Murphy, Harvest for Hunger Featured in Press Herald Article
The Portland Press Herald mentioned the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Harvest for Hunger program and interviewed program organizer and UMaine Extension educator Barbara Murphy for the article “Maine food pantries connecting with farmers to provide fresh produce.” For more than 15 years, gardeners across Maine have grown nearly 1.9 million pounds of produce for Harvest for Hunger, according to the article. In most counties, the food is taken to food pantries to distribute, but in Oxford County, the program hosts weekly distribution nights where 180 families pick up produce, watch cooking demonstrations and sample dishes made with the food they receive that week, the article states. Murphy said it’s encouraging to hear the Oxford County families say they are changing their eating habits or are better able to pay household bills because of the program.