Once upon a time...

Fresh Start Farms has a story. And not just your Maine-farmer-growing-good-food-on-fertile-soil story, or your reclaiming-grandfather's-old-land story. Both of these are important and wonderful but there's something that sets Fresh Start Farms' story apart. This tale traverses the Atlantic Ocean, crosses political and ethnic boundaries, and speaks of resiliency and justice far beyond the average seed saving farmer.

Spend some time learning about Fresh Start Farms' story:

The Resiliency Interviews: The Resiliency Project, a collaboration between Cultivating Community, The Telling Room, and No Umbrella Media, brought youth from our summer programs and refugee and immigrant farmers together for shared farmwork and storytelling around skills of resilience.

There Is My Home is a powerful documentary telling the story of two NASAP farmers as they use agriculture to create roots in Maine. Lanes Island Productions, 2011. Winner of the Audience Choice Award at its premiere at the Lewiston-Auburn Film Festival. This film will rebroadcast on PBS on Thursday Feb. 9th 10 PM and Saturday Feb. 11th, 11AM.

PBS also showcased the NASAP program from 2007 in Letter From Maine: New In Town as part of the Rain in a Dry Land broadcast. This written documentary describes the Somali transition into Lewiston, Maine.

NASAP photos and video interviews are included in this web-based magazine article about U.S. Immigrants reinventing the family farm: A Harvest of Hope by flypmedia (2008).

One of our original funders, Heifer International, posted an article about NASAP growers in New Roots in America.

The Portland Phoenix wrote a short story called "Enjoying the Fruits of a Sudanese Farm in Maine" about one of NASAP growers and his love for food - on the farm and in the kitchen.

Every face you see tells a unique story. Whether it belongs to your friend, your coworker, your waitor, a stranger... Today, take this opportunity to listen, watch, and engage in the faces behind your food, and open your eyes to lives you've never imagined.

A breath of fresh air.

Everywhere around you, people are talking about the new year - new beginnings, new resolutions, new commitments, new possibilities...


Fresh Start Farms was born from that spirit. A departure from what was known for the promise of a better life. As these growers can tell you, it's not easy to leave behind the past and move forward, to learn a new language or new customs. It takes an incredible amount of strength not only to resettle, but to actively take hold of opportunities to grow a new life. Every day there are new challenges but these farmers have risen above adverse circumstances and are dedicated to caring for each seed of potential in their fields & in their businesses.

Winter Workshops: The winter is a perfect time to reflect on all of this. This week, farmers began the first series of workshops, trainings and classes, refining their skills and developing plans to prosper in 2012.

During the growing season, it can be hard to budget where time should be spent. At many points in the year, farmers are simultaneously responsible for harvesting crops, planting the next batch of seeds or seedlings, weeding everything in between, and finding time for markets (which still involves washing & packing produce, loading & unloading, traveling, and selling). This wheel exercise is a way to visualize how farmers anticipated dividing their time among different tasks.

Early in January, farmers are already figuring out what they want to grow, how much of each crop they want to plant, and how their field will be organized. There are a lot of factors that go into this - customer preferences (produce diversity for CSA shares and farmers' markets, produce quantity for restaurants and stores ), soil health, sunlight exposure and drainage patterns, proximity to beneficial plants and insects (learn more about companion planting), and quite simply, what the farmers want to feed their families. The exercise in these picture gives farmers the chance to play around with how much of what will grow where!

And the workshops don't end there. Add english classes, financial literacy and business planning, production and marketing trainings, etc... With so much to do, it becomes even more important that these farmers have the resources to afford pre-season expenses like seeds, tools, gas, and even building greenhouse space.

Consider supporting their efforts by purchasing a CSA share. Together we can align our new years resolutions: You want to treat yourself, your community, and your planet with more care and respect, and Fresh Start Farms growers want to continue building a stable home in Maine, to earn enough to feed their families and give their children a good life, and to grow more vibrant fields of green :)

Low Income CSA shares!

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) brings together a community of farmers and customers who pledge to support these farmers' operations, sharing the risks & rewards of food production.

Generally the CSA model relies on customers to pay in full before the harvest, which provides growers with the financial security to cover seasonal startup costs. So what happens when a community member wants to support a farmer but lives with a limited income, receiving SNAP (food stamps) benefits?

We have an answer.

Fresh Start Farms is working with Cultivating Community to sign up SNAP recipients for CSA shares for the 2012 season.

Why sign up? There are two major perks:

1. pay once a month as you receive food, instead of paying upfront


2. pay half the price: thanks to a doubling program through Wholesome Wave, we are able to match SNAP dollars on CSA purchases--meaning SNAP customers pay for two weeks of every month and Cultivating Community pays for the other two.

Only one catch... we only have a limited number of these low income CSA shares available, so register as soon as possible to reserve your spot!!

Look through the winter gray toward the light at the end of the tunnel, and you will find juicy ripe tomatoes in your future :)

Winter Market & SNAP

Hopefully you're all gearing up for the Portland Winter Farmers' Market opening this Saturday 9am-1pm at the Maine Irish Heritage Center!

Did you know that we will be accepting VISA/MC, as well as SNAP food stamps?? In fact, every time you swipe your food stamps card, you will get DOUBLE the number of tokens... absolutely free! That's right, we'll charge $5 to your card and give you $10 in tokens!

Wondering what you can buy at the indoor market? There are tons of options!

• Root & greenhouse vegetables


• Storage crops


• Dairy products


• Eggs


• Honey


• Breads, grains, flour


• Tempeh


• Jams & preserved foods


• Meats


• and much more!

Speaking of root vegetables, we stumbled upon a fun video from the Austin Farmers' Market all about TURNIPS. Get some ideas for this often under-appreciated crop!

Getting more out of your fruit & veggies!

Our friends over at the Lewiston Farmers Market compiled an excellent list of storage tips to help you get more out of your fruit & veggies!

"We tend to think of our refrigerators as a magic box that preserves food. However, it can dry vegetables out, causing them to shrivel. Some produce items in fact, store longer when not put into the refrigerator. "


Check it out and give your veggies the care they need.

Video--Portland Farmers' Market

As we get ready to enter winter, let's remember our summer days at the Portland Farmers' Market. This season, a fan created a video that highlighted the outdoor markets, Maine farmers, the SNAP program, and why it's important to eat local food. Check it out!

Farmers' Perspective on Local Food

Remember that Portland's Indoor Farmers' Market begins December 10th at the Irish Heritage Center, located at 52 Gray Street (one block from Mercy Hospital on State St)!

End of Season!

It's officially the end of our CSA year, the end of most of our markets, and the end of the general growing season...

...but for Fresh Start Farms growers, it's the beginning of the important off-season, full of workshops and trainings, and making plans for next year. For Rosy (in blue)- this marks her first full season with NASAP, so we celebrated her last market of the year with a celebratory cake and many warm congratulations :)