Growing Food and Community at Bucksport Regional Health Center

Bucksport Regional Health Center is a local healthcare hub that provides dental, medical, and behavioral health services to thousands of Hancock County residents each year. Since the summer of 2020, the health center also provides fresh produce to the Bucksport community with free community garden beds! In partnership with SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educator Nicole Gurreri, the health center is in its third year of growing and maintaining a free vegetable garden at the main BRHC campus. Twice a month, Nicole also hosts free produce distributions with vegetables from the 2 BRHC garden beds, plus produce gleaned from local farms through the Downeast Gleaning Initiative.

The 2022 season has been the busiest one yet, and the garden beds are thriving! Community members are encouraged to stop by Bucksport Regional Health Center anytime to check out the garden beds and pick some produce to take home. There are beets, zucchini, kale, cucumbers, basil, and much more. We’ve also seen an increase in awareness about the garden and veggie distributions, with lots of Hancock County residents stopping by for produce, recipes, and to chat about gardening and cooking. 

If you’d like more information about this garden project or bi-monthly produce distributions, please contact Nicole Gurreri at  nicole.gurreri@healthyacadia.org, or call (207)-667-7171, ext. 216. 

SNAP-Ed educators at Healthy Acadia offer year-round cooking and nutrition classes in partnership with schools and organizations throughout Hancock and Washington counties. To learn more or schedule a class, contact Mandy in Washington County, or Nicole in Hancock County.