Events report from MFC…
Winter SMM meeting:
On January 23rd, Kelly Davis of MFC’s Merrymeeting Gleaners participated in the Slow Money Maine gathering in Gardiner. Kelly co-facilitated the pre-meeting along with Aaron Englander from Maine Coast Heritage Trust. The pre-meeting was attended by newly forming gleaning organizations, food bank farms, and others interested in community-based solutions to food insecurity. Kelly also provided a presentation about Merrymeeting Gleaners accomplishments and goals for 2019.
Spring SMM meeting:
Slow Money Maine hosted an “On the Road” gathering in Norway, Maine on April 23rd at the First Universalist Church. Bonnie Rukin, SMM Coordinator, facilitated the introduction and multiple presentations, which included: Justin Bondessen of the Alan Day Community Garden in Norway, John Newlin of Growing to Give and Scatter Good Farm in Brunswick, Gloria Varney of Nezinscot Farm in Turner, Bill Seretta of Fork Food Lab in Portland, and Charlie Melhus of Norway Brewing in Norway. Each presenter spoke about their business or social enterprise, their history, current status, and plans for growth or sustainability. Following the longer talks were short updates from Richard Hodges of ReTreeUS and Scott Vlaun of the the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy (CEBE), also of Norway. After a locally catered lunch, the group of about 50 people broke into two groups for more focused discussions. The morning brought together a diverse group of interested, involved people eager to learn more about investing, mentoring, and supporting food businesses and not-for profits in this region of Maine.
For more details on each event, please visit slowmoneymaine.com. Upcoming events, back stories, and an ever-changing blog of new and exciting developments in the Maine food sector can also be found here.