We’re so grateful to share in the work with so many incredible community organizations fostering health, access to local food and belonging on Mount Desert Island. Please support and learn from these organizations, whose work we love!
BAR HARBOR FOOD PANTRY
The Bar Harbor Food Pantry provides healthy food and other household products free of charge to Hancock County residents in need of assistance. The Bar Harbor Food Pantry has been serving the community since 1994. The Bar Harbor Food Pantry and Open Table MDI often unite to support a shared vision, including working together on the MDI Food Access Project.
Healthy Acadia works on a broad range of community health initiatives that help Hancock and Washington Counties to thrive. Since 2001, they have convened and facilitated numerous collaborative community efforts. Before achieving our 501(c)(3) status, Healthy Acadia served as our non-profit fiscal sponsor.
The Bar Harbor Garden Club was organized in 1934. Today, this year-round garden club has grown to one-hundred members. They serve the communities of Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, Tremont, and the nearby town of Trenton. Its mission is to promote the love of horticulture, protect and preserve natural resources, provide educational opportunities, contribute responsibly to civic and environmental needs, and enjoy the fellowship of its members. Open Table MDI is proud to partner with the BHGC on our Open Garden MDI Project.
Island Connections began in the mid-1990’s in response to an identified need for seniors and disabled neighbors in the Mount Desert Island community. They provide transportation to medical, dental & vision appointments, as well as other errands, social visits, and appointments. Meals on Wheels is a good part of the work they do and they are happy to be collaborating with the MDI/Ellsworth Housing Authority to do so. Island Connections provides regular delivery service for our MDI Food Access Project.
Beech Hill Farm, a project of College of the Atlantic, is a MOFGA-certified organic farm. The 73-acre property includes six acres of fields in vegetable production, three small heirloom apple orchards, pasture land for pigs and poultry, five greenhouses, and open forest. Beech Hill Farm also administers Share the Harvest – a program that acts as a liaison between low-income residents, summer workers, and local food. Open Table MDI purchases produce from Beech Hill Farm and generously provide fresh produce for our gleaning table. Open Table MDI is also proud to partner with Beech Hill Farm on the MDI Food Access Project.
Bar Harbor Community Farm is located at the old Gilbert Farm on Gilbert Farm Road in Town Hill. This 50 acres is now preserved, with agricultural and nature easements, as farmland forever. The 15 acres of tillable soils are considered ‘agricultural soils of statewide significance.’ They grow over 80 varieties of MOFGA-certified organic vegetables for restaurants, markets, and 150 households on Mount Desert Island. Bar Harbor Community Farm provides Open Table MDI with produce on a regular basis.
Founded in 1969, College of the Atlantic was the first college in the U.S. to focus on the relationship between humans and the environment. COA enriches the liberal arts tradition through a distinctive educational philosophy—human ecology. A human ecological perspective integrates knowledge from all academic disciplines and from personal experience to investigate—and ultimately improve—the relationships between human beings and our social and natural communities. Open Table MDI is proud to partner with COA on our Open Garden MDI Project and the MDI Food Access Project
Healthy Acadia’s Downeast Gleaning Initiative helps to reduce food insecurity by coordinating farm-based gleaning opportunities throughout Hancock and Washington counties. They connect volunteers with farms, orchards, farmers’ markets, and community gardens to collect surplus fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste. They then manage the distribution of fresh produce to food pantries, community meal sites, rehabilitation programs, school backpack programs, and other community organizations. Open Table MDI is proud to partner with the Downeast Gleaning Initiative on the MDI Food Access Project.
The mission of Good Shepherd Food Bank is to eliminate hunger in Maine by improving access to nutritious food for people in need, building strong community partnerships, and mobilizing the public in the fight to end hunger. In addition to distributing food to Mainers in need, the Food Bank is leading a statewide effort to combat the root causes of hunger by engaging in advocacy, nutrition education, and strategic partnerships. Open Table MDI is proud to be an official partner agency of Good Shepherd Food Bank.
