By Holli Cederholm On a given day, Alice Slater wakes, kicks up the fire in the woodstove, sets a kettle to boil, and makes tea. She might play an instrument, sing a new song, or send an email about an upcoming contradance she helps organize. Then, she heads outside to get moving: chopping firewood, cutting
By Jennifer Wilhelm Building community is something farmers Valerie Woodhouse and Eli Hersh of Honey Field Farm in Norwich, Vermont, take seriously. From hosting engaging onsite events to creating a supportive work environment for their farm crew, making their farm a place where people gather to celebrate organic growing is a top priority. And a
By Tim King Nearly a quarter century ago, Jim Hanna, who is now the executive director of the Cumberland County Food Security Council, met with a group of newly arrived Americans to discuss their food security needs. These new community members from Somalia were Muslim and had dietary needs that Hanna was unfamiliar with at
By Sonja Heyck-Merlin Farmers Rhiannon Hampson and Gregg Stiner joined the longstanding agricultural tradition of Thomaston, Maine, in 2018 when they closed on their 80-acre farm off coastal Route 1, close to the St. George River. They were told that the site of what is now their Grace Pond Farm has been farmed since the
By C.J. Walke, MOFGA’s Orchard Program Manager As we move into 2025, the Maine Heritage Orchard, MOFGA’s 10-acre preservation and educational orchard, is well rooted in the reclaimed soils of a former gravel pit. Terraces constructed to hold back steep eroding slopes have stabilized and are home to nearly half the orchard’s apple trees, with
By John Welton, Certification and Quality Specialist with MOFGA Certification Services MOFGA certifies seaweed as organic for human consumption and livestock feed, and we refer to any seaweed intended for human consumption as a “sea vegetable,” or “sea veg.” “Kelp” is a catch-all term that could refer to any of the seaweeds growing in Maine’s
By Jordanna Feely and Rebecca Rundquist Much like food banks, firewood banks are designed to meet a basic human need: in this case, it’s warmth during the cold season. Firewood banks can provide a safety net for people in Maine who rely on heating their homes with wood but find themselves suddenly unable to access
By Tim King The Kearsarge Food Hub, in Bradford, New Hampshire, will celebrate its 10th year in 2025. Since its founding as Sweet Beet Farm a decade ago it has been transforming the concept of what a food hub is. Many food hubs center their activities on being what the United States Department of Agriculture
By Sonja Heyck-Merlin Possibilities greet customers as they step into Replenova Farm’s store and take-out counter on busy Route 136 in Durham, Maine. And they change with the seasons. In the summer, there are cucumbers to pickle, jars of fresh local strawberry jam ready to be slathered onto a slice of freshly baked bread, and
By Martha Leggat, Growing to Give Education Coordinator If you arrive at Growing to Give early enough on a summer morning, you’ll find a quiet moment to savor the brilliant purple amaranth, the 6-foot-tall sunflowers, and the dahlias of every color and variety. You’ll observe contrasting rows of companion-planted vegetables filling the garden beds and
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Contact Jennifer Wilhelm jwilhelm@mofga.org
