BCDI COVID-19 Community Response Grant Program Recipients

Round One Recipients:

BCDI is pleased to announce the recipients of the first round of the BCDI COVID-19 Community Response Grants.  $7000 was awarded as follows:

Apple Creek Farm

Apple Creek Farm will use the grant funds to accelerate plans to open a farm store given the need to buy food locally. They plan to offer their own products and collaborate with other farms in the community to offer Bowdoinham residents a safe place to get food.

Bowdoinham Food Pantry

The Bowdoinham Food Pantry has already seen a significant increase in demand. The grant will support a temporary increase in hours for the coordinator during the pandemic state of emergency and will help cover increased expenses such as gloves, sanitizer, masks, and other items needed for the safety of all.

East of Eden Flower Farm

East of Eden Flower Farm has had to shift its business strategy in light of the current crisis and is in need of short term assistance as a result. Grant funds will be used toward the farm's delivery van, which will in turn be used to make door-to-door deliveries for the Bowdoinham Public Library Annual Plant Sale.

Left Field Farm

Left Field Farm is working to find alternative ways to get people vegetable and herb seedlings and will use grant funds to create an online system for ordering and to cover costs to manage this safely.

Peary’s Community Garden

Peary's Garden is a community garden in Bowdoinham. Given the increased interest in growing our own food, the grant funds will be used to significantly expand available garden space.  Because of this expansion of tillable area, any plots that are available after the Garden’s regular gardeners have signed up and paid their fee, will be available at no cost, to any gardener who is willing to plant and maintain a plot for the benefit of the Bowdoinham Food Pantry.

Six River Farm

Six River Farm has opened a self serve farm stand in response to the current crisis. The grant will support improvements to the farm stand, specifically covering cooler rental and the purchase of tents and signage.

Stonecipher Farm

Stonecipher Farm has generally sold exclusively to restaurants in the Portland area. Given the current state of emergency, they have shifted to selling food directly on their farm. The grant funds will support improvements to the new farm stand.  The new farm stand has already created an opportunity to provide free vegetables, bagged as “seconds”, for anyone who needs them. In a short time, Stonecipher Farm has already moved hundreds of pounds of free “seconds” into the Bowdoinham community.

Tender Soles Farm

Tender Soles Farm is seeking support in continuing to provide safe access to food for the community. Grant funds will be used to defray some of the cost of current pandemic best practices including setting up an online ordering system and the cost of gloves, bags, and other materials to handle food safely.

Round Two Recipients:

BCDI is pleased to announce the recipients of the second round of the BCDI COVID-19 Community Response Grants.  $12,000 was awarded as follows:

Fairwinds Farm:  For almost twenty years, residents of Bowdoinham and surrounding communities have been able to pick fresh berries at Fairwinds Farm.  Fairwinds Farm will use the grant funds to ensure that customers can continue to do this safely.  Funds will be used toward tables, tents, contactless credit card machines, hand washing stations, masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. 

Blue Bell Farm: Blue Bell farm has seen an increase in demand at its farmstand.  Grant funds will be used toward the purchase of another refrigerator as well as additional hand sanitizer and packaging to ensure customers can obtain food safely.

Maggie’s Farm at Mulberry Creek:  Maggie’s Farm has seen a significant increase in traffic to the farm. Grant funds will be used to make improvements to the farm stand and parking areas to ensure customers can access food safely.

Shearlings Salon:  Julie Booty has been a licensed cosmetologist for 30 years.  She is responding to the current crisis by reopening a one chair salon in her home.  Grant funds will be used to support this transition, to purchase necessary protective equipment, and to help with the additional cleaning and sanitation costs necessary to provide Bowdoinham residents of all ages a safe place to get a haircut.

Bowdoinham Farmers’ Market:  The Bowdoinham Farmers’ Market will use grant funds to implement best practices according to guidance from the Maine Federation of Farmers Markets.  Grant funds will be used for signage, tables and coolers for preorders, hand sanitizer, and touch free screen readers, as well as to support a Veggie Valet position to manage traffic flow and deliver pre-orders to customers safely.

Whatley Farm:  Whatley Farm has seen a significant increase in traffic and an interest in on farm purchases.  Grant funds will be used to convert an existing woodshed to a small self-service farm stand.  The finished farm stand will have a glass door, a refrigerator and freezer, and new signage to facilitate safe and contactless access to food. 

Harvest Tide Organics: Harvest Tide has seen a significant increase in traffic at their farmstand and will use the funds to make improvements to respond to the increased demand.  Harvest Tide is also providing space for some other area farms and businesses to sell their products.  Grant funds will be used to increase cold storage capacity to ensure that a wider selection of food is available in sufficient quantities to meet the increased demand.

Stonecipher Farm: The farmstand at Stonecipher Farm has seen significantly increased traffic and has become an outlet for multiple area farms and businesses to sell their products.  Grant funds will be used to continue to improve the farm stand, specifically to increase cold storage capacity to respond to the increased demand.

Scape Goat Garlic Farm:  Scape Goat Garlic Farm will use the grant funds to help defray additional costs associated with providing culinary garlic and seed garlic to the community.  Funds will be used for bags, gloves, sanitizing supplies, and other increased costs associated with delivering garlic safely.

Bowdoinham Public Library: The Bowdoinham Public Library will use the grant funds to help facilitate access to books in the current climate.  Funds will support four different StoryWalk book projects on the Bowdoinham waterfront trail throughout the summer.  Funds will also be used to support an expanded summer reading program and to build the Bowdoinham Book Trailer, which will be used to increase access to books for people of all ages.

Round Three Recipients

BCDI is pleased to announce the recipients of the third round of the BCDI COVID-19 Community Response Grants. $8,370.00 was awarded as follows:

Watersong Music: https://watersongmusic.org/

Earl Bigelow, owner of Watersong Music, has a student population of musicians in the Bowdoinham Community.  When Covid hit and it no longer became safe to hold lessons in-person, Earl needed to pivot to remote music classes and online music sharing.  Outdated computer equipment, however, made it nearly impossible to do this.  Funds from this program will be used to support the purchase of a new desktop computer, allowing for online music lessons, an upgrade in studio technology, and a continued connection with the arts for Bowdoinham residents during this difficult time.

Sagadahoc Recycling Co.: 

David Berry, founder of the Sagadahoc Recycling Co., has been involved in solid waste issues since the mid 1980s.  Funds from this program will be used to support improvements to the Recycling Barn, which will allow residents to deposit source-separated materials from the outside, thereby safely distancing the staff inside from the public. In addition, any surplus grant money will be used to create a space which will also be safely isolated from staff to be used as a gift shop/clothing exchange/library area.

Brian Hobart/Hobart Farm:

More people have turned to growing their own vegetables and further supporting the products of our local Bowdoinham and area farmers during the pandemic.  It has become apparent to Brian that he can use his family farm’s composting operation to benefit local gardeners and farmers with compost that is rich and locally-produced.  Funds from this program will support some of the costs of labor and raw materials in order to produce and make this compost available.  This labor will also make it possible to accept brush from the community to be run through a chipper without charging for the service.

Scratch Farm: https://scratchfarmme.com/

Julia and Andy McLeod, owners of Scratch Farm, have been developing their on-farm commercial kitchen in order to increase their production capacity and efficiency, as well as to address the COVID-19 concerns of renting commercial kitchen space.  Funds from this program will support the purchase of a commercial grade tomato and applesauce miller.  As they shift their business practices due to COVID, this piece of machinery will allow them to boost their production capacity,  thereby increasing year-round access to healthy, organic food for Bowdoinham and surrounding communities.

Bowdoinham Farmers’ Market: https://www.bowdoinham.com/bowdoinham-farmers-market

The seasoned vendors of the Bowdoinham Farmers’ Market know how to bring high quality products to customers of Bowdoinham and now have the added experience of providing this service safely during a pandemic. The Bowdoinham Farmers’ Market will use grant funds to continue implementing best practices according to guidance provided from state and federal health agencies and the Maine Federation of Farmers Markets. These practices include directing and educating customers on market location and procedures; promoting and facilitating SNAP purchases and pick up of pre-orders; and facilitating hygiene and physical distance among customers and vendors. Supporting the operation of the town’s farmers’ market, and promoting SNAP, is not only a way for everyone in the community to access safe food, it is also a treasured way to maintain our community’s social cohesion.  

Dandelion Spring Farm: www.Dandelionspringfarm.com

Due to Covid, last season Dandelion Spring Farm lost a significant percentage of their normal customer base.  In an effort to broaden their non-restaurant income base, funding from this program will be used to help offset the creation of a small booklet outlining how-to information and recipes that will be available for sale with their Certified Organic vegetable and herb seedlings.  Beth Schiller, owner of Dandelion Spring Farm, also plans to make these booklets available for Bowdoinham residents at Peary’s Community Garden, the Bowdoinham Public Library, and the Bowdoinham Food Pantry. 

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