Food Bank Food Forest

Narrative Explanation of Design
Food Bank Food Forest at Rolling Acres Farm 152 Punk Point Road, Jefferson, Maine

Project Background

Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) is a statewide nonprofit that protects farmland, supports farmers, and advances the future of farming. In 2011, MFT acquired and made plans to permanently protect Rolling Acres Farm, a 133-acre property in Jefferson, Maine. Included with the farmland is a private residence that is now home to MFT’s Joseph A. Fiore Art Center, a gallery and host site for an artist residency program that connects working artists and academics with the landscape.

In an effort to revive agriculture on this historic farm, staff from the Fiore Art Center approached MFT’s Veggies For All (VFA). VFA operates a ‘food bank farm’ that addresses food insecurity by growing, gleaning, and distributing fresh produce through a network of regional food pantries. Last year, the Fiore Arts Center and VFA collaborated to explore the concept of a “food bank food forest” at the Center. Drawing upon the community connections built by the Fiore Art Center in Jefferson and VFA’s expertise in addressing local food security, this effort will revive the agricultural traditions of Rolling Acres, support community food security, and honor the creative connections between farming, conservation, art-making, and permaculture design.

Project Outcomes

In May 2018, MFT took its first steps toward pursuing this unique opportunity in partnership with MidcoastPermacultureDesign. A food forest design intensive was held at Rolling Hills Farm to educate community members about permaculture and food forest techniques. Workshop participants collected field data and generated plant lists that align with the preliminary production goals of the project.

The group emerged from the intensive session with design patterns generated by the students and a professional drawing of the draft design, included with this application. With existing institutional partnerships, this project offers significant opportunities for learning, community building, and advancing the principles and values of permaculture, including:

• A 7-acre growing site, which will demonstrate the viability of farm-scale permaculture in a cold temperate climate;
• An opportunity to conduct research on the costs and logistics of establishing and operating a commercial agroforestry operation, track the yields of such a system, and measure its effect on the environment;
• An opportunity to share research outcomes with local farmers, permaculture practitioners, and others interested in diversifying their operations toward perennial food production;
• A welcoming site that has consistently been used by the public for educational and social gatherings, outreach, and creative engagement with art and the environment;
• A new high-volume source of free, organically-grown fresh fruit and perennial vegetables for food pantries and other hunger relief outlets in Central Maine, which currently serve the most food insecure population in New England; and
• A visible, effective host organization in MFT, as well as the opportunity to engage in conversations about the future of agriculture at state, regional, and national levels. 


  The overarching goal of this design project is to integrate perennial crops with annual crops using agroforestry practices, balancing both management and yields. To diversify the food bank farm yields into perennial farm products that are familiar or that have promise to the food pantry customers ofVeggies forAll.

Project Budget and Timeline

This is a multi-stakeholder project with established partners that is about one year into a projected three year establishment phase.The longer timetable reflects our interest in a careful and deliberate process that prioritizes input gathering from local food pantries and other institutions and individuals who hold the expertise of our local community, so that we can ensure the long-term effectiveness and success of the project.

An award of $5,000 from PINA would provide vital support for the materials costs associated with the first phase of planting, including plant material, soil amendments, and fencing.