palermo -
A Community commitment

In Palermo, ensuring food security is a primary community goal; each season, resident volunteer gardeners meet that goal - and then some! 

Connie Bellet, one of the leaders, in her own words:

“Fall harvest has been keeping us very busy!  More people, especially families, are coming to our Food Pantry, and we have been moving record amounts of produce.  Much of this is provided by local farmers who have excess to spare, and we are truly grateful!

Gardens are much more than places to grow food and flowers.  They are havens of peace and beauty, and a place to enjoy one another as we reach into the soil or relax in the shade of the grape arbor after working up a good sweat.  We hold an annual Volunteers' BBQ in the fall to thank all of our hard workers and friends who helped make our efforts worthwhile.  We share food, fun, and friendship around the primal fire, laughing away sore muscles and filling our bellies with the garden's finest produce.   

We receive no Federal or taxpayer funding for the Community Garden or the Food Pantry, which is administered by Good Shepherd Food Bank.  June Foshay and her son, Peter Nerber procure most of the food from Hannaford's and other sources.  The Palermo Community Center hosts the Food Pantry and Community Garden.  In order to fund the garden, I have embarked on a crowdfunding program through SeedMoney.org, a Maine nonprofit.

The Food Pantry has about 8 volunteers weekly.  We serve, on average, 50 families a week, and they come from communities in Waldo, Lincoln, Knox, and Kennebec Counties.  Most are elders and veterans, but we are seeing young families with infants, as well.  Some of these families come and take food so they can pay their other bills with their limited incomes.  We are happy to help as much as we can.”

This small town, pop.1570, certainly does not think small and the large number of volunteers that work with Connie show that every season. At the Town Hall, the Give and Take table, with its self-explanatory title, is always busy. 

Palermo does not do this alone. Many partnerships have helped and continue to help make it happen. Palermo is one of many Lifelong Communities helping to ensure their residents, friends, and neighbors have access to fresh food at an affordable price. 

To learn more about how LC's promote food security check out our Food Security Toolbox (https://www.lifelongmaine.org/library/food-security)