Raymond Community Garden cultivates enthusiasm for nature and food pantry donations

By Ed Pierce

If working in a garden teaches tolerance and preparedness, this year’s group of gardening enthusiasts working spaces at the Raymond Community Garden will be some of the most patient and watchful individuals around by the time that fall arrives.

Spaces are still available at the Raymond Community Garden
for anyone who wishes to grow flowers or vegetables for
personal use or to make donations to the Raymond
Food Pantry. SUBMITTED PHOTO 

The Raymond Community Garden is open to anyone interested in gardening and is located across the parking lot from the Raymond Village Library at 3 Meadow Road in Raymond. The garden is open from dawn to dark although most of its gardeners come in the morning or evenings when it is cooler during the summer.

Under the direction of Leigh Walker, participants meet her at the garden and choose a space and spaces are still available for the 2023 growing season.

“In the 12 years the garden has been in existence, we have had as few as eight gardeners and as many as 24 gardeners each year,” Walker said. “I have 10 returning gardeners this year.”

According to Walker, gardening enthusiasts with spaces at the Raymond Community Garden typically grow vegetables and flowers in the garden.

“Some examples are tomatoes, lettuce, kale, eggplant, cabbage, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and many more,” she said. “Some who have been gardening with us for years grow perennial plants like asparagus and put in garlic in the fall for harvest the next summer. We have a ton of sunflowers and people often put in marigolds and other insect-repelling flowers.”

Walker said that this year there will be three Master Gardeners working with participants at the Raymond Community Garden.

“We have three Master Gardeners from the Cumberland County Extension who work with us, Linda Pankewicz, Margie Thumm and Richard Adams,” she said. “We have other gardeners who are very knowledgeable and are happy to help when questions come up. We are a very welcoming community if a new gardener wants to learn. We can connect the gardeners with one of the Master Gardeners but often they will see Linda at the garden. We are so thankful for the expertise they all provide for our gardeners. We are so fortunate to have them working with us.”

Funding for the community garden comes from several sources.

“We have two funding sources,” Walkers said. “Our goal is to keep access to the garden as inexpensive as possible so anyone can participate. As a program of the Raymond Village Library, we ask for a $15 donation to the library for one plot sized about 8 x 15. We add another 2 x 15 row to each plot and ask that the gardener grows and maintains food for the food pantry in the second plot. They can grow whatever they want to, but we can make suggestions of things we know the food pantry needs. If someone has a challenge with that donation, they should still come talk to us. We will always try to find a space for someone to garden if they want to and we have space. Most of our gardeners use two plots. Typical donations to the food pantry are tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, corn, cabbage, broccoli, kale, carrots, beets, cucumbers, squash, garlic and onions.”

The other source of funding is from the Cumberland County Extension Seed Grant, Walker said.

“They have been so kind to give us a few hundred dollars in garden needs each year,” she said. “We apply for the grant in the fall and request certain items that we need. They purchase them and provide them to us. It has been hugely helpful to our gardeners. Some items help us extend the season and deter pests, like row covers. Other items help us do the work that needs to be done like garden carts and tools. We are extremely grateful to the Cumberland County Extension for all the supplies as well as the advice and counseling they have given us over the years. I am not sure our garden would still be here without their support at key times.”

Along with those funding sources, Walker said they have plenty of support from others as well.

“The Town of Raymond has been a great partner as has the Plummer Family who has provided space for us and has been another amazing partner,” Walker said. “And, of course, the library is a huge support as well. We would not exist without all these people and organizations.”

Water is abundantly available for gardeners and the community garden uses a water barrel and watering can system.

“There are many water barrels available, and we do ask the gardeners to help keep them full,” Walker said. “One could use a hose to water, but we have found the watering can system and using mulch helps reduce unnecessary water consumption.”

The community garden uses organic practices with products that provide beneficial nutrients to plants and animals that do not harm them or the soil they grow in.

“Examples are using manure and compost to give your plant nutrients and not using chemical fertilizers and pesticides,” Walker said. “At our garden, we make sure that only organic seeds and plants are used. No chemical fertilizers, pesticides or weed killers are used. If anyone has extra manure that they would be willing to bring to us at the garden, we would be thrilled to have it. If they email me, we can set up a time for them to bring it by. We don’t have a truck so getting manure to the garden is always a challenge for us.”

All skill levels in gardening are welcome from experts to basic beginners.

“We love to have new gardeners. We can help in all ways, from choosing what to grow and what they can do to minimize the work that needs to happen in a garden,” Walker said. “I will say, people who want a garden will have much more success if they are willing to be engaged in their garden throughout the summer and fall. Gardening is not a plant it and forget it activity. But we are here to help along the way. With the Master Gardeners and the strong sense of community that we have with our wonderful gardeners, all gardeners have as much support as they would like. All they have to do is ask.”

Many gardeners in Raymond are looking forward to a plant sale starting at 7 a.m. Saturday, June 3 at the Raymond Village Library and Raymond Community Garden. It is a fundraiser for the library which supports the community garden and will feature some beautiful plants this year.

For more details about obtaining a space at the Raymond Community Garden, send an email to Walker at Lwalker4@maine.rr.com.<

RSU 14 students attempt to 'eat their way through alphabet'

By Masha Yurkevich

From a young age, children can remember being told to eat their vegetables, and RSU 14 wants to introduce children to fruits, vegetables and healthy grains that may be new to them during March Madness nutrition month.

RSU 14 is celebrating March Madness by introducing
children and their families to a wide variety of fruits and
vegetables and giving them the opportunity to try new
flavors and recipes and promote healthy eating.
COURTESY PHOTO 

Jeanne Reilly is the Director of School Nutrition at RSU14 and is responsible for the of all aspects of the district’s school nutrition program including developing a budget, writing monthly menus within the USDA Federal School Nutrition Guidelines, staffing the six school kitchens and training the teams, procurement and purchasing, and maintaining operations within all of the federal school nutrition program regulations.

She has been working in school nutrition for 25 years, first as the director of school nutrition for Westbrook School Department, then as the director of school nutrition for both Westbrook and Windham, and finally just for RSU 14.

“March is National Nutrition Month, and we have a tradition of celebrating all month long by eating our way through the alphabet,” says Reilly. “We started on March 1, featuring fruits and vegetables that start with the letter A, and will end on March 31 with vegetables ending with Z. We primarily focus on fruits and veggies, but we occasionally add in a healthy grain, such as quinoa on our Q Day, and we just served freekeh on our F Day.”

Reilly said students have done this every year since she’s worked for Windham and Raymond schools.

“The purpose is to introduce children and their families to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and to give them the opportunity to try new flavors and recipes. We want healthy eating to be exciting and fun,” she said.

Reilly has been working in the food and nutrition industry for 40 years, from hospitals to the Women Infants and Children program (WIC), to working as the director of food service for long term care facilities.

“Finally, as I was seeking out a better work life balance, I really found my lifelong passion in school nutrition,” said Reilly. “I truly believe that school nutrition programs, feeding school children breakfast and lunch, have the unique opportunity to influence the eating habits of children. We are building up the next generation of eaters, fueling them for the future and one of our goals is to inspire children to be more adventurous eaters and to develop a love for fruits and vegetables and healthy food.”

According to Reilly, during the "eat your way through the alphabet" program, RSU 14 likes to provide nutrition information, cooking tips and recipes for the fruits and veggies that they are featuring.

“Each day, our social media content (Facebook and Instagram) is filled with posts about what we are doing and providing recipes that families can try at home,” she said.

On a regular day for Reilly, you may find her working at a register during meal service because they always seem to be perpetually short staffed, or planning menus, managing food orders, or checking in with each of their six kitchens to make sure everyone has everything they need to prepare breakfast and lunch as needed. That’s in addition to emails, budgeting, marketing, planning equipment purchases and all of these things are part of a typical workday for Reilly.

Reilly said that in Maine, school meals continue to be available to all school children at no cost and this is a great benefit to families during these trying times, when inflation continues to significantly impact household budgets.

Families can save money on their grocery budgets by having their children eat breakfast and lunch at school, Reilly said.

Studies show that the healthiest meals that children eat are the meals they eat at school, so healthy school meals at no cost is a win/win for families.

Nutrition information, cooking tips, and recipes for the fruits and vegetables that are being featured this month can be found on the Windham Raymond School Nutrition Program’s Facebook page and on Instagram at lunch4kids_rsu14. <

Healthy Pickins Garden at JSMS provides not only vegetables, but life lessons for students

The Healthy Pickins Garden was created at Jordan-Small
Middle School in Raymond in 2010 as a way to foster
community involvement and provide students with a 
better understanding of gardening and the work that is
involved in growing produce. PHOTO BY JOHN  KELLER

By Andrew Wing 

Vegetable gardening is a rewarding activity that can provide fresh, flavorful produce and it also offers the benefits of exercise, fresh air, and learning more about how these important nutrients are grown. At Jordan-Small Middle School, that’s exactly what they have shown the students there for over a decade with its Healthy Pickins Garden.

Healthy Pickins Garden was built in 2010 and that along with the adjacent greenhouse has been active since then. It came about through a grant that Dennis Woodruff and John Keller had obtained that furnished the funding to build the greenhouse and furnish supply tools, bags of soil, fencing, and seed packets. Lori Dibiase-Gagnon also played a key role in getting the first vegetable garden started and since 2010, thousands of pounds of vegetables have been grown for the school lunch program with lots of help from the JSMS students.

Physicians say that fresh vegetables are a central and integral part of any healthy diet. Vegetables are loaded with essential nutrients that promote better health, including antioxidants and vitamins. And as many benefits as vegetables provide to one’s health, there are also benefits of growing the vegetables in a vegetable garden as having a vegetable garden can save hundreds of dollars on groceries.

Over the years, JSMS students and staff have grown many varieties of vegetables, including tomatoes, peppers, beans, carrots, beets, onions, garlic, spinach, lettuce, eggplant, collard greens, potatoes, cabbage, kale, cucumbers, broccoli, melons, and a variety of herbs. These fresh organic grown vegetables have provided hundreds of healthy and delicious meals to the students and staff at JSMS over the years and when there has been a surplus of harvest, the vegetables have been donated to the Raymond Community School and other schools in the district, as well as the Raymond Food Pantry. 

The greenhouse at JSMS is active from September to November, and then again from March through May. Some of the cooler weather crops such as spinach and lettuce are grown in the greenhouse raised beds and are used in the JSMS lunch program salad bar. The greenhouse also has a cooling fan that was installed by former student, Al Potter, which is powered by a battery and solar panel which former JSMS applied tech students helped construct.

Keller, one of the men who helped start the garden, has been involved since its inception. He just retired following 26 years working in Special Education at JSMS. He was also the school’s cross-country coach for over 20 years, and despite his retirement, he will return this fall to co-coach alongside John Powers and plans to substitute teach when needed. Most importantly, Keller plans to still watch over the Healthy Pickins Garden as he plays such a key role performing the summer care for it until the students and staff return this fall.

All in all, Healthy Pickins Garden is a big deal at JSMS, and the students there play an integral role in it.

“The majority of the students that help with the vegetable garden are primarily 5th grade science students, but the sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students have helped as well during the school day and in the after-school garden club,” said Keller. “The students do the majority of the work preparing the garden in the spring and harvesting crops when they return to school in late August through the final harvest in late October.”

When Healthy Pickins Garden was created back in 2010, those at JSMS were hoping that it would provide food for not only the school, but the community as well, and more than that, they wanted the students to take something away from working in the garden, and Keller believes that they have done just that.

“There are so many benefits for these children at JSMS being involved in a gardening program,” said Keller. “Vegetable gardening teaches students about agriculture, nutrition, and life skills as they can learn how to grow vegetables for the rest of their lives. Also, school gardens just help promote healthy lifestyles.”

Now, 12 years after it began, there is no denying that Healthy Pickins Garden has been a success, and Keller says that he wants to thank everyone who has contributed to that success.

“The success of the school garden over the years has truly been a school and town community effort,” said Keller. “It would not be possible without the support of the fifth-grade teachers Lynne Latham and Kelly Crockett, kitchen staff Jamie Harmon, Scott Walsh, and Santa Rodriquez-Lopez, Chef Ryan Roderick, former Chef Samantha Cowens-Gasbaro, RSU 14 Director of School Nutrition Jeanne Reilly, special education staff Erika Greene, Moira Case, and Kim Hutchins, occupational therapist Lori Fletcher and her daughter Emma, JSMS head groundskeeper Tom Gumble, longterm and now former principal Randy Crockett, master gardener Sheila Frappier who has also led the after-school gardening program, Lyndsay Stretch of Petals Farm and Garden, school custodians, and community volunteers April Fey and Mary Thornton, but most importantly the students of JSMS.” <