PORTLAND

Harvard Pilgrim plus paper give local food a boost

Twelve Maine food programs have received a total of $100,000 from the Maine Local Foods grants program, a partnership of the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation and the Maine Sunday Telegram.

The grants program was launched in April. It solicited proposals from organizations involved in local food distribution, and capped individual grants at $15,000. More than 75 applications seeking a total of more than $900,000 total came in.

“There is no doubt that Maine-grown and sourced food is a priority here,” Karen Voci, president of the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, said in a press release. “We are thrilled to support the efforts of so many organizations as they bring fresh local foods to market and create opportunities for more people across the state to eat healthy.”

The winning recipients and amounts are: •

••Cultivating Community, Portland, for garden construction and scholarship, $15,000

• FARMS (Focus on Agriculture in Rural Maine Schools), Damariscotta, for cooking equipment for teaching, $10,600

• Food AND Medicine, Brewer, farmers market expansion, $14,600

• Kennebec Restorative Community Harvest Program, Augusta, for garden equipment for prison garden, $5,650

• My Place Teen Center, Westbrook, for cooking equipment for teaching, $11,080

• Old Orchard Beach Community Food Pantry, Old Orchard Beach, for cooking program pilot, $2,500

• Oxford Hills Community Garden, Norway, for development of a food forest, $8,500

• Pearson’s Town Farm at Saint Joseph’s College, Standish, for garden expansion for college food service and food pantry, $8,420

• Somerset Grist Mill Food Hub, Skowhegan, for food education program for children, $2,000

• University of Maine Cooperative Extension, South Paris, for development of a teaching garden, $8,345

• Washington County Food and Fuel Alliance, Machias, for food pantry equipment and education, $10,000

• Yarmouth Community Garden, Yarmouth, for garden irrigation equipment, $3,100

For more information, visit harvardpilgrim.org/foundation.

Gardiner

Help shape the menu for a new food co-op and café

The Gardiner Food Co-op & Café, set to open later this year, is seeking community participation to shape its menu of local foods. Submit your best recipe for soup or specialty grilled cheese sandwich for a chance to see it featured on the café menu.

To enter your recipe in the contest, fill out an entry form by July 12. (Find contest rules at www.klfi.org or call Véronique at 207-485-0175). Or bring a spoon to the Gardiner’s Farmer’s Market on July 19, where the recipes will be taste-tested and you can help pick a winner.

— From staff reports