Cumberland County Food Security Council

Mission

We initiate and facilitate collaborative action toward a just, resilient, and sustainable food system that ensures equitable access for all people to enough healthy food.

CCFSC Staff

Jim Hanna, Executive Director

jhanna@ccfoodsecurity.org

Zoe Grodsky, School Food Systems Manager

zoe@ccfoodsecurity.org

Adele Wise, Food Access Programs Manager

adele@ccfoodsecurity.org

Liza Gallandt, Local Food Access Consultant

liza@ccfoodsecurity.org

Bri Bowman, Agricultural Value Chain Project Director

bri@ccfoodsecurity.org

Jayna Mallon, Maine Meat Initiative VISTA Member

jayna@ccfoodsecurity.org

Crystal Tovar Tellez, AmeriCorps FoodCorps Member

crystal.tovartellez@foodcorps.org

Adina Goldstein, AmeriCorps FoodCorps Member

adina.goldstein@foodcorps.org

Deaziah Wilson, AmeriCorps FoodCorps Member

deaziah.wilson@foodcorps.org

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CCFSC Board

Laura Robinson, President

Richard Rudolph, Vice President

Amy Carrington, Treasurer

Robert Deakin

Judy Gatchell

Kathryn Sargent

Dawud Ummah

New CCFSC Board Members

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Nicholas Escobedo

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Alexis Guy

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Ali Mediate

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Jordene Trueh

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Agenda

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Welcome and Introductions

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CCFSC Project Updates

• Local Food Access
• Child Nutrition
• Maine Meat Initiative
• Racial/Economic Justice
• Public Policy Education, Advocacy and Organizing

Network Building

Financial Report

2023 Gleaning Season

This season, we’ve gleaned 17,000 lbs of produce from 24 farms in coordination with 30 distribution partners.

Zucchinis at Growing to Give

Lettuce at Frith Farm

Apples at Orchard Ridge

Highlights from the 2023 season

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Day in the Life Gleaning Video!

Group Gleans! USDA & SWCA Environmental Consultants

Additional Location at Greater Portland Health Share Table

Child Nutrition Programs

Halal School Meals Network: Project Objective and Outcomes

Shawn Perry and Khadija Ahmed serving halal meals at South Portland High School

• Ensure that Muslim students who observe halal have equitable access to Maine’s universal school meals.
• The first program in the U.S. to offer third-party certified halal meals to K-12 public school students.

Child Nutrition Programs

Halal School Meals Network

October 2023 IFANCA training with Westbrook and Portland Food Service Team Leaders

• Collaboration between Westbrook, Portland, and South Portland
• Certification from Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA)
• Leadership from Food For All Services
• Community input

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Total schools: 30

Total kitchens: 18

Total students: ~12,000

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Child Nutrition Programs

Summer Meal Sites and Summer Associates

Food Fuels Learning Highlights

Northeast Farm to Institution Summit Presentation

Food Fuels Learning

High School Internship Program

Monthly Elementary School Taste Tests

Child Nutrition Programs

FoodCorps School Nutrition Service Members

Food Fuels Learning Highlights

Cooking Cart to Cultivating Community

Food Fund Recipients: $8,350 to 17 awardees

Maine Meat Initiative

Assist socially disadvantaged producers in owning and operating small-scale meat enterprises and participating equitably in USDA programs.

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Develop a series of events and trainings on farm business ownership and operation. Land-based training will take place at Ummah Farm, Liberation Farm, NASAP’s two incubators in Lisbon and Falmouth.

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Strengthen networks and relationships between service providers, farmer serving organizations, and farmers.

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Accelerate the development of a livestock ranch training site and full USDA certified meat value-chain at the Ummah Farms Food Hub. The Ummah Farms Food Hub is to include a shared-use small scale slaughter facility, together with collective arrangements for community outreach and cooperative marketing.

Maine Meat Initiative

Recent Updates:

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Identifying and meeting with key partners

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Designing training opportunities for technical service providers

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Working alongside advisors as they establish Ummah Farm Food Hub and Meat Value Chain Cooperatives

Added Ending Hunger Corps VISTA capacity for development and implementation of programs for the Maine Meat Initiative

• Youth enterprise garden program
• Resource Guide
• Technical Service Provider List
• Farmer Needs and Asset Assessment

Meat Initiative Cooperators and Collaborators

Partners

• Cooperative Development Institute
• Cultivating Community: NASAP
• Good Shepherd Food Bank
• Land in Common
• Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
• Maine Black Community Development
• Sodexo
• Somali Bantu Community Association
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
• University of Maine Cooperative Extension
• USM Food Studies

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Funders

• Maine Agriculture Infrastructure Investment Program
• Feeding America
• Good Shepherd Food Bank
• Sewall Foundation
• USDA NIFA Community Food Projects
• USDA Outreach and Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers

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Racial and Economic Justice

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Public Policy Education, Advocacy and Organizing

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Policy Forums

Ending Hunger by 2030

Advisory Group

Local Food Network Building!

Google Group: CCFSC Local Food Network

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• Platform that is reciprocal for sharing ideas and information.

· Connect.

· Stay updated.

· Share.

· Collaborate.

· Ask Questions.

· Request.

email adele@ccfoodsecurity.org or indicate on the sign in sheet to join!

Financial Report

Activities and Highlights since last Annual Meeting

New Firm (Purdy Powers and Co.) provided Financial Review, State Reports and 990 with findings in accordance with accepted practices

Maintained fiscal sponsorship of two important initiatives: Maine Black Community Development and Ummah Farm Food Hub

Three active USDA grants (two direct and one subaward) including two implemented in 2023

With sustainable funding to staff our major project areas for three years CCFSC committed to an under funded Child Nutrition project which will require raising $50-100,000 in the next six months

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Gratitude to Transitioning Board and Staff

Board

Bri Bowman

Brent Dunfee

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Staff

Colleen Donlan

Nicholas Escobedo

Liza Gallandt