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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 and dig into planning for the structure and sustainability of our programs.
We also want to extend a special thank you to our staff and supporters, both current and past. Over the last 22 years, each of you has made our organization what it is today, and we are stronger because of you. From our youth leadership programs to providing access to land and culturally important food for New American families, our work relies on your support. Small donations make up one-third of our budget – we could not run these programs without you!
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Now through Giving Tuesday (just one week away!) all new monthly donations will be matched by a community donor up to $5,000 annually! We invite you to join us in empowering our community through food, in an unwavering commitment that everyone deserves to enjoy fresh, local food.
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Hurricane Valley Farm Goes Solar!
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Hurricane Valley, our 62-acre community farm, recently got a big upgrade – a new solar array and battery backup system! Funding for this project came from the State of Maine’s Community Resilience Partnership, which “helps communities in Maine plan for climate change, reduce carbon emissions, transition to clean energy, and increase their resilience to the effects of climate change.” This project was a collaborative effort between Cultivating Community, the Falmouth Land Trust, the Town of Falmouth, and ReVision Solar, who donated to the design and installation of the new system.
Along with the ground-mount array, the little farmhouse is also now home to a new Tesla Powerwall. These upgrades will reduce the use of fossil fuels at the farm, offset all of our power costs, and provide clean power for the greenhouse fans, produce wash & prep area, and the cold storage unit used by the community farm’s growers.
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Pictured above are the Culinary Crew students adding seaweed to the raised Youth Garden beds and making a delicious Shirazi salad with couscous, lemon chicken, and roasted chickpeas.
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Our 12 fall Culinary Crew youth leadership high school interns have brought so much joy to the gardens and kitchen the past few weeks! The newest cohort of Cultivating Community’s longest-running program is learning food justice and food sovereignty concepts, having fun, and gaining hands-on food skills.
Every week, thanks to our partnership with Wayside Food Programs, share their commercial kitchen with us, these teens are advancing their cooking skills and have successfully prepared and delivered 246 fresh, hot, free meals to our neighbors in the Kennedy Park neighborhood! The high school interns also enjoyed the fruits of their labor. Some named favorites were baked ziti, butternut squash soup, lemon chicken with shirazi salad, and the many muffins they baked. In addition to working hard in ’ kitchen, our teen participants have helped put the Boyd St. garden to bed for winter. Another great season with another stellar group of young people. |
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Tucking Garden Beds in for Winter
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Cold mornings are dusting the brave few remaining hearty greens with frost, beds are getting mulched with leaves and organic matter (great vintage MOFGA article here!), garlic is planted, and the community garden check-out wrapped up last week. Thank you to everyone who gardened with us in a City of Portland Community Garden Plot this season!
Community Gardeners, if you haven’t gotten a chance to fill out the anonymous fall survey, we still want to hear from you! The survey takes approx 5 minutes and is invaluable to us as we work to make improvements to the program, seek funding, and plan for next season.
We also want to give a special nod of appreciation to all of the gardeners and volunteers who helped maintain these vibrant community gardens for everyone to enjoy. In 2023 we had 532 volunteers contribute more than 2,750 hours to the gardens! Our Urban Ag work depends on a community of support, local donations, and many hands. We will be hosting groups bi-monthly again starting in April, if you are interested in getting our volunteer alerts, reply to this email and we’ll add you to the list!
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Winter Squash for Winter Tables
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Food connects us to our family, culture, and community. It can be nourishing or nostalgic. Silvan, our Director, didn’t grow up celebrating traditional American holidays, but she did grow up spending every winter trying to figure out what to do with too much winter squash. Whether you are gathering with family or chosen family, honoring history that is still present and painful, or building your own seasonal traditions – here is an offering for your table from hers.
Roasted winter squash with pomegranate molasses
¼ cup olive oil
2 medium winter squash of your choice
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon honey (or Maine maple syrup)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat your oven to 400. Slice your favorite winter squash crosswise into ¼-inch thick slices and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the squash until completely tender, slightly caramelized, and golden brown – about 40 minutes. While the squash cooks, prepare the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk 1 tablespoon olive oil, pomegranate molasses, honey, cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Remove the squash from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Once cool, drizzle with dressing and serve as a side or on rice. Top with feta cheese and fresh herbs if you like and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from New York Times Cooking.
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Meet Our Board of Directors
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 Join Cultivating Community in welcoming our newest Board Member, Jeannie Verrando! After living in Portland for fifteen years, Jeannie first connected with Cultivating Community by volunteering at Hurricane Valley Farm with her WEX Marketing colleagues. Since that first day mulching the raspberry patch, Jeannie has been dedicated to championing our mission throughout WEX and the local business community and fostering new relationships and opportunities for Cultivating Community.
Jeannie has worked with non-profits in both Portland and Boston, bringing 34 years of brand marketing and communications experience to our organization. She is a musician and writer and lives with her partner Dave in Gorham.
Interested in learning more about board service, or joining a volunteer working committee? We are accepting applications for new members! Please fill out this form to the best of your ability. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Silvan Shawe, Executive Director, at info@cultivatingcommunity.org.
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Just a reminder that now through Giving Tuesday (just one week away!) all new monthly donations will be matched by a community donor up to $5,000 annually!
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Please donate if you are able, volunteer time and in-kind contributions are also always welcome. Please reach out to info@cultivatingcommunity.org with ideas or to learn more about how to get involved.
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