The Downeast Restorative Harvest Community Garden in Machias was buzzing in more ways than one on a foggy July morning. A number of volunteers were there to pick sugar snap peas and then pull down the vines and roll up the support wiring. Another volunteer picked and washed crates of cucumbers, and another went through the rows of tomatoes looking out for the tell tale blush of ripe fruits hiding in the foliage.
      Healthy Acadia Food Programs Manager Regina Grabrovac was grinning, happy to see the volunteers enjoying the morning harvest and delighted with the first year of the garden's life as a producer of veggies for the Washington County jail kitchen and for food pantries in the area. Grabrovac anticipates that the garden will produce 2,500 to 3,000 pounds of food this year, with the one quarter acre garden comprised of 1,700 row feet of plants.

Fresh produce as vital resource
     Grabrovac explains the mission behind the garden. "Fresh food access is so important for good health. It is vitally more important for incarcerated people who have very limited access to healthy food options." She cites the Impact Justice's recent "Eating Behind Bars" prison report, which showed that 62% of incarcerated individuals reported rarely or never having access to fresh vegetables and fruit. "Often, jails have even fewer resources to support healthy food. Those who are incarcerated are very likely to be back in our communities. Treating them with dignity will increase the chances that they might move one to lead more impactful lives in their communities."
      She adds, "We are grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people who may be experiencing hunger in our communities through our food pantry donations, as well as jail residents who benefit from increased fruits and vegetables while incarcerated."
      The garden is a portion of a 10-acre parcel owned by the county and leased to Healthy Acadia for 10 years. "Since the 1980s it's been a feral field," Grabrovac explains. Rigorous soil testing was done for heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides and PFAS chemicals, as well as a soil analysis for any nutritional deficiencies that needed to be balanced out for optimum growing conditions. The soil, heavy clay, needed copious amounts of compost, with a much appreciated donation from Coast of Maine, as well as mulching straw from two blueberry farms. Next year the garden will need plenty more compost, one of the carefully noted and assessed changes that Grabrovac is keeping track of for 2025. Long term goals include expanding the vegetable garden and planting fruit trees.

Understanding and overcoming challenges
     Partners with Healthy Acadia in the project are the Washington County government and jail, the Maine Department of Corrections, the recovery community, agricultural educators and other groups. The county government and the county jail administrator have been very supportive, reports Grabrovac.
      Originally, the garden was intended to provide gardening skills training to inmates of the jail and nearby prison, but this goal has proved to be challenging. The prison system, she explains, is creating its own gardens for inmate skills building and use, but above that the prison inmates at the Machiasport based Downeast Correctional Facility are there for re entry programs that provide paid positions. Currently, Healthy Acadia cannot offer pay, although it is looking for grants that could provide this benefit. However, the prison did send a crew to break the garden ground and ready it for work in the spring. "They did a beautiful job."
      Jail inmates are another target group that is proving challenging. Results of a survey taken by inmates show that many are quite interested in learning about gardening and produce use with culinary training and ServSafe certification. However, very few inmates are eligible for a work exchange or work service program. In addition, many inmates are not yet sentenced, and they cannot participate either.
      Also, jail and prison staffing are a challenge, with not enough resources available to bring inmates back and forth to the garden. Grabrovac is looking at ways to create program classes at the county jail, possibly in the evening with inmates split into six or so small groups.

Community volunteers jump to help
     The garden has about eight community volunteers who plant, weed, harvest and maintain the garden. Healthy Acadia Washington County Food Programs Coordinator Lucy Zwigard is the volunteer coordinator, among many duties, and says that the garden "serves as a welcoming and fun gathering space for enthusiastic and dedicated community members who enjoy working together to sow seeds, tend plants, build healthy soil and harvest good food to go into our area's food assistance programs. It is a place where not only skills, but friendships and warm memories are being built."
      Volunteer Virginia Austin, a Washington Academy (WA) graduate going on to earn her degree in education, couldn't agree more with Zwigard's words. Working in the garden is not only fun, but "it's very productive. It's really important to provide good food to those who don't have access to it," not only for physical health but for mental health, she stresses. Volunteer Sam Diefenbach of Marshfield nods. "It's important to be involved in the community, get out of the house once a week and know that you're giving back." Austin adds, "I love volunteering at the garden." She had volunteered at the WA garden when she was a student. "It's really fun to get outside and to know you're helping."
      To learn more about the garden and volunteer opportunities visit healthyacadia.org/hffa derh.