ROCKLAND — Terra Optima Farm Market, 218 Main Street, in Rockland, and Meals on Wheels invited the public to a benefit tasting of country style, all things pork Sunday, March 22, from noon until 4 p.m. Terra Optima offered samplings of traditional and nontraditional pork fare. There was a suggested donation of $10 per person at the door and all proceeds will help Meals on Wheels deliver 125 hot meals a day to seniors throughout Knox County.

Cheryl Denz, owner of Terra Optima Farm and the market, said she had heard of cutbacks from one of the providers for MOWs of fresh produce and foods.

“I realized they were a struggling organization,” she said. “They are trying to feed a lot of people in rural areas, as well as in Rockland. I felt like we all needed a little party after this winter, so why not have a party and raise some money for a good cause?”

Denz said the pork for the party came from Terra Optima Farm. Mike Mastronardi and Melissa Legare spent three days preparing all the food for the event, which included everything from a roast suckling pig, numerous pork dishes and sides to desserts spiked with bacon.

“The chef actually started work on this about three days ago,” said Denz. ”Test recipes, soak the beans, marinating and brining. Several restaurants actually buy from me and I source for them, as well, when I can’t meet their needs.”

Lois Stackpole-Alley is the food service director of Methodist Conference Home and Meals on Wheels in Rockland.

“This is just fabulous,” said Stackpole. “It’s almost unbelievable with the weather the way it is, all the people here and I thinks it’s going to be a true success.”

Stackpole said that MOW was trying to raise more money to increase the capacity for MOW.

“We’ve had a lot of equipment donated to us and we need to increase the size of the kitchen to make a safer kitchen and a larger kitchen,” she said. “We need to raise money for space.”

Stackpole said that MOW could also use drivers to deliver the prepared meals.

“We could absolutely use volunteer drivers,” she said. “We have five routes and we take care of Knox County, so there’s a very large area we deliver to. We run about 258 miles per day to deliver these meals. We have two big routes. One extends down into the peninsula and the other goes up through Appleton.”

As of 2 p.m., approximately 100 people had visited Terra Optima Market.

To become involved with Meals on Wheels, call the Methodist Conference Home, 594-2740