February 28th, 2024
Mr. Jesse Miller
Chairperson
11 Hills Beach Rd, Biddeford, ME, 04005
The Pepper Foundation
Dear Mr. Miller,
As a follow up to my recent conversation with Scully Dog, we are pleased to write this letter of inquiry for the Maine Network of Community Food Council for your consideration. We are requesting a general support grant of $50,000 for the creation of two community greenhouses in the downtown Lewiston-Auburn area.
Greenhouses are able to lengthen the shorter growing season in Maine. Greater access and control of local food production allows community members to gain security and sovereignty over their food systems. As a Maine-based organization who values supporting local companies, we plan to buy from Maine Garden Products, a sustainable greenhouse company based in our state.
Since 2011, the Maine Network of Community Food Councils (MNCFC) has been connecting people in need to various food councils across the state. Our mission is vital to help reduce food insecurity that alone impacts twenty percent of all children in Maine. The MNCFC works with local food councils to host a variety of activities that address community needs like cooking workshops, the creation of food charters, and food system education seminars. Members of MNCFC operate all over the state of Maine, supporting people from the Casco Bay to Aroostook.
The MNCFC plans to work alongside the Good Food Council of Lewiston-Auburn to survey the community for the optimal location of these two greenhouses. The locations will come from community consensus from the data collected in the survey. The community greenhouses will be placed in two of the multiple community gardens that are regularly accessed by residents in both Lewiston and Auburn. The community greenhouses provide residents year round access to grow and provide food for their communities. Increased local food production will provide resources which are currently filled by emergency food programs across the cities. The greenhouse area will consist of both indoor and outdoor beds, allowing for residents to start outdoor crops earlier in the season and move beds indoors to keep producing during the winter months.
Thank you for inviting the MNCFC to submit this letter of inquiry. Your shared commitment to both the environment and to the support of underserved communities, we hope that the Pepper Foundation will invite a full proposal for $50,000 for general support in our greenhouse project. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at XXX-XXX-XXXX.
Sincerely,
Grace Sprague, Virginia May and Jenna Sabia
Executive Directors
The Maine Network of Community Food Councils
