On Monday, Oct. 27, Focus on Agriculture in Rural Maine Schools (FARMS) and Rising Tide Community Market are planning their second joint annual event celebrating Food Day, open to all interested community members.

The celebration will be held at Rising Tide, located at 323 Main Street in Damariscotta, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday. Local and seasonal foods as well as prepared salads from Rising Tide’s deli will be on hand for sampling. As part of the celebration, the newly opened FARMS Community Kitchen (located upstairs from Rising Tide) will welcome visitors from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

“Food Day is a national event that encourages people to talk about the food we eat, particularly topics like increasing access to and enjoyment of healthy, affordable, and sustainable food,” said Elya Markert, Rising Tide’s Outreach and Marketing Coordinator. A major focus of the joint event is to promote the eating of healthy, nutritious family meals.

With this in mind, both FARMS and Rising Tide will share healthy recipe ideas. Local school kids may have tried some of FARMS’ recipes through their extensive work in school systems. Recipes will be available to pick up at Rising Tide starting the week before Food Day and through the end of October.

“We need to be eating better. The Community Kitchen has been designed to address this challenge. It is a space for people of all ages to gather, learn about cooking techniques, make and eat food together, and in some cases preserve their own harvest and that of local farms. The goal of the Kitchen is to offer local solutions to health, economic, and environmental concerns in a fun, inclusive and interesting way,” said FARMS board member Beth McPherson. “Earlier this year, in recognition that poor diet is the No. 1 factor contributing to America's poor health, LincolnHealth, parent company of the two hospital/urgent care centers in our county, agreed to become our partner and collaborator in the Community Kitchen. Articles on upcoming Community Kitchen activities, which will include physician-led workshops as well as cooking classes, are being regularly submitted to Lincoln County newspapers.”

2014 marks the fourth annual Food Day, and events are planned in all 50 states throughout October (although the “official” Food Day is Oct. 24).

To learn more about the nationwide Food Day movement, visit www.foodday.org. For more information about Rising Tide and FARMS’ event, call 207-563-5556 or email customercare@risingtide.coop.