The following was written by a few Semester 53 students, most of whom are part of one Farm and Food Systems class that had a particularly fiery discussion about food insecurity during last week’s class:
In an area as abundant in healthy, nutritious food as Chewonki, it can be hard to remember the hardships that occur off of the Neck. Surprisingly enough, Wiscasset is considered a “food desert,” meaning that residents must travel for long distances in order to find food and that there is little variety. Additionally, 13% of Lincoln County residents are “food insecure,” meaning they are in “the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food” (Oxford dictionary). As semester students, these numbers were surprising and alarming to us. This Friday, November 14, a part of the student body and some Chewonki staff will be participating in a 24 hour fast. The money that is saved from not making these meals will go to the food pantry as homemade bread and granola that will be made during work programs.
As part of this movement, we would like to encourage the greater Chewonki community to take a look at their home area and consider donating time, food, or money to local organizations trying to feed those in hunger. To start, we would recommend checking out the Feeding America: Map the Meal Gap website to discover statistics about your home! Thank you for your support!
