BRUNSWICK

First Parish Church UCC closed its six-week educational series, “Windows On … Food,” with a visit from state Rep. Craig Hickman, who spoke about food as it relates to his life as legislator, organic farmer, business owner, community volunteer, chef, award-winning poet and author.

In addition to operating a sustainable farm, he and his spouse host the Winthrop Community Gardens and a fresh food bank for anyone in need. Hickman serves as the House chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

Hickman’s background as a poet and author came out as soon as he started to speak. His words, eloquent and delivered with feeling, conveyed his love of family, community and growing food. He told the story of his father’s last years, when he was too sick to continue farming but too proud to ask for help, and the family went without his collard greens for two years.

Rep. Hickman chose to become a farmer after losing the man who fed his family and taught him discipline, respect, love, how to rise up, and how to dream.

“I stand on my father’s shoulders,” he said.

His love of farming was evident as he delivered a rapid fire listing of the dozens of crops he grows before chuckling, half out of breath, how he can’t stop planting. He appreciates his customers and enjoys being an integral part of the food chain.

But Hickman doesn’t just grow and sell food. He also gives it away. Because “everyone has a right to food,” a 24-hour farm stand is available to anyone and everyone who is in need.

He addressed shame and pride in a story about a previous farm stand customer who lost her job, was having a difficult time feeding her extended family, and didn’t want to ask for help. She paid what she could and Craig accepted her dollars because he knew paying was important to her. He also made sure she knew where empty boxes were in case she wanted to package up more than the tomatoes she purchased. He gave her time, space, and respect, and later saw two boxes of produce in her car.

“Food is life. People who want to live need to eat,” he said, pausing briefly before adding, “there is no reason why we as a community cannot come together to feed them.”

Hickman’s parents worked hard, often holding multiple jobs, but they were still on food stamps. No matter how little his family had when he was growing up, his parents knew there were others who were worse off. Hickman’s mother taught him about feeding people.

“If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to feed a community,” he said. He shared about how his mother recently died.

In the face of our massive food insecurity problem, Hickman said we must do better, and doing better can benefit everyone. The key to feeding people and growing our state’s prosperity is food sovereignty, he said. Food sovereignty means empowering our communities to make decisions about food and food systems. In this light, producing food locally is an issue of national security.

Hickman recommended that we stop importing most of our food, that we choose whether to support systems that include interesting ways of making meat fit for human consumption, and that Mainers have control over their land, water, seeds and livelihood.

He would like to see a resurgence of backyard gardens and a revitalization of the family farm. He would like Maine to invest in local foods and hopes all Mainers will have access to wholesome food every day. He would like to see an increase in agricultural careers, especially for veterans like his father. He dreams of putting Maine on the culinary map — not just Portland, but the whole state. He believes Maine can develop a vibrant world-class food and wine culture.

Discussion followed about proposed bills concerning food and the biggest challenges to Maine’s food culture. There are currently around 30 bills about food, one of which addresses issues of scale-appropriate small farm regulations. Hickman would like to amend the Maine Constitution to establish a right to food of our own choosing.

The biggest challenge noted was access. In a culture of convenience, people must change their habits to support a local food economy.

To learn more about Rep. Hickman, visit maine.gov/ legis/housedems/hickmanc and hickmaninthehouse. blogspot.com.

First Parish Church UCC thanks everyone who came to the Windows On … Food events, and hopes to continue the conversation about food, food insecurity and food systems in Maine. Stay tuned for upcoming events and follow on Facebook at facebook/First- ParishChurchBrunswick.

BECKY DULIK is a member of First Parish Church’s adult education committee.