WALDO COUNTY — Waldo County Bounty (WCB) has announced the impacts of its 2023 food access programming. Waldo County Bounty works to ensure that everyone has access to fresh, nutritious food grown on local farms, and, since its founding in 2020, it has distributed more than 207,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables to local hunger relief organizations, including food pantries and soup kitchens.

In 2023, the Give & Take program established 19 Give & Take stands, adding new locations in Winterport, Stockton Springs, and Freedom. Advertised with hand-painted road signs, the stands provide a place where anyone can give homegrown food and anyone can take it at no cost. More than 10,000 pounds of produce and 1800 vegetable seedlings moved through the 19 stands.

“I love having a Give & Take stand in Frankfort,” said Michele Christle, in a Waldo County Bounty news release. Christle “Grows a Row” for the program. “I love tending our garden, giving things we’ve grown to people in our community, and using the opportunity to talk with my kids about nutrition, inequality, local food, sharing, mutual aid, and community.”

The program also improved eight Give & Take locations by adding sturdy, locally built “share sheds.” Volunteers built the sheds, including members of the GO Logic architecture and construction firm, with materials donated by Viking Lumber. Additionally, Maine State Prison Woodshop constructed eight new road signs.

The Veggies For All Gleaning program harvested close to 22,000 pounds of diverse crops for food pantries in 2023. WCB intends to expand the program in 2024.

“We moved a lot of high quality produce from fields to pantries and Give & Take stands thanks to dedicated WCB volunteers this year,” says Sophia Lindsay, Johnny’s Selected Seeds Community Harvest Coordinator. “It’s a wonderful program!”

Waldo County Bounty’s third core program, Farm-to-Pantry, distributed more than 25,000 pounds of locally grown produce to food pantries and soup kitchens countywide in 2023. Daybreak Growers Alliance is a founding partner of the Farm-to-Pantry program and works closely with farmers to grow in-demand crops as requested by food pantries.

“The generous produce provided for our neighbors by Waldo County Bounty are beautiful, farmers market-quality fruits and vegetables,” says Sarah Cole, manager of the Greater Bay Area Ministerium Food Cupboard. “They are some of the most nutritious foods that we give out and our neighbors are always excited and deeply grateful when they see the colorful fresh produce.”

Waldo County Bounty also worked to address emerging needs in the local hunger relief landscape last year. In partnership with Daybreak Growers Alliance, WCB sought to address one of the biggest challenges in providing hunger relief in rural Waldo County—delivering food to those who need it most, countywide—through the Western Farmbox initiative. The project provided farm boxes to 28 households in western Waldo County for 12 weeks, making deliveries to anyone who could not make the weekly distributions.

“I have rheumatoid arthritis and have found I need to eat healthy for it,” one recipient told WCB. “With Waldo County Bounty, I have been able to enjoy farm fresh veggies and feel so much better inside.”

Waldo County Bounty is gearing up for another year of helping more people eat healthy, locally grown foods. Learn how to volunteer or donate to support its mission by visiting waldocountybounty.org and following WCB on Facebook and Instagram.