Frances Leslie was looking to serve a cause in her hometown of Wiscasset for Martin Luther King Day, a national day of service, Monday, Jan. 18. She thought of food insecurity. Then she thought of Morris Farm’s months-old, take what you need, free food stand on Gardiner Road. She talked with The Morris Farm Trust’s AmeriCorps VISTA Food Security Coordinator, Liza Goss.

The result was a food drive set for MLK Day. "Come support your neighbors by dropping off non-perishable items and baked goods” at the stand, Goss said. “Fresh produce is limited this time of year due to the cold temperatures. During this difficult time of year, join us as we work to ensure all of our community members have enough.”

This is the first time the trust has invited the public to give to the stand, Goss said in email and phone interviews. The stand, which includes bread Wiscasset Middle High School students make, has had more and more takers and hopefully soon will have produce again, after “we figure out how to properly store vegetables during these cold months,” she said. Since the stand opened in September, Veggies to Table, St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Wiscasset and Sea Lyon Farm in Alna have donated produce, and the stand has had anonymous donations. 

“(Monday’s drive is) a COVID-safe alternative to a service project that would still positively impact the Wiscasset and broader Lincoln County community in increasing food resources for the public,” Goss said. People should wear face masks; the stand has hand sanitizer to use before and after leaving items, and has room for social distancing if more than one person is dropping off goods, but Goss doubts multiple donors will be there at once.

The evening of Jan. 14, Leslie asked on Instagram for donations to the stand. In two days, she raised  $773, she said. She was excited for that and for the food drive. And Goss, interviewed separately, was thankful. “It has just been wonderful, and I am so beyond grateful for her reaching out and for taking initiative to showcase the work that we’re trying to do here at the farm. People like Frances are instrumental in making programs like the farm stand work for the community.”

Leslie, daughter of Wiscasset’s Anne and Seaver Leslie, works in consulting in San Francisco. She is working remotely while here on an extended visit due to the pandemic. Growing up in town, she attended Sheepscot Valley Children’s House on Federal Street and Wiscasset Primary School, next door to Morris Farm. “While as WPS, I did some volunteering with my dad and was in some programs at the Morris Farm, i.e, some of their winter camps. I’ve also done (Morris Farm Trust’s) Tour de Farms bike ride, and volunteered while in high school for a community garden effort there!”

As for her successful, speedy fundraising to donate to the food drive, Leslie said she was pleasantly surprised and felt lucky to have friends who care about issues like food insecurity. 

For more on the stand, email morrisfarmvista@gmail.com or call 882-4080.