Our History
Founder of the Home Gardening Project, Vietnam Veteran Dan Barker, started the original Garden Project in Portland, Oregon in the mid-80s. Dan built free backyard vegetable gardens with a mission to "empower low-income people by giving them more control over their own food security and decreasing their reliance on emergency food programs."
Our Founder Ali Mediate served as an AmeriCorps service member with a nonprofit organization called GRuB (Garden-Raised Bounty) in 2015 in Olympia, Washington. GRuB hosted a Kitchen Garden Project that was inspired by the work of Dan Barker and Ali led the project during her service term. Ali was inspired to bring the work of the Garden Project home to New England, and founded Maine Foodscapes in 2018.
Our Founder Ali Mediate served as an AmeriCorps service member with a nonprofit organization called GRuB (Garden-Raised Bounty) in 2015 in Olympia, Washington. GRuB hosted a Kitchen Garden Project that was inspired by the work of Dan Barker and Ali led the project during her service term. Ali was inspired to bring the work of the Garden Project home to New England, and founded Maine Foodscapes in 2018.
Our Work & Mission
Maine Foodscapes is a federally incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to improve community food security and well-being throughout Southern Maine. Each spring, our Foodscapes Garden Project (FGP) connects Mainers currently experiencing limited resources with the tools needed to start growing their own food. Through the FGP, we partner with families to build raised-bed vegetable gardens at their homes & offer ongoing gardening mentorship. We also partner to build on-site community vegetable gardens with local organizations serving clients vulnerable to nutrition insecurity. Each FGP garden includes up to three 4x8 raised beds, filled with high quality compost/soil and accompanied by organic seeds/seedlings to begin the growing season.
Since our founding, we have proudly served over 400 individuals through our work installing over 350 raised vegetable garden beds for 121 households & organizations across 51 towns within Cumberland, Oxford, York, & Androscoggin counties. We have received over 1500 garden applications and look forward to building our capacity and working with community partners to meet the growing need for accessible food.
In addition to the FGP, Maine Foodscapes also offers ongoing educational and therapeutic programming in garden-based settings for youth and seniors, and hosts regular cooking, planting, & wellness workshops / events open to the community.
Since our founding, we have proudly served over 400 individuals through our work installing over 350 raised vegetable garden beds for 121 households & organizations across 51 towns within Cumberland, Oxford, York, & Androscoggin counties. We have received over 1500 garden applications and look forward to building our capacity and working with community partners to meet the growing need for accessible food.
In addition to the FGP, Maine Foodscapes also offers ongoing educational and therapeutic programming in garden-based settings for youth and seniors, and hosts regular cooking, planting, & wellness workshops / events open to the community.
Learn More & Get Involved
From our inception, Maine Foodscapes has relied upon generous and enthusiastic volunteers and partner organizations from the Southern Maine community to support our programming. From building gardens in teams, offering ongoing advice and mentorship for new gardeners, to leading educational workshops, Maine Foodscapes has connected community members to opportunities to engage in building a more healthy, empowered, and resilient Maine for all. We would be honored for you to join us as we continue this work!