UMaine Extension educator Marjorie Peronto said the food drive, which ended this week, will help local food pantries and soup kitchens in the county, which have seen a rise in the number of people using their services.

This year the Master Gardeners will celebrate 30 years in Maine. UMaine Extension Master Gardener Volunteers have assisted in dozens of community gardens across the state, including the Maine Harvest for Hunger program and other community-based volunteer efforts. Money raised will assist in many of those projects, including scholarships to help those attend that cannot afford the Master Gardener Volunteers course fee.

Members of the public can support the project by ordering a high-bush blueberry plant pack, consisting of three young plants, two varieties per pack, for $35.95. Packs will be available for pickup at specific University of Maine Cooperative Extension county offices May 19, 2012. These locations include: Hancock County located in Ellsworth; Penobscot County located in Bangor; York County located in Springvale; Knox-Lincoln Counties located in Waldoboro; and Highmoor Farm located in Monmouth. Cumberland County pre-orders only should be picked up at the Cumberland County Master Gardener Plant Sale to held at the Barron Center on Brighton Avenue in Portland on May 19, not at the Extension Office in Falmouth. Those interested in purchasing a high-bush blueberry pack can get additional information at http://umaine.edu/gardening/go-blueberry/.

Purchasers will receive expert advice on growing blueberries at every stage — planting, pruning and harvesting — and a take-home package of instructions from UMaine Extension staff and Master Gardener Volunteers.Purchasers will also receive a discount of $5 off the cost of one soil test for their blueberry planting site at the UMaine Soil Testing Lab. Soil tests can help gardeners get the most out of their soils and garden sites. When purchasers place orders, they’ll receive instructions on how to select the right site and how to take the soil sample. Soil samples can be taken early in the spring.

To request special accommodations or for more information contact Richard Brzozowski, 207.781.6099, toll-free in Maine, 800-287-1471 or email: richard.brzozowski@maine.edu; or Marjorie Peronto,(207) 667-8212, or toll-free in Maine (800) 287-1479 or email: marjorie.peronto@maine.edu.

UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goals. To provide adequate time to respond to requests, inquiries are welcome with as much advance notice as possible.

Senior Companions helps aging Maine residents remain independent and in their homes, particularly when they live in rural areas and don’t have relatives living nearby. The program has some 124 senior companion volunteers who serve more than 500 clients. In 2010, companions made 27,510 visits for a total of 83,712 hours in 14 of Maine’s 16 counties, according to Cooperative Extension.

The recent surveys returned by about 100 clients included people who were 90 years old or older and who live in their own homes alone. They were asked about heart disease, dementia or diabetes and if they have family living close by. Those reporting they live alone with at least one chronic illness, and thought they would be in a nursing home if not for their senior companion, said they would need MaineCare to pay for nursing home residency.

“We took into account other funding and made sure those amounts were deleted from the total, including the $14,340 which is currently received from the state,” says Ann Swain, program director. “We concluded, based on average nursing home costs, that the Senior Companion Program saves MaineCare $4.6 million per year.”

Swain notes that the Senior Companion Program could be saving the state much more if the current total client population were surveyed. “Imagine how much we could be saving in MaineCare dollars if we had the funds to visit clients across the state of Maine who are not currently being visited,” she says.

Assisting in the survey were John Rebar, Cooperative Extension director, Deb Eckart, an Extension educator in Machias, in addition to Swain in Orono.

Contact: Ann Swain, (207) 581-3326

Master Gardener Volunteers are required to give back 40 hours of volunteer time providing outreach education in gardening and community service through ongoing outreach projects such as demonstration gardens, the Maine Harvest for Hunger, “Kids Can Grow” programs, and the Garden Angel program. If you are interested in participating in the 2012 training, call UMaine Extension in York County at 1-800-287-1535 (toll free in Maine) or 324-2814 for an information packet and an application form. The deadline for applying is January 4th. You may also apply online via extension.umaine.edu/york/programs/master-gardener-volunteer-program.

“Thanks to everyone’s effort, we have exceeded our goal of 250,000 pounds,” says Extension educator Barbara Murphy in the South Paris Oxford County office. “I am speechless. My heartfelt thanks for all of the terrific work.”

Murphy, who coordinates the program, had announced her gratitude several weeks ago that preliminary results indicated 90 tons — 180,000 pounds — of fresh fruits and vegetables were donated this year. The final figure is now 140 tons, or 280,076 pounds.

Nearly 500 volunteer gardeners in about a dozen counties this year donated produce to 114 food pantries, shelters or charitable organizations around the state. Murphy also revised upwards the value of the produce to $473,328, from $303,713 earlier.

The number of participants more than doubled from 200 in 2010 and the number of organizations benefiting from the gardeners’ generosity more than tripled, from 45 last year.

Contact: Barbara Murphy, 743-6329, 1-800-287-1482 (toll-free in Maine)

Nearly 500 volunteer gardeners in about a dozen counties this year donated the nearly 90 tons of vegetables and fruit to 114 food pantries, shelters or charitable organizations around the state, according to Extension educator Barbara Murphy in the South Paris Oxford County office. Murphy, who oversees the program, values the produce at $303,713, based on a sales price averaging $1.69 per pound.

The number of participants more than doubled from 200 in 2010 and the number of organizations benefiting from the gardeners’ generosity more than tripled, from 45 last year. Murphy calculated that farmers and gardeners collectively logged 5,890 hours in this year’s Harvest for Hunger effort.

Murphy considers the program, which is still receiving donated produce as the growing season winds down, highly successful given the challenging, if not poor, growing conditions throughout much of the summer. Inconsistent rain, combined with hot, dry periods, took an especially large toll on winter squash, “which always adds tons to the totals,” she says.

Donated fruits and vegetables have increased in volume each year, as has the number of gardeners participating, in addition to the need, Murphy says. Since 2000, volunteers have donated almost 542 tons of fresh produce to the Extension’s Harvest for Hunger program.

For information and details on future participation, Murphy can be reached by email at barbara.murphy@maine.edu or by telephone at 1-800-287-1482 in Maine.

Participating counties producing the most produce for the program are listed in order: Kennebec, Penobscot, York, Oxford, Washington, Hancock, Franklin, Cumberland, and Knox, Waldo and Lincoln combined, Piscataquis and Somerset.

In addition, Highmoor Farm in Monmouth and university experimental gardens contributed more than 6 tons. Murphy says with as much as 20,000 pounds anticipated from Androscoggin and Penobscot counties, the grand total could reach 100 tons, the amount donated in 2010.

The planting is in recognition of two important days, both occurring during National Farm to School Month. Saturday, Oct. 22 is annual “Make a Difference Day,” and Monday, Oct 24 is the first Food Day in Maine, proclaimed by Gov. LePage. Food Day is being celebrated across the country on Oct. 24.

Children and volunteers will plant garlic at the Youthlinks garden on Saturday, Oct. 22 in Rockland, during a “Make a Difference Day” project coordinated by Youthlinks, a nonprofit, and Oceanside East High School. In Wiscasset, young people will be planting at the Morris Farm there in conjunction with the Wiscasset Primary School.

On Monday, plantings will occur with students at 8 Corners Primary School’s garden in Scarborough and additional schools throughout Maine. Ellen Libby, Extension educator in the Knox-Lincoln counties office, can be contacted at (207) 832-0343 for the complete schedule during the week.

Garlic for Good participants have been provided with enough garlic cloves to plant 15 square feet, the size of a 3-foot-by-5-foot “Kids Can Grow” raised bed. Three different varieties of stiff-neck garlic grown at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast (www.schoolgardenproject.com) have been provided for comparisons of taste and growth habits.

“This project is not only a meaningful food and service-learning project, but also a great science project for kids as they will be learning, planting, feeding, observing and interacting with their garlic from October 2011 through August 2012,” says
Libby.

Spring Garlic scapes will be used for taste-testing and healthy snacks for kids. Half of the summer’s garlic harvest will be used by the students to create tasty dishes with other produce from their gardens, Libby says. The other half of the harvest
will be donated to help feed Maine’s hungry through Maine Harvest for Hunger program.

Garlic is planted in the fall and is a perfect activity to do as gardeners clean up their beds in preparation for winter.

The 40 schools and youth groups signed up to participate in the program are located throughout Maine. A map of their locations can be found at the Extension’s Maine FoodCorps web page.

Instructions for planting garlic can be found in an online Extension video.

“Together we can help kids learn how to alleviate hunger in their communities while also engaging them in healthy food choices, physical activity and experiential learning for the health of it,” Libby says.