On Sunday Oct. 1 at 7:45 a.m. Maine Marathon participants left the gate, and many months of preparation, both training and fundraising, came to fruition. Each year, regardless of who crosses the finish line first, the Maine Marathon selects a handful of deserving Maine non-profits as the recipients of the event's fundraising efforts. Among them this year Veggies to Table, a grow-to-donate farm in Newcastle will receive $15,750.

Co-founder Alain Ollier ran the marathon representing Veggies to Table and finished in an impressive 3 hours and 43 minutes. Meanwhile, a group of 12 Veggies to Table volunteers helped keep Pedro Field, the area where runners and their friends and family gather after the marathon to get food, hydration, and even a massage, clean and tidy. A mix of staff, local volunteers and students from Wiscasset Middle High, where Alain teaches, joined in on, what turned out to be, a very warm and sunny day in the mid 70s.

Next year Veggies to Table will return to volunteer at the Maine Marathon (there is a three-year commitment to receive the grant) and plans to gather a team to run alongside Alain.

On another note, the Veggies to Table 2nd annual Paris Sweepstakes has ended, the winners were chosen and over $90,000 was raised.

The winners are as follows:

Grand Prize

• A week in a Paris apartment with restaurants, tours and more: Jackie Guest, Barrington, Illinois

Runner up Prizes:

• Weekend in Montreal at Le Centre Sheraton -Susan Vik, Arlington, Massachusetts

• Year-long French pastry class with Molly Wilkinson: Mimi Hayes, Boise, Idaho
• A le Creuset Sauteuse – Sarah Mundy of Boothbay Harbor, Maine
• A signed Paris print from John Donohue – Lori Forman, Swampscott, Massachusetts
• A Vivi et Margot Gift Card – Allan Ludgate, Bronx, New York

Veggies at Pumpkinfest

Veggies to Table can be found this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 7 and 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the designated non-profit area on Theater Street. Come by to take a photo of you sitting in their mini-truck Blanchette’s bed alongside pumpkins and flowers from the farm, chat all things veggies, and enter their Pumpkinfest raffle with a prize of a one-night stay including an ocean-view room and breakfast at the Inn at Ocean’s Edge in Lincolnville with a value of $446.Tickets will cost $5 for 1 entry/ $10 for 3/ $20 for 7/ $50 for 25. All funds will be used to improve infrastructure, increase outreach, and ensure that their dedicated crew is paid a thriving wage so Veggies to Table can grow even more for their community.

Veggies to Table, founded by Erica Berman and her husband, Alain Ollier. have grown and donated 44,500+ pounds of organic produce and 45,000+ flowers to local folks in need of food and joy in just four seasons. This season, their fifth, they are excited to donating abundant amounts of produce and joyful flowers all around the community.

“We only donate top-quality produce, thus restoring dignity to those who have lost the choice of what to eat,” says Berman who also makes sure overflowing bouquets of the farm’s local flowers also find their way to the homes of families and individuals along with the produce. “We call it #FlowerJoy,” she says, adding, “If you don’t have money for food, you don’t have money for flowers. We nourish both the bodies and souls of those in need.”

For more information, to get involved or donate go to: veggiestotable.org