Launching Regina's Harvest Fund in Recognition of 17 Years!

Contributed by Katie Freedman, Community Health and Food Programs Director, Healthy Acadia

As you may already know, Regina Grabrovac is leaving Healthy Acadia after 17 incredible years of service to Washington County communities and food systems.

Regina’s name is practically synonymous with Washington County Food Systems, and she is regularly referred to as “The Food Lady.” And for good reason. Regina has filled many roles at Healthy Acadia over her 17 years, first as a Farm to School Coordinator, and then broadening her role to encompass food security and access, and ultimately serving as Washington County Food Programs Manager, leading program development, providing staff, FoodCorps, and Food for All AmeriCorps VISTA supervision, building collaborations, and so much more.

Regina brought an unrivaled level of expertise, deep knowledge, and a wide network of relationships to this work. We may never fully quantify the number of lives her efforts have touched—whether by increasing access to healthy food, building lasting connections, helping farmers continue their work, or simply being an exceptional collaborator and friend. Nor can we fully measure the hundreds of thousands of pounds of healthy food made available to community members through her leadership—whether through gleaning, supporting school gardens and local food purchasing for cafeterias, developing and sustaining gardens for food pantries and the jail, coordinating tractor trailer-loads of emergency food boxes during the pandemic, supporting farmers in the Maine Senior FarmShare program, and much more.

Regina’s warm energy, passion for healthy food, and dedication to local farming and gardening made it so easy for folks from all across the county and from all backgrounds to join forces with her. 

Regina planted seeds everywhere she went, literally and figuratively! Some of those seeds have deep roots now, like the Washington County Food Pantry Network which she helped convene for over a decade and is going strong. Some of those seeds are just beginning to come to fruition, like Downeast Restorative Harvest, a project she has poured her heart and soul into developing, and which is now in its second growing season. 

As Regina passes the garden rake to the next generation of leaders, we invite you to join us in honoring her legacy by making a contribution to ensure that this work will be sustained long into the future. All proceeds to Regina’s Harvest Fund will support the Washington County food access efforts that Regina holds near and dear to her heart.

To make a gift, visit: bit.ly/ReginasHarvestFund. You may also send in any memories or good wishes that you would like to share, and we will pass these on to Regina.

While we are saying goodbye to Regina in her formal role at Healthy Acadia, we know she will always be a part of our HA family. We celebrate her next steps and look forward to connecting with her in many ways in the future. Thanks to Regina’s passion and dedication, and the engagement and commitment from so many partners and community members, our healthy food access work will continue to grow, serving more and more people, and helping to build vibrant communities for all.