The Morris Farm and Chewonki co-convened Lincoln County’s first annual Food Security Forum this past Saturday, March 7. The forum was held at the Center for Environmental Education at Chewonki to engage community members in a dialogue on securing healthy food for all residents.

A total of 110 leaders of local community organizations, concerned citizens, and Chewonki semester students brought a variety of perspectives to the forum. The keynote speaker Mark Winne, a nationally known author and expert on food systems with many years of experience assisting community groups, addressed the current state of food security in the nation and the need to raise people out of poverty to improve food security.

In an introductory panel, Mary Turner, representative of Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program stated that “one of the biggest challenges is getting enough food,” and Barbara Murphy, extension educator for University of Maine Harvest for Hunger, stated “I need yield! I never know how many will come.” Mary Bausch, a Master Gardener volunteer talked about improving “distribution and delivery of produce from the Morris Farm Master Gardener Garden,” a project that donated over 1,000 lbs of produce to local food pantries. Many noted that transportation was a great barrier in accessing food. Lara Cogar gave a demonstration of one of her 3rd grade SNAP Education Lessons, and representatives from agricultural education organizations addressed the importance of engaging the community in cooking and eating together. Mark Winne facilitated a session on organizing food councils.

At the end of the forum each participant was asked to make a pledge to pursue one course of action to improve food security in his or her community in the coming year. These pledges will be posted on the Morris Farm website in the next week (www.morrisfarm.org).

Virginia Hill, F.A.R.M.S. board member and Morris Farm Master Gardener, stated "The forum was a moveable feast for me. The ideas, contacts and scope of the forum were topped off by a message about addressing poverty and increasing the minimum wage... frosting on the cupcake!"

This forum was the first in what is anticipated to be an annual gathering.