"360 boxes were moved before 12 noon" Erin tells me, as she compiles the multiple sheets and clipboards notating which towns folks arrived from. The official start time for this No-Cost Special Food Distribution was actually 12. She reads some of the towns listed outloud.
"Hartland, Bowerbank, Barnard, Jackman, Newport, Corinna, Exeter, Kingsbury, Wellington, Pittsfield, Williamsburg, Corinth, Milo, Brownville, Dexter, Ebeemee Township, Dover-Foxcroft, Ripley, Garland, LaGrange, Charleston, Cambridge, Parkman. And, we had multiple cars today picking up for multiple households."
"And the volunteers! They kicked butt." We had volunteers coming from Greenville to Bangor. Volunteers representing Northern Lights Mayo, United Way, and EMDC came to lend a hand. Foxcroft Academy students, Center Theatre's three Summer Americorops VISTA's also pitched in and were a lot of fun to have around.
"We probably did an average of two cars a minute", Steve says.
That's a lot of cars, a lot of households, and quite a distance to travel.
And if the amount of cars in such a short time isn't telling enough about our current social landscape, the gratitude and visible tears shed about receiving this kind of help might be.
Some folks who were receiving food boxes for the first time, stated they felt ashamed or embarrassed, and others expressed deep gratitude and appreciation.
PR Food Center's response? This is a human experience. Everyone needs help. Everyone has a right to food. Period.
Steve, in the midst of parking the large van says, "Volunteers kept telling me about all the people who were just amazed that they didn't have to prove their need. That no questions were asked. The disbelief was startling. It bothers me that people have to feel that way to get food. That it can't just be a normal thing."
Erin nods. "There's no shame in needing help."
We'd like to thank all of the volunteers who helped move food today, the Piscataquis County Ice Arena for sharing their parking lot, the USDA and Pineland Farms for the contents of the food box. And big, genuine, real, gratitude for folks coming through the line. Though the circumstances that brought folks in today are in fact a combination of elements, much of it systemic and absolutely unfortunate, the connection and genuine exchange of human-to-human today did feel like fortune. The more we offer mutual support systems in our communities, the more it becomes normal, the more it becomes habit and the less times you, a friend, or a stranger have to reflexively prove themselves or fight shame and stigma to get food.
SANGERVILLE — The tradition of farming and the opportunities of the internet are being celebrated by the farmers of the East Sangerville Grange, as they announce the opening of their online farmers’ market — the Maine Highlands Farmers’ Market. When the COVID-19 pandemic required social distancing and people began to limit their in-person shopping trips, the East Sangerville Grange farmers began to problem-solve solutions to make their locally sourced produce and products available to the public in a safe, efficient manner.
Over many weeks, the Grange farmers met regularly on Zoom to discuss the possibilities. It quickly became clear that an internet-based farmers’ market would offer customers the ability to remain safely at home while shopping “at” a variety of farms in an online market. The customers would be able to support local farms, while the farmers would be able to provide much-needed, locally produced items to the public. And thus, with the full support of the East Sangerville Grange members, the online Maine Highlands Farmers’ Market was created.
The market had a successful soft opening on the weekend of July 11-12, with the help of their fellow Grange members as their first customers. Now the online market is opening to the general public at mainehighlandsfarmersmarket.com, where customers can explore the offerings of several local farm vendors. Brooke Isham, from Lomah LLC, one of the participating farms said, “Products will range from fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, to meats, honey, cheeses and soaps. Our farmers will update their individual pages on the Market website as products become available.”
Isham noted, “Shoppers will be able to add items to their cart from one, two or all the market farms in the same way they would buy items at a traditional farmers’ market, but now they can shop from home.”
Customers will be able to browse the various farm pages on the market website during the week. Orders will be allowed from 8 a.m. on Saturday through Sunday at 8 p.m., with payments completed on the website through Paypal. Customers will be able pick up their orders, using their reusable shopping bags, at the American Legion Hall in Dover-Foxcroft on Tuesdays between 4 and 6 p.m.
The farmers of old may not have dreamt of something like the online Maine Highlands Farmers’ Market, but they’d certainly appreciate the effort to provide the community a safe, convenient method of buying food and products from a wide range of local farms. Now the local shopper can visit several local farms from across the region within minutes and buy a variety of items from the comfort of the family couch.