Community Farming Program
The Community Farming Program is food justice in action. It provides new American families struggling with food insecurity with the tools and resources to grow healthy, culturally appropriate foods for themselves and their community.
Started in 2014, the Community Farming Program (CFP) began with 20 farmers and has since expanded its growing operations to three different locations in Lewiston, Auburn, and New Gloucester.
This program now supports and assists 135 farmers by offering access to land, technical assistance, and culturally-appropriate on-site training.
Farming is an integral part of the Bantu’s cultural heritage and each farmer is adapting generations of agricultural knowledge to Maine’s unique landscape.
All of the farmers participating in the CFP struggle with food insecurity and 100% use SNAP benefits to help feed their families. The CFP enables these farmers to provide ample fresh produce to for themselves and their families during the growing season. This program is providing the opportunity for individuals struggling with food insecurity to cultivate the skills and means to feed themselves and their families fresh, healthy, chemical-free produce. Beyond just creating access to healthy foods, it allows these new Americans to grow culturally-appropriate foods that they would otherwise not be able to obtain, such as African corn and molokhia (a leafy green).
Started in 2014, the Community Farming Program (CFP) began with 20 farmers and has since expanded its growing operations to three different locations in Lewiston, Auburn, and New Gloucester.
This program now supports and assists 135 farmers by offering access to land, technical assistance, and culturally-appropriate on-site training.
Farming is an integral part of the Bantu’s cultural heritage and each farmer is adapting generations of agricultural knowledge to Maine’s unique landscape.
All of the farmers participating in the CFP struggle with food insecurity and 100% use SNAP benefits to help feed their families. The CFP enables these farmers to provide ample fresh produce to for themselves and their families during the growing season. This program is providing the opportunity for individuals struggling with food insecurity to cultivate the skills and means to feed themselves and their families fresh, healthy, chemical-free produce. Beyond just creating access to healthy foods, it allows these new Americans to grow culturally-appropriate foods that they would otherwise not be able to obtain, such as African corn and molokhia (a leafy green).
Photos by Jan Wilcox
While subsistence growing remains an essential part of how this program empowers Bantu farmers, there is a growing number - approximately 30 farmers - who have begun to distribute and sell their produce.
For the 2017 growing season, the CFP received a $2,500 Farm-to-Pantry grant through Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Mainers Feeding Mainers to provide fresh produce for Gray Food Pantry, Bread of Life Food Pantry, and New Gloucester Food Pantry. In addition, the CFP also sells wholesale produce to North Pownal United Methodist Church’s food pantry. These food pantry partnerships mean that over 400 food insecure families now receive locally-grown, chemical-free vegetables and the CFP participating farmers are fairly compensated for their efforts in feeding their wider communities.
This growing season has seen the cultivation of many mutually beneficial institutional relationships. The CFP is currently providing produce for Bates College, Portland Public Schools, and Saint Joseph’s College. These new partnerships mean that over 12,000 students and faculty will be interacting with more locally-grown food and food that supports new American families each time they enter the dining hall.
Christine Schwartz, Assistant Vice President for Dining at Bates College, said, “We purchased some new and exciting produce which enhanced our summer offerings and in general the product quality was excellent. We look forward to continuing this relationship and building on the foundation we forged this summer.”
For the 2017 growing season, the CFP received a $2,500 Farm-to-Pantry grant through Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Mainers Feeding Mainers to provide fresh produce for Gray Food Pantry, Bread of Life Food Pantry, and New Gloucester Food Pantry. In addition, the CFP also sells wholesale produce to North Pownal United Methodist Church’s food pantry. These food pantry partnerships mean that over 400 food insecure families now receive locally-grown, chemical-free vegetables and the CFP participating farmers are fairly compensated for their efforts in feeding their wider communities.
This growing season has seen the cultivation of many mutually beneficial institutional relationships. The CFP is currently providing produce for Bates College, Portland Public Schools, and Saint Joseph’s College. These new partnerships mean that over 12,000 students and faculty will be interacting with more locally-grown food and food that supports new American families each time they enter the dining hall.
Christine Schwartz, Assistant Vice President for Dining at Bates College, said, “We purchased some new and exciting produce which enhanced our summer offerings and in general the product quality was excellent. We look forward to continuing this relationship and building on the foundation we forged this summer.”
While the majority of farmers who are interested in marketing sell their produce wholesale, there is small but dedicated team of 6-8 farmers that attended weekly farmer’s markets in Auburn, Windham, Yarmouth, and Steep Falls.
Attending these small farmer’s markets has been an important way of building community through direct contact with customers, increasing awareness of the CFP, and providing higher prices for the produce to better support farmer’s financial viability.
Additionally, the CFP is a 2017 sub-recipient of Cultivating Community’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program award, meaning that they received $1,000 worth of incentives to double the value of a consumer’s SNAP benefits when they purchased produce from a farmer’s market. While this applied to all farmer’s markets the CFP participated in, it significantly impacted the purchasing made within the Bantu community. With the ability to double the purchasing power of their SNAP benefits while buying culturally-appropriate foods from their fellow community members, intra-community sales dramatically increased. Another way the program increased accessibility for low-income consumers was by becoming certified to accept WIC vouchers. Accepting WIC vouchers and doubling the value of SNAP benefits is one profound way the CFP is getting high-quality local produce onto the plates of low-income families that would otherwise be unable to access them.
And what do we grow? High-quality, chemical-free vegetables including speciality and rare varieties.
You can find our wholesale price and availability list in our brochure.
In the News:
"Harvest party celebrates food, culture in Auburn," by Amanda Cullen, Sun Journal, September 30, 2017.
"Food Charter Anniversary Celebrated at Whiting Farm," Good Food Council of Lewiston-Auburn, May 10, 2017.
"USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture Awards $8.6 Million in Community Food Projects," USDA, September 30, 2016.
"New Mainers Establish Cooperative Farm in Lewiston," by Andy O'Brien, The Free Press, August 18, 2016.
"Growing Trust," a video about the Somali Bantu Farming Program by the Global Maine Collective, February 2016.
"Somali Bantu celebrate harvest," Sun Journal, Lewiston/Auburn, September 20, 2015
"Somali refugees find a farming oasis," Boston Globe, August 17, 2015.
"Somali transplants put down roots in Maine," Boston Globe, August 17, 2015.
"Non-profit helps families grow their own food," WGME, Lewiston, ME, June 7, 2015.
"Somali Farmers grow new life in Maine," WCSH, Portland, ME, June 6, 2015.
"Lewiston Somalis give new life to New Gloucester, Pownal farms," by Colins Ellis, Sun Media Wire, Lewiston/Auburn, ME, June 3, 2015.
"Somali farmers find a new home in Maine," by Laura McCandlish, Modern Farmer, Nov. 20, 2013
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