County Extension.

The program aims to utilize local volunteers who will work with teachers to schedule an agricultural activity in their classrooms during Maine Agriculture Week (March 18-33). Joanna Tarrazi, Executive Director of PCSWCD is particularly excited over the “hands on” aspect of the activities. “Thanks to our rural nature in Piscataquis County, we don’t have the ‘nature deficit’ that some more urban areas experience,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be offering our kids an opportunity to involve all their senses and get some hands on learning.”

Walter Boomsma, program director for Valley Grange agrees. His favorite part is visiting second graders at PCES to make butter. “We have fun and the kids almost don’t realize they are learning--some have even asked for instructions and then made butter at home as a family activity.” Volunteers will also offer seed planting activities and create animal graphs. “We also spend some time just talking with the kids—many have chickens and gardens and it’s fun to share experiences.”

Boomsma notes that the program is expanding this year to include schools in Dexter, but there should be no shortage of volunteers and resources thanks to the collaboration. “We’ve got master gardeners and farmers available through Extension Programs and PCSWCD includes partners and resources that are committed to good stewardship. Our goal is to keep this informal, local, and a true partnership between our schools, teachers, and volunteers. It’s not so much that we have a program to offer—it’s more about working together to make good use of our resources. Our volunteers will have the sort of agricultural experience and background to be especially relevant to students while providing insight into the importance of agriculture in our area.”

Those interested in volunteering are invited to a meeting on February 19^th at 3 PM at PCSWCD in Dover Foxcroft where guidelines for volunteers and activity materials will be reviewed.

This year’s offer to local schools is for a GrowME volunteer to visit for about 20 minutes and work with students on a simple, grade appropriate activity. Teachers and administrators who are interested need only furnish contact information: teacher’s name-email address and grade. Interested teachers and volunteers may email grange@boomsmaonline.com or call Joanna Tarrazi at PCSWCD, 564-2321. Additional information is also available at http://growmehelp.wordpress.com. 

Applications for On-Farm Energy Initiative due March 15

Bangor, ME – February 1, 2013 – USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist Juan Hernandez has announced a second signup period for the On-Farm Energy Initiative, funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. 

Potential applicants should contact their local NRCS office soon to find out if they are eligible for this Initiative. Applications for the second ranking period of 2013 are due at the NRCS offices by close of business on March 15, 2013. This Initiative offers technical and financial assistance.

Through the On-Farm Energy Initiative, NRCS and producers develop Agricultural Energy Management Plans (AgEMP), or farm energy audits, that assess energy consumption on an operation. There are two separate AgEMP options: (1) for a landscape component, that assesses equipment and farming processes, and (2) a farm headquarters component, that assesses power usage and efficiencies in livestock buildings, maple syrup operations, and similar facilities to support the farm operation.

NRCS then uses audit data to develop energy conservation practice recommendations. Clients may apply for financial assistance through the On-Farm Energy Initiative to implement the recommended practices.

For more information go to www.me.nrcs.usda.gov or contact your nearest USDA Service Center, listed online at http://offices.usda.gov or in the telephone book under United States Government, Agriculture Department.

this week's updates

This weeks updates:
Hi all,
I was planning on a meeting tonight, but between the extreme cold and Board members with the flu,  Roger and I decided that it should wait.
BUT if anyone wants to stop in or call me for updates and decisions please please call me!!!!

If you are on Facebook I have consistently been adding updates and pictures plus adding picture to our online photo album.  All the links are below!

- Furnace work is going well now and may be going as soon as this Friday for parts of the building.  Mike from MAG is very thorough and likes to do things the 'right' way, not just the easy way.  He really wants to be able to put heat upstairs and said it will be about an extra $1000, but in the meantime is putting in the thermostat wire and piping upstairs so it can go in later.  It is pretty cold up there and not much heat comes up from downstairs, and will be even less when the fire doors go in.

- Electrical is coming along, but CMP has not come yet to switch over to the new panel so many things are not working yet or only partly working.  Greg has bugged them and they are supposed to be here this week (maybe even today).

- Drywall is mostly done, taped and mudded and primed.   Painting on those walls will begin very soon.  I am happy with how well Marie and her company has done on the joints and finishing off the drywall.  She has had a heck of a time to get it dry in between because the torpedo heat puts off so much moisture.  Jonathan keeps the torpedo heater going 24-7 and goes in at night and weekends filling it.  It has a thermostat on it, so it works fairly well even in this cold (downstairs)

- Hardwood for floors is in the kiln and should be ready in a few more weeks.  John from Yoders stopped in the other day to check on the building and talked with Jonathan.  The cedar we got there for the refrigeration wall is nice.  Jonathan does have to apply a fire protective coat; so I hope it doesn't change color much

- I heard back from John of Alpha Omega Masonry and his quote is below any others.  He met with me on Christmas Eve and Jonathan made himself available for any questions that John might have.  I am waiting on some pictures of more work similar to what our project is, but I liked him.  I also asked for some customer testimonials and telephone numbers to call and ask what they thought.  This is too big of a project to go with, without pictures and testimonials. This is the 3rd quote I needed for the Grant and it is the best one.

- Fred, Pat and I went to Tillsons yesterday and choose paint colors for the kitchen, sink room, ice cream room and upstairs hallway.  I have the chips at the office if you want to see them.  Darlene and I choose the first colors online, but when I went from one computer monitor to another they changed a lot.  So I took the floor tile and matched 'em up in person.

- Internet and telephone are both working now in the office.  I have a telephone set I took in for now and although we haven't published the number, there were a couple dozen phone messages that were telemarketers.  WHAT THE HECK? 

- Tentative Meeting with Keith and Jonathan tomorrow

- Thats is it for now, please call anytime or drop by!!!  We will shoot for a meeting next week when it warms up a little bit.  I know I forgot a lot, but you have to stop by and see all the work completed! 

judy

-- Judy Wilbur Craig
Dexter Community Farm Project Coordinator
website:  www.DexterFarmProject.com
photo album:  http://picasaweb.google.com/fossageneralstore
Blog:  http://DexterFarmProject.blogspot.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/dexterfarmproject
Fossa General Store:  207.924.DEXTer (924.3398)
 
Photos from our photo album on picasa

Friday updates:

upstairs is cleaned!

If you were wondering, dinner today for the Charleston crew and us, was Pizza Hut Pizza that Rich went and got in Newport.
Today is the last day that the crew is working for awhile and 3 guys came today in addition to Ron the Supervisor... 
They got a lot of odds and ends done that needed to be done. 

-- Scraped all the studs that had foam insulation on them upstairs. 
-- Moved and organized all the wood upstairs we had left from various projects and will use for other things, but now we know what we have.

-- Swept all the floors; clean all the garage and bagged it ready for the dump
-- Carried a bunch of heavy blackboards from 1st floor to 2nd floor
-- helped Jonathan Wilbur downstairs
-- cleaned the sidewalk of ice, the best it could be..... All in 4 hours!!! They do a GREAT job!!!

I HAVE INTERNET AT THE STORE!!!!!

Thanks Sam at Fairpoint for the great!

Yippe Doodle!

Before purchasing new, I thought I would check with our FB friends, looking for kitchen equipment for the Fossa General Store. We are NOT going to be a restaurant, but we will be cooking/baking to sell in the store as well as hold classes for all ages. We will also be renting the Certified Commercial Kitchen out to farmers who don't want or can't invest in a $30+ kitchen.

Some of the needs:
Kitchen Aide mixer (doesn't have to be new, but working)
commercial pots and pans & racks... 

2 bay, 3 bay sinks, hand sink, utility sink and even a toilet...
-- or if you have something you think we might need, let me know.

I have priced out new for all of the these, but maybe someone has a deal and we can buy local or even donations are accepted :)

All the money saved on these types of items, means more buying power for the big items.

Thursday update and thanks to volunteers

Thursday update:  1st Corn beef & Cabbage 'full on dinner' was awesome!  Wow Richard Frank, you out did yourself on this one!!! The Charleston crew, Darlene, Rich and I all sat down for a huge dinner and no one really wanted to go back to work.

Today: 2 trips to Dexter Lumber for insulation today, a couple trips to Tillson True Value.  The crew put insulation up on the 1st floor and Contractor J. Wilbur was going right behind them hanging drywall!!! Kitchen area is going fast.  With only 2 crew members & supervisor Rob and Jonathan they have gotten so much done today!

The crew also cleaned off the deck of ice and tried to de-ice the sidewalk.  I enjoy working with the Charleston crew very much, as do other DRDC board members.

For those of you who don't know, Charleston Correctional Facility is a minimum security prison and they provide free labor to many non-profit organizations and municipalities in Central Maine.  The crew members come with a supervisor and range from 1 or 2 to a crew, to up to 5 (as we have had) or big jobs even 2 crews.  

Since we started our project just over 2 1/2 years ago, the Charleston crews have volunteered hundreds of hours helping us to create our store.  They started when the old building needed heavy duty gutting on all 3 floors and 2 crews came and I was there long enough to get them started and then left.

Last winter a crew of an average of 4 plus supervisor came to tear out layers of the floor on the 2nd story and then laid subfloor and then a beautiful hardwood floor using both new wood donated by a farmer Brown and recycled flooring from the building.  From then on, I have worked along with them personally and have enjoyed earning trust & respect for one another and become a sorta mother figure for some of the younger guys.  They tell me their stories, in their own time, and say how stupid it was and in some cases I have even said “yup, that was stupid”! … and we laugh in a knowing way.

This week, (a new crew) came and have been insulating, helping with dry wall and tomorrow a lot of different tasks and already they want to bring their families back when the store is open.  We, DRDC & I are very grateful for all they help that they give, but also for the respect we give one another and getting to know their stories and how they feel good about 'giving back' by working in the community and helping nonprofits.  I enjoy each day working with these men and knowing that we all are helping one another, and HOPEFULLY it will be a turning point in their lives.  But we must remember when judging and not knowing the whole story, "there but for the grace of God, go I".

Sorry I went on, but I felt it was worth mentioning….