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This project is an exciting next phase of our partnership with the City’s Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department to ensure that Portland’s 11 community gardens are safe and accessible. We are happy to announce that we have secured funding through the Maine Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for the next 3 garden rebuilds!
Though the soggy soil may disagree, it’s officially summer across Cultivating Community’s programs. Find out more about our work and ways to get involved.
Earlier this month the City of Portland conducted soil testing at the Libbytown Community Garden and found elevated levels of arsenic and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). Each garden has a unique history, and while testing had been done previously, this testing – which measured the levels of more than 90 potential contaminants – was more comprehensive.
Temperatures are rising, the sap is flowing, seeds have arrived for ~40,000 culturally important starts, and community garden registration begins next week. This all means one thing: The growing season is right around the corner!
Winter may be a time for slowing down, but at Cultivating Community we are just getting warmed up as staff and new leadership reflect on lessons learned from the growing season.
his week we had a devastating setback to our farming season: For the second year, we had partnered with a local greenhouse to grow seedlings to supplement what we produce at Hurricane Valley Farm, but sadly, they have closed, breaking our contract without warning, and we are scrambling.
In March 2025, the federal government announced the termination of Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA), a program that supported historically underserved farmers by distributing thousands of pounds of produce to low-income communities and schools.
In the face of increasing challenges Cultivating Community, New Roots Cooperative Farm, and Somali Bantu Community Association’s Liberation Farms are standing together to support immigrant and BIPOC farmers who have been and are systematically excluded from federal resources and access to food and land. Please join us in supporting local food!