LEWISTON — A few months after the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center received a $400,000 grant from the federal government, U.S. Sen. Angus King visited Tuesday to see what the center does.

The indepdent senator met with staff and volunteers and learned about the center’s programs, including the food pantry, community gardens that enable downtown residents to grow food, the colorful “Good Food Bus” that is a mobile food market, the farmers markets and nutrition classes.

“God’s work,” King said. “It’s pretty powerful.”

In November, St. Mary’s received a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, its first USDA grant, to help the center build greater food security in Lewiston-Auburn. The grant requires a $400,000 local match over four years. The goal is to expand local food access by preserving farmland to help expand farms.

Director Kirsten Walter gave King an overview of the center’s programs and said the staff and volunteers believe everyone deserves access to good food, and that they love and believe in Lewiston-Auburn.

King then had questions, such as, “Talk to me about the numbers.”

The food pantry is among the largest in Maine and partners with Good Shepherd, Walter said. Last year, it gave out 830,000 pounds of food, enough food to feed 60,000 people, a 200 percent increase from the previous year.

“Whose tomatoes are they?” King asked, referring to the community gardens.

“If you plant that tomato, it’s yours,” Walter said. The center provides seedlings, education and staff to help people grow food. This April will mark the 20th season of the community gardens and transforming the downtown landscape. “That’s a long time,” she said.

King asked, “Are there criteria people need to meet to plant in the gardens?”

No, Walter replied, but people who live closest to the gardens are given priority. “The gardens are placed in neighborhoods of incredible poverty,” she said. The gardens provide produce to 130 Lewiston-Auburn households.

“We’re about to launch three new gardens,” she said.

Two of King’s favorite questions, he said: “Does it work? And how do you know?’”

The center’s staff knows programs are working in part through feedback, Walter said. For example, the children’s program coordinator has reached 2,000 kids in the elementary schools through school gardens and nutrition programs.

“We know it’s working when those kids come back next month and talk about what they tried or brought home,” or when they hear teachers talk about improved behavior in students now getting nutritious food.

“Those are small wins, but they’re really important,” Walter said.

“This is the classic ‘teach a person to fish,’” King said.

Walter agreed, but expressed concern that if the numbers of the needy keep growing, will the amount of money invested in the center’s infrastructure keep pace.

“If there’s no place to grow food, no place to learn to cook, then it doesn’t matter because you don’t have the tools,” she said.

For instance, putting in a new garden can cost $30,000.

The cities are supportive of the center, Walter told King, adding in the early days the federal funding of CDBG grants from Lewiston was among the center’s primary funding.

“I think that was zeroed out in (Trump’s proposed budget),” King said. “But don’t worry. I don’t think it’s going to pass.”

“There’s a lot we’re worried about,” Walter said.

“Me, too,” King said.

Turning to St. Mary’s Health System Interim President Peter Holden, King said: “This is Matthew 25: When you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.”

Before leaving, King visited the food pantry, meeting and mingling with other staff members, volunteers and locals there to get food. 

bwashuk@sunjournal.com

Program assistant Fiston Mubalama answers a question from U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, at the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center’s food pantry in Lewiston on Tuesday. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, talks with St. Mary’s Nutrition Center staff in Lewiston on Tuesday. From left are: Sherie Blumenthal, Sarah Ullman, Hannah Gottlieb and King. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, listens to St. Mary’s Nutrition Center Director Kirsten Walter in Lewiston on Tuesday. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)