Freeport Community Center, 53 Depot Street, Freeport, Maine
Thursdays: Jan. 24, Feb. 28, Mar. 20, & Apr. 17
6:30 to 7 pm, Reception with Local Food Sampling,
7 pm - 8:30 pm, Main Presentation
For More Information: Wolfe’s Neck Farm, 865-4469

Wolfe’s Neck Farm presents “Food for Thought, Thoughtful Food,” a series of four events for the community to explore creating sustainable ties between the food we eat and the place we live.  There will be a reception featuring local food producers and sampling at 6:30 p.m. before each event.

The first event, “Be a Bee Hero: Beekeeping for Beginners” on January 24th addresses honeybees and the buzz about Colony Collapse disorder and its potential effects on over a third of our food supply. This presentation is geared towards those with an interest in doing something practical to help maintain a healthy honeybee population in Maine. This event is timed so that those who would like to keep bees in 2008 can get started right away since midwinter is the time to order new bees. Rickie Cooper, one of Maine’s two master apiarists, and past president of the Maine beekeeping association, will bring his brand of wit, wisdom, and experience to this presentation on working with bees.

The series continues on February 28th. Russell Libby, of Three Sisters Farm in Mr. Vernon, and the Executive Director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) will present, “A Face, A Place, A Taste— Building a Local Food System.” He will present practical suggestions how we might work together to grow a more local organic food system.

The average distance food travels from farm to consumer is estimated to be 1,500 miles. How about if some of that could travel less than 15 steps? On March 20th, Roger Doiron, the Founding Director of Kitchen Gardeners International will present, “A Subversive Plot: Bringing the Local Foods Revolution into Your Own Backyard.” This provocative and eclectic presentation is for gardeners, food lovers, and other people concerned with their health and that of the planet. Roger works as an advocate to promote vibrant local, state, and regional food systems through his work with the Eat Local Foods Coalition (ELFC) and the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG).

Globalizing agribusiness, with its emphasis on efficiency and short-term profit, has created a high-input, mechanized agriculture increasingly exported to the developing world. The final presentation will be April 17th. Dr. Rick Clugston will present, “Strengthening More Humane and Sustainable Food Systems: Challenges and Opportunities.” Dr. Clugston is the director of the Center for Respect of Life and the Environment, an affiliate of the Humane Society of the United States. This presentation will describe the destructive side of industrial agriculture, epitomized in “factory farms.” It will also explore how we can support more local, fair trade, humane, organic, carbon neutral, and food system worker supportive alternatives through individual and institutional food choices, and through critical policy shifts at the global, national and local levels.

There is a suggested $5 donation for each event, and reservations, while not required, are suggested, as the event was well attended this past year. For more information call Wolfe’s Neck Farm at 865-4469.