WISCASSET — A forum, Local Food, Local Hunger, is set for 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Chewonki Center for Environmental Education, 485 Chewonki Neck Road. The event is sponsored by The Morris Farm, a working farm and education center that promotes sustainable agriculture and stewardship, and Chewonki, an environmental education organization that promotes sustainable living, according to a news release from the farm and foundation.

The forum will address the current state of food insecurity in Lincoln County among families, individuals, children and seniors. Combining presentations, panel discussions with experts and stakeholders, and breakout sessions, the event will forge connections among nonprofit and government nutrition-related agencies, educational institutions and students, farmers and growers, food pantries, and food-insecure individuals.

Mark Winne will deliver the keynote address. Winne is a co-founder of the City of Hartford Food Policy Commission, the Connecticut Food Policy Council, End Hunger Connecticut! and the national Community Food Security Coalition. He is a 2001 recipient of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary’s Plow Honor Award and the author of “Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty,” among other books.

Speakers and panelists also include Barbara Murphy, coordinator for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Harvest for Hunger, which distributes fresh produce to food pantries statewide; Mary Turner of Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program, which operates a food bank, food pantry and soup kitchen serving more than 1,200 mid-coast families in need each year; Sara Trunzo of Veggies for All, which has grown, harvested and distributed 75,000 pounds of vegetables to 1,500 food-insecure families since 2010; and Anni Pat McKenney, Healthy Lincoln County, which provides free, nutritious meals to children through their Summer Food Service Program.

Lunch will be served, cost is $17, which covers lunch and snack breaks. A subsidized rate of $5 is available.

The Morris Farm Trust is both a working farm and an educational resource for the communities of mid coast Maine. As nonprofit, educational, membership organization, The Morris Farm Trust promotes the values of sustainable agriculture and stewardship of the earth through education, demonstration and community involvement, while enhancing food security for all Lincoln County residents. For more information, visit morrisfarm.org.

The Chewonki Foundation is an environmental education organization based in Wiscasset, that inspires transformative growth, teaches appreciation and stewardship of the natural world, and challenges people to build thriving, sustainable communities throughout their lives. Through its educational initiatives, Chewonki demonstrates and teaches the importance of living sustainably. For more information, visit chewonki.org.


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