ROCKPORT — This year, a large Camden Area Christian Food Pantry donation helped the Teen Ag Crew distribute 2,630 pounds of fresh produce to the Midcoast community, according to Aaron Englander, MCHT’s associate director of Farm Preserves, in a news release.

“We typically distribute more than 20,000 pounds of produce annually,” he said. “We couldn’t do this work without the help of our local pantries.” 

The Camden Area Christian Food Pantry (CACFP) donated their delivery van to Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s Teen Ag Crew program at Erickson Fields, 164 West Street in Rockport. 

"It was an easy connection to make," said Rick Rector, Board member of the CACFP. "We had a van we weren't using any longer and MCHT had a need. Erickson Field is a strong supporter of ours with their fresh produce, so it was a great fit that benefits both of us." 
 
MCHT received the van during the height of the fall harvest in mid-October. That same week, the crew at Erickson Fields packed 373 pounds of produce (cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, and chard) to distribute to three pantries in one morning. With the new van, staff and volunteers will be able to make multiple large deliveries in one trip. 
 
CACFP is one of several local food pantries that MCHT has been supplying with fresh produce for the past 10+ years through Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Mainers Feeding Mainers program. The produce is grown by the Teen Ag Crew, a group of local high school students employed by MCHT as part-time crew leaders and paid interns learning about the environment and their food system through vegetable farming.