Published June 1, 2022

 How a Single Share Table Brought a Maine Island Community Together

Each year, Waldo County residents exchange homegrown produce at no-cost at Give & Take Tables across the county. Waldo County Bounty (WCB) launched the initiative at the height of the pandemic to help more people access fresh fruits and vegetables, and the program has since captured the hearts and minds of many in the community. This is the story of the Islesboro Give & Take Table.

“Personally, the way I saw it, it touched a lot of people across a spectrum of need,” said Pastor Trish Goodspeed of Islesboro’s Second Baptist Church. “If you didn’t have a garden you could pick something up. If you had surplus, you could keep it from going to waste. It was a way for folks to put food on the table.”

Pastor Trish first heard about the WCB Give & Take Table program at a local food access meeting in spring 2020 – a time of incredible uncertainty. The island was experiencing an uptick in COVID-19 virus cases, and community members were having trouble accessing groceries on the mainland by ferry. Pastor Trish watched as demand outpaced food supplies at the Islesboro Food Pantry at the Second Baptist Church. She needed to find more ways to feed people, so she signed up as a Give & Take Table coordinator with WCB, and she quickly gained community support.

“That’s the thing about the Give & Take Table model – it inspired new connections all across the community.”

“We took the idea to Sara Babbidge, the Executive Director of the Islesboro Community Center, and she and her team jumped right on it,” said Pastor Trish. “Anne McKee in particular really helped start things up.”

Anne is an Islesboro Fellow as part of the Island Institute’s Island Fellows Program, which places recent college graduates in Maine communities for two years to share their skills and improve sustainability efforts. As a Fellow, Anne manages a variety of community activities, from organizing the Islesboro Farmers Market at the Community Center to working on clean energy initiatives—even teaching violin. In addition to all these endeavors, she made the Give & Take Table core to her Fellowship.

“After getting the supplies from WCB, we set the table up outside of the Community Center in September 2020. Islesboro has a big summer community, and, even though it was late in the season, a lot of gardens still had vegetables.”

Anne and Community Center staff were able to glean produce at several gardens, and, to access more fruits and vegetables, Anne also developed a partnership with the Horticulture Program at Islesboro Central School. At the time, she never could have predicted what would soon follow. 

“I didn’t even know some of these things grew in Maine.”

The table took off within two weeks. People from all walks of life interacted with it thanks to its central location at the community center, not far from the farmers market. Home gardeners donated a wide variety of vegetables, from better-known peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers to less-common things like figs and tomatillos. Anne was astonished at times by what she saw – for instance, when a load of concord grapes arrived at the table.

“I didn’t even know some of these things grew in Maine,” said Anne. Others enjoyed the uncommon foods. One person prepared a family meal using tomatillos for the first time.

“There was this great energy around the table,” said Anne. “People were like, ‘Oh my gosh I’ll go get some things from my garden and bring them right back.’”

“I saw about 20 pounds of food coming through daily,” said Pastor Trish. “There are a lot of home gardeners on the island.”

In the spring, the table offered vegetable seedlings gleaned by Veggies For All, a program managed by WCB. Later, bouquets of flowers appeared, and, when there were surplus, Community Center volunteers delivered the flowers alongside hot meals to people who had COVID-19, among others.

“We love the table,” said Anne. “It was great to see how people came together around it. Once it was up and running, it ran itself.” In terms of waste, Anne said they composted produce less than a handful of times.

Pastor Trish and Anne believe the table was a success in part because it was so accessible; for instance, since it was outdoors, it assisted with social distancing concerns. Additionally, the Community Center really works to break down the stigma around accepting hunger relief. At the end of the day, with word-of-mouth bringing news of exciting produce selections, the Give & Take Table was a way to access healthy, high quality food without spending big bucks.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if people were able to get surplus food like this around the world?”

The partnership between WCB, the Second Baptist Church, and the Islesboro Community Center will continue in 2022. Anne’s fellowship will come to an end in the fall, but, before then, she’s really excited to take the Islesboro Give & Take Table to new heights. She hopes to strengthen the connection with the Islesboro Central School’s Horticulture Program, as well as rally volunteers to make more prepared foods with available produce.

Pastor Trish will support the table again this season, too. She grew up gardening and farming, and she is in the process of cultivating vegetable beds at the parsonage. “It is a nice return to something I really love,” she said. “We’ll grow squash, green beans, lots of lettuce and peppers, sunflowers in honor of what is happening in Ukraine. I hope to give sunflower seeds and flowers to churchgoers.”

Reflecting on the Give & Take Table, Pastor Trish Goodspeed had one final thought to share. “It is mind boggling how expensive basic foods can cost. Wouldn’t it be nice if people were able to get surplus food like this, when it’s available, around the world?”