Downeast Restorative Harvest's Community Events Achieve Triple Success
For Immediate Release Please
Release Date: October 10, 2023
Program Contact: Regina Grabrovac, regina@healthyacadia.org or (207) 255-3741
Media Contact: Tracey Carlson, tracey@healthyacadia.org or (207) 667-7171 Ext. 112
Downeast Restorative Harvest's Community Events Achieve Triple Success
September brought a flurry of activity for Healthy Acadia's team with an array of events celebrating one of their newest programs, the Downeast Restorative Harvest (DERH) project.
On Thursday, September 7th, more than 100 community members gathered for a fundraising dinner in support of Healthy Acadia's DERH project. The event took place at the College of the Atlantic's (COA) Beech Hill Farm in Mount Desert. This dinner served as a fundraiser for both DERH and Impact Justice's Chefs in Prisons project on a national scale.
The evening commenced and concluded with a beautiful invocation and dance by Lynn Amakehs Mitchell, a Passamaquoddy elder. Speakers included Elsie Flemings from Healthy Acadia, Leslie Soble from Impact Justice, and Rebekah Mende from the Maine State Prison, who provided valuable insights into current and potential food systems in prisons and jails, both in Maine and beyond.
Community member and ally Steve Milliken shared, "Almost all of our neighbors we incarcerate are coming home. How we nourish those returning to our communities is vital to all of us. Working with the Maine Department of Corrections, Washington County Jail, Sheriff's Office, and numerous other partners, Healthy Acadia and Impact Justice are developing food justice programs not only to enhance the dignity and sustenance that locally produced and prepared food offers but also to impart culinary and agricultural training that will lead to meaningful jobs upon reentry."
The following morning, over 40 attendees participated in a panel discussion titled "Visions of Food Justice: Community and Carceral Systems in Maine" as part of COA's Coffee and Conversation series. The panel, moderated by Dr. Kourtney Collum, Partridge Chair in Food and Sustainable Agriculture Systems and Associate Dean of Faculty at College of the Atlantic (COA), featured Leslie Soble, Rebekah Mende, and Regina Grabrovac, Food Programs Manager at Healthy Acadia, who discussed the new DERH program.
On Saturday, September 9th, Camisha Norris and her nephew Lennox Dana, members of the Passamaquoddy community from Sipayik, commenced an evening Garden Party event at the DERH site in Machias with a prayer, song, and drumming ceremony to bless the land. Approximately 80 community members visited the DERH land for the first time, participating in an unforgettable celebration with live music headlined by renowned fiddling sensation Gus La Casse and the soul-stirring sounds of Milk and Honey Rebellion. Delicious food was prepared by the Maine Department of Corrections staff from the Downeast Correctional Facility, showcasing the types of partnerships that Healthy Acadia aims to foster.
The Downeast Restorative Harvest, a program of Healthy Acadia in collaboration with the Washington County Jail, Department of Corrections, and other community partners, is an innovative jail and community garden initiative situated at 73 Broadway in Machias. The garden will engage jail and prison residents, members of the recovery community, agriculture educators, and numerous other community members in growing food for the jail's kitchen and for donation to local food assistance programs.
The partners are closely cooperating with the Maine State Prison, which has developed a robust horticultural training program to provide healthy food and meaningful vocational training for residents. The first crops will be grown in the 2024 season.
For more information about Downeast Restorative Harvest, please contact Regina Grabrovac via email at regina@healthyacadia.org or by phone at 207-255-3741.
Healthy Acadia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that engages in a broad range of initiatives to build healthier communities and make it easier for people to lead healthy lives in Washington and Hancock counties, and across Maine. Learn more at www.healthyacadia.org.
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