We are an energetic team of farmers dedicated to promoting food security through education, action and service. The farm crew embodies this mission with our own standard of “Sustaining the Soul of Organics” by practicing sustainable organic farming, permaculture design, earth stewardship, garden therapy, ending food hunger, helping with the school gardens and teaching good nutrition.
How did we get here?
Standish, Maine was lucky enough to have a University of Massachusetts professor, seeking to practice sustainability, to purchase a 12 acre plot of woods and farmland on River Road along a gorgeous spot along the Saco River in 1991. Thus Richard Rudolph and his wife began their venture into organic gardening. They quickly added a greenhouse/nursery business – being the only local organic one of its type – and began selling at the farm and at Portland Farmers’ Market. Also in the next few years, they added a tunnel/hoop house to produce better tomatoes than those grown in the fields. They were great at introducing new flowers and produce – maybe the first to sell kale and collards – to the local market.
Then came Julee in 1995. She learned quickly about the perennial market and began investigating companion planting. Both to add to the field crops and to sell at the market outlets. She believed in mulching, and later even convinced Richard to leave some on all year. What a great way to help with the weeding! Now we are taking that year round mulching to the level of permaculture, creating unique designs, and adding more perennial vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Our goal is to be the largest broad-acre permaculture farm in southern Maine. Oh and now, we’re proud to say that we are the farm of seven different types of kale.
The story about our School Programs
In 2007, RWF was awarded a three-year grant from the USDA Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program. These funds have enabled us to dramatically increase our community food impact, primarily by supporting the farm’s growing grassroots initiative – the Saco Valley Food Connection (SVFC) Project. This undertaking combines community food work with education to increase food security in the five towns composing Maine’s largest school district, MSAD #6: Buxton, Hollis, Limington, Standish, and Frye Island. The SVFC Project brings together students, social service agencies, youth groups, senior citizens, and others in a common effort to grow organic produce and increase the region’s self-reliance in providing for its own food needs. In addition to constructing a solar greenhouse at Bonny Eagle Middle School, RWF has established gardens at three elementary schools and two low-income senior housing sites; a raised-bed garden will be built at a fourth elementary school this spring. More than 1,600 children and adults are engaged in hands-on learning activities connecting them to their food, the land, and local farmers. The Food Connection Corps, a summer youth development program that employs high school students at the farm, provides life skills, agricultural know-how, and personal growth opportunities for local youth at risk for poverty.
The organic produce grown in the school gardens and at the middle school greenhouse is used for taste testings and to complement food served in the school lunch program. Food harvested during the summer months is donated to food pantries within the MSAD 6 area. The garden lessons offered at each of these school sites is linked to the existing classroom curriculum thus enhancing overall student instruction The gardens are outdoor learning labs where students can apply what they have learned in the classroom and where a fragmented curriculum can become united through hands-on experience that draws on math, science, and social science. There is a growing body of research that highlights the value of such project-based learning. It enhances student scores on standardized reading, writing, math, science and social studies tests, improves behaviors in the classroom and increases student self esteem.
The academic success of today’s youth is also strongly linked with their health. (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention). Children who eat well are more likely to perform well and have fewer behavior problems. With nearly 30% of school age children in Maine being overweight or obese, there is also an urgent need to incorporate nutrition and health education more fully into the curriculum. Maine has a child food insecurity rate of 21.1%–the 8th highest rate in the nation and the highest in New England. RWOF is located within a semi-rural community where approximately half of students at local schools participate in free or subsidized lunch programs. While poor nutrition and lack of exercise contribute to obesity within families, many parents are aware of healthy food choices and their benefits, but report that they can’t afford to buy fresh produce and fruit on a regular basis. This program helps those students who aren’t normally exposed to fresh fruits and vegetables at home to learn about nutritional differences between whole foods and highly processed foods and how to grow and prepare fresh produce at home.