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St. Mary’s Nutrition Center’s Lots to Gardens has been partnering with Cultivating Community

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

This winter Lots to Gardens has been partnering with Cultivating Community, based in Portland, Maine, to offer a new leadership development program for a diverse group of 21 youth from Lewiston, Auburn, and Portland.

Each week youth get together to learn, share, and build connections. The program is focusing on four themes:

  1. Independence & Power
  2. Health & Well-being
  3. Workshop Development & Facilitation
  4. Sharing Cultural Stories and Developing Anti-Racist techniques

During the first week of the program youth visited the Urban Fermentory, in Portland, Maine to learn about the steps to starting a business, participated in workshops on financial literacy, leadership, and creating campaigns and spent time getting to know each other and sharing a bit about themselves.

Last week youth learned yoga, the importance of eating whole grains and vegetables and fruits that are a variety of colors, simple cooking techniques and recipes, how to make herbal salves, and participated in a poetry-writing workshop.

The program has been a fun addition to our regular youth programs, creating new opportunities for youth to build community around food and culture while also learning new skills that can help them in the future.

By creating a safe space and encouraging participants to share their stories and opinions we have been able to talk about heavy issues that are usually too taboo to talk about. This exploration has helped everyone in the group, adults included, have a better understanding of differences that we experience because of class background, race, gender, and sexuality.

Below is a poem written by one of the youth, Ayan Iman, during the poetry-writing workshop last Saturday. Youth were asked to write about an issue that they wish they could change and share a personal story related to that issue.

My family and I were driving one day,
and we hear this loud beeping behind us,
telling us to go back to our country!

Why did they say that?
Maybe because we are dressed differently
than people that are living in America?
Or maybe because they are just plain ignorant.

I’m not as offended when they say it,
But why they said it the first place.
Change or not change.
The more people say negative things toward me
The more I learn from it.

I, Ayan Iman, am happy where I came from
And who I am as a person.

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Here’s 50 reasons why you should join us at the St. Mary’s Winter Farmers Market:

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

 

  • Purchase locally and organically grown vegetables, meat, cheese, milk, yogurt, eggs, and more! 
  • Support local farmers & artisans
  • You’ve never been to a Farmers Market :(
  • You’ve never been to the Nutrition Center :(
  • You love to listen to some live music; especially while SHOPPING.
  • You need some alpaca, wool or mohair/wool yarn to start that scarf you’ve been meaning to.
  • You want to learn about needle felting.
  • Ran out of coffee this morning and want to pick up some fresh-roasted organic coffee beans.
  • The freezer is getting low and you need to replenish your certified organic beef & chicken.
  • Winter in Maine is tough on your skin and you need some lotion and lip balm made with ingredients you can pronounce and recognize AND speak to the person who made it.
  • Pick up some great fresh seafood or fish for dinner.
  • Pick up some herbal tea made from herbs grown right here in Maine AND speak to the person who made it.
  • Buy some beautiful locally grown lilies to brighten a room or for that special someone AND speak to the person who grew them.
  • If you’ve never had fresh Maine honey, you don’t know what you are missing. You’ll never buy grocery store mystery honey again (ok, that’s just my opinion.)
  • Don’t forget fido needs to eat healthy also, get him a snack prepared with vegetables, proteins and meats and no fillers AND speak to the person who made then.
  • You’re looking for a great little drawing of a Lewiston city building for your office or den AND speak to the person who drew it.
  • Hate to bake, but love fresh pastries – you’ll find pie, cookies, whoopie pies and more AND speak to the person who baked it.
  • Don’t forget the fresh baked bread.
  • You always wanted a duct tape wallet and heard their practically indestructible AND speak to the person who made it.
  • You are always forgetting a hat and your ears are cold; on the way out of the Market pick up a hand-crocheted “Head Hugger” – for $5.00 each get 2 :)
  • You have been wanting to talk to a farmer about a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and didn’t know how to contact someone.
  • You heard about Art Van and wanted to talk to someone about their program.
  • You want to learn more about the Great Falls Bulk Buying Club which orders local Maine food and products from Crown O’ Maine Organic Cooperative.
  • Did I mention chocolate?? Oh yeah, I think you wanted some hand-made chocolate :)
  • Don’t forget the farm-fresh eggs.

Ok, I’m actually only going to give you 25, but I’m sure there is at least 50 . . .   

Traverse the wintry snowdrifts and come out to the third monthly . . .   

Lewiston Winter Farmers Market 
Thursday, January 13th
from 5:00 -7:30 pm
at the  St. Mary’s Nutrition Center on 208 Bates Street   

PLOWED PARKING LOT!  

There will be an EBT machine available; so credit and debit cards, in addition to food stamps/WIC transactions are welcome!  

The “Winter Market Cafe” will be serving chili, soup & fresh baked bread; where customers can eat with friends and neighbors while shopping.  

Listen to some great “Bluegrazz” (Bluegrass and Jazz) by local musicians The Tim & Mike Duoor check out the Kids Korner with your children.  

There will be an information table for people interested in learning more about the Great Falls Bulk Buying Club which orders local Maine food and products from Crown O’ Maine Organic Cooperative.  

   

  

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Coming up at the Next Winter Farmers Market

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Have you stopped by the Lewiston Winter Farmers Market yet? If not, what are you waiting for? The first two markets have brought together hundreds of people from around Lewiston and Auburn to shop local, support community, and enjoy the festive and family friendly atmosphere each month. With more than 15 vendors selling a variety of handmade arts and crafts, home-baked goods, and locally grown produce, the Lewiston Winter Farmers Market has a little something for everyone. Customers can pick up a bouquet of Maine grown fresh cut lilies from Maplecrest Lilies to enliven their dinner table, purchase fresh caught haddock, scallops, or live lobster from Luscious Live Lobsters, or pick out a cozy handknit pair of socks made by Kidds Hillbilly Farm. While shopping visitors to the market can pick up a hot meal from our Winter Market Cafe and enjoy that month’s featured local musician.

The Lewiston Winter Farmers Market meets monthly, the second Thursday of every month, from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, 208 Bates Street in Lewiston. The next market will be Thursday, January 13, 2010. The Lewiston Winter Farmers Market is an extension of the Lewiston Farmers Market in Kennedy Park, and the St. Mary’s Market at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center. It is organized by the Great Falls Farmers and Artisans Market Association and sponsored by St. Mary’s Health System. For more information on the Winter Farmers Market or to join our market email list, please contact greatfallsmarket@gmail.com or (207) 513 3848.

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Eating fresh in the winter

Monday, December 20th, 2010

Eating locally grown produce is pretty easy in the summer and fall, but what are we supposed to do during the winter? No bright red tomatoes, no juicy watermelon, and no peas picked straight off the vine. Not to mention all those holiday cookies, eggnog, and candy canes that are sure to tempt us away from fresh fruits and veggies. All in all, it seems hard to get the nutrients and vitamins we need from fresh produce. 

There’s actually a lot of produce available locally during the winter. Winter squash are everywhere, from butternut squash to spaghetti squash. They store well, so a squash bought in December will last you until March or April if you store it in a cool, dry place! Root vegetables abound during the winter as well. Farmers have mostly harvested and stored their root crops by now, and they can pull them out all winter long, keeping you stocked with potatoes, turnips, beets, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and carrots. Winter greens (yes, greens!) are mainly of the kale and collard variety. 

Winter fruit is a bit less plentiful, but there’s always the ubiquitous apple. Apples can be stored during the winter, much like those root veggies. Local apples, along with cranberries, should tide you over until late spring and summer. 

Of course, if you’re lucky enough to have frozen or canned some of that summer produce, you can still eat nutritious local garden items even during the darkest winter months. If not, keep your eyes out for local produce stands that are still open. Winter farmers markets are popping up in communities around Maine, including at our very own St. Mary’s Nutrition Center in Lewiston. Join a winter CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group, which will ensure that you get fresh produce all winter long, straight from the farmer. Finally, check into area Buying Clubs, where you can choose which winter produce to purchase. With just a little hunting, it’s pretty easy to eat local, delicious fresh produce all year long. 

Roasted Roots Recipe
Serves 4-6 

Ingredients:
2 lbs. of any root vegetables (suggestions include turnips, potatoes, or rutabagas), squash, or apples
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. rosemary 

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Slice each vegetable ¼ inch thick (or cut squash into ½ inch cubes). Toss with olive oil and season with garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Place vegetables on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the vegetables, and roast for another 5 to 10 minutes. 

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Thank you Sam’s for your generous donation!

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Photo: (left to right) Mike Marchus, General Manager of Sam’s Italian Sandwich Shoppe and Ernie Fecteau, Manager of Sam’s Italian Sandwich Shoppe on Lisbon Street , presented a check for more than $3,600 to Joyce Gagnon, Manager of the St,. Mary’s Food Pantry and Dan Asselin, a member of the St. Mary’s Food Pantry Advisory Committee. Each year, Sam’s sells paper cornucopias to raise money for the food pantry. The Sam’s location that raises the most money, wins a plaque and other prizes. This year, the Lisbon Street location raised the most at $1,764.

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Busy day at St. Mary’s Food Pantry!

Friday, November 19th, 2010

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TODAY is the final day of this season for the St. Mary’s Farmers & Artisans Market.

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

Lily Gagnon hand crochets these great hats and donates them to St. Mary's & CMMC cancer programs or patients. She sells the hats for $5.00 each to help defray the cost of the yarn for the many hats she donates. These hats are comfortable & warm and Lily has a nice selection of colors available

It promises to be a beautiful Fall day. Do you have a few minutes to take advantage of the fresh air, and support our local market?Campus Cuisine will be serving samples of a Curried Squash & Apple Soup and Zucchini Dill Mini Muffins prepared with fresh produce provided by the farmers from the market. Available from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm (or while supplies last.) There will be lots of Fall vegetables available for sale, Including apples & apple cider. In addition to baked goods, farm fresh eggs, goat cheese, pork & chicken. If you have been frequenting the Farmers Market, you know how amazing, fresh, locally produced and harvested food is; if you haven’t come out to see what it’s all about today would be a great day. 

I’d like to extend a special thanks to Roy Cronkhite from our IS department for taking the vendor photos that I have been using all season!  

   

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Alive in Lewiston

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

Vanessa Torres, award winning singer/songwriter and headliner for Lots to Gardens' annual event, Alive in Lewiston, to be held on Friday October 15, 2010 at 6:30 pm at St Mary's Nutrition Center on 208 Bates Street in Lewiston. Call 513-3844 to reserve tickets or email lotstogardens@gmail.com.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sean McGovern-Waite (left) and Wil Gibson (right) performing a choreographed slam poetry piece.

 

Join neighbors and friends for a night of delicious food and local creativity. The fifth annual Alive in Lewiston: A Celebration of Local Maine Food, Farms, and Talent will feature a harvest meal using food from community gardens in Lewiston and surrounding farms, and feature music, art, and dance by local artists. Come celebrate the bounty of local at this fun family event on Friday, October 15, 2010 at  

 6:30 pm, held at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center located at 208 Bates Street in Lewiston.  

 This year’s wholesome menu starts off with an appetizing spread of hearty local breads, fresh churned butter, local cheeses, and a sweet and savory cranberry roué dip made with fresh Maine cranberries. Next up will be mini vegetable frittatas, oven baked omelets using farm fresh eggs and an assortment of colorful vegetables and herbs topped with a blend of aged cheeses.  The main course will feature a colorful Three Sisters Salad – a mixture of shredded kale, cabbage, carrots, and apples tossed with a honey-lime balsamic, and a selection of four soups to warm the soul: Cuban Black Bean, Beef Stew, Potato Leek, and Summer Squash Confetti, a savory blend of summer squash, zucchini, roasted red peppers, potatoes, and carrots.   

To bring this delicious menu to a close, guests will choose from a selection of homemade desserts, including apple cider donuts and fall favorite, pumpkin apple crisp.  

But Alive in Lewiston won’t just fill stomachs; guests can enjoy a complete “night out on the town” experience, filled with visual art, a live dance troupe, local music and slam poetry.To begin the performance part of the evening, L-A’s own Androscoggin Dance Company will highlight some of their newest dances, featuring a handful of their talented and professionally trained dancers. Androscoggin Dance was founded to enable qualified high school students in Lewiston-Auburn and surrounding communities to study and train at a pre-professional level. See these young performers on their way to stardom.  

Our second act will feature slam champion poets performing as a duo and separately. Wil Gibson and Sean McGovern-Waite are both active members and core organizers of Portland’s Slam Poet Group, Port Veritas. They have performed both locally and nationally.  

Our headliner for the evening is Portland’s award winning singer/songwriter Vanessa Torres. Inspiring, tender, and passionate, Torres’ songs and performance are soulful personal portraits rooted in universal themes of compassion and hope. It is her unique blend of authenticity and grace that makes Torres’ music both refreshing and inspiring. Torres’ songs draw you in by being both catchy and lyrically moving. Vanessa has toured nationally, sharing stages with numerous acclaimed artists from Kaki King to Erin McKeown to Anais Mitchel. She is on tour with her new album, so see her while she’s in town!  

Proceeds from this event will help support Lots to Gardens’ programs. Tickets are $12 for registrants who call in advance and $15 at the door. To register, please contact Lots to Gardens at 513-3844 or email lotstogardens@gmail.com. For more information about our organization, visit www.lotstogardens.org   

Lots to Gardens is a youth and community driven organization that uses sustainable urban agriculture to create access to fresh food, and to nurture healthy youth and a healthy community. We teach people how to grow their own food, provide affordable access to fresh food, and involve youth as leaders. We help families and youth develop skills and build power for lifelong and community-wide change.      

Since 1999, we have built 15 gardens and green spaces in four diverse neighborhoods in Lewiston, Maine. We are sponsored by St. Mary’s Health System.       

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

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Want to go to the bread and cheese making classes

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Harvest Celebration
Wednesday September 22
Join Lots to Gardens and the Nutrition Center during any part of this big get together. We will open up our beautiful kitchen from 1:00-4:00pm and invite you to join us in cooking up some delicious treats for our gardens or yours. Then, from 5:00pm-6:00pm we will be having a work party (with snacks) at the Knox St. Community Garden (61 Knox Street), and finally from 6:30-7:30 will be the harvest potluck at the Nutrition Center. Please bring a favorite dish to share. There will be a garden slide show and raffle of prizes! If you have questions call Bridgette at Lots to Gardens 513-3844 or email lotstogardens@gmail.com

Alive in Lewiston: A Celebration of Local Food, Music and Art!
Friday October 15
6:30pm
Come join us for an evening of delicious food grown right here in Lewiston! Songwriter Vanessa Torres (Portland) will entertainment you, and there will be beautiful art on the walls! All homegrown!
$12 advance tickets, $15 at the door. If price is a barrier please call us! All are welcome!
Located at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center of Maine, 208 Bates Street in Lewiston

Bread Making
Thursday, October 21
6:00-9:00pm
Making your own bread is not as time-consuming or complicated as you might think. Plus, fresh homemade bread allows you to know what is in it and avoid refined flour, high salt, and added sugars! Come join us at the Nutrition Center for an introduction to healthy old-fashioned, no knead, and quick bread making methods using whole grains that will save you money and time!
Call Lewiston Adult Education to register at 795-4141, $16/person
Located at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center of Maine, 208 Bates Street in Lewiston

Cheese Making
Thursday, November 18
6:00-9:00pm
Come spend an evening at the Nutrition Center learning how to make easy and quick cheeses that you can take home and share with our family and friends. We will discuss the history of cheesemaking, the basic methods and equipment needed, and recipes in which to use them! Be ready to taste a variety of soft cheeses from paneer to ricotta to mozzarella, just to name a few!
Call Lewiston Adult Education to register at 795-4141, $16/person
Located at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center of Maine, 208 Bates Street in Lewiston

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Alive in Lewiston at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Join Lots to Gardens and the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center for the 4th annual Alive in Lewiston on Friday, October 15, 2010 at 6:30 pm at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center at 208 Bates Street in Lewiston.

This is the time of year when the harvest season gives us its last hurrah! The gardens are ripening the last of the summer fruits and giving new life to bountiful fall crops. It is a time when we are reminded to taste the gifts from the ground at their freshest before the cold of winter is upon us and enjoy the warm company of the people around us.

Community members, friends, and partners of Lots to Gardens are invited to attend this fun, family-friendly evening that includes live and local music, locally made art, and a hearty meal prepared with food grown in community gardens and farms found throughout Lewiston and the surrounding area.

Proceeds of the event will benefit Lots to Gardens’ educational and community gardening programs. Suggested ticket prices for Alive in Lewiston will be $12 for adults who register in advance and $15 at the door and $5 for children. If price is a barrier, please call to inquire about an adjusted price.

Space is limited! To register and purchase tickets, call (207) 513-3844. If you would like to volunteer for the event or would like more information about Alive in Lewiston or Lots to Gardens, please call or email us at lotstogardens@gmail.com!

Lots to Gardens is a program of St. Mary’s Nutrition Center and works to create access to fresh food, and to nurture healthy youth and a healthy community through sustainable urban agriculture, cooking and nutrition programs, and more. The program teaches people how to grow and cook their own food, provides affordable access to fresh food, and involves youth as leaders. For more information about Lots to Gardens please visit www.lotstogardens.org or call (207) 513-3844. Alive in Lewiston is an annual fundraising event that promotes the importance of community and celebrates the diversity of local agriculture, music, and art. We want to extend a hearfelt thanks to all who attended and volunteered at Alive in Lewiston in the past. We look forward to see you again soon!

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