STANDISH – On Sunday, June 10, Rippling Waters Organic Farm in Steep Falls invites the public to an afternoon of garden tours, gourmet eats, music and a live auction at its third annual Garden Crawl fundraising event.

“It is a wonderful event,” said Richard Rudolph, Rippling Waters executive director. “We have wonderful chefs this year. It is just a great time and all of it is to raise money to fund our school garden projects.”

In 2006, Rippling Waters Farm started the school garden program by building nine beds at Steep Falls Elementary school that were to be worked by the farm and the school’s students. After winning a grant in 2007, the farm was able to expand the program and now has gardens at six schools in School Administrative District 6.

“Maine is ranked No. 8 in food insecurity,” said Rudolph. “Food insecurity is just a fancy way to say hunger. We started this because we wanted to show the next generation how to grow food. They won’t have a garden right away, but when they become adults and have families of their own; they can take the knowledge they have and build a garden to create their own food source.”

Mary Paine, owner and chef at The Pepper Club restaurant in Portland and guest chef at this weekend’s event, also believes in the importance of school gardens.

“My drive to participate in this event is that it benefits these school gardens, and that’s so important,” said Paine. “The gardens are amazing. There are big grocery stores everywhere, but big gardens are going away. Kids need to know where their food comes from. That is just so important.”

The crawl kicks off at Rippling Waters, located at 55 River Road in Steep Falls, at 1 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres and a farm tour. Guests will then board propane-propelled school buses to visit three of the school gardens. The buses will return to the farm and attendees will be served a gourmet dinner by chefs from local restaurants including The Farmer’s Table, Local 188 and The Pepper Club. Guests will also enjoy complimentary beer, wine and live music while they peruse and bid on silent auction items. The event will conclude with a live auction.

Live auction items include a walking tour of the carriage houses of Portland’s historic West End, Red Sox tickets, and a two-day weekend stay at a camp on Embden Pond.

During the school year the food grown in the school gardens is used for school lunches. During the summer the food is donated to local food pantries.

“These gardens have donated thousands of pounds of food to our local food pantries,” said farm employee Julie D’Agostino. “It really is amazing what they can do for the community.”

Paine agrees.

“I think every school should have a garden,” said Paine. “Wouldn’t it be great if every school that was built set aside room for a garden? Rippling Waters has really made a difference with these gardens, and I am thrilled to be involved in such an amazing project.”

Tickets are $35 a piece and can be reserved by calling 642-5161 or by emailing rrudolph@fairpoint.net.

The greenhouse at Bonny Eagle Middle School will be among the gardens visited during Sunday’s Rippling Waters Organic Farm-sponsored Garden Crawl. In 2010, Rep. Chellie Pingree, middle, visited the greenhouse where she spoke with Richard Rudolph, left, executive director of Rippling Waters Farm in Steep Falls, about the farm’s efforts to help build a greenhouse classroom at Bonny Eagle Middle School in 2006. Also pictured was middle school Assistant Principal Debbie Howard. (File photo)