Liza Goss, an Americorps volunteer at Morris Farm, said she began the take-what-you-need farm stand to fight food insecurity in Wiscasset as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened. Photo courtesy of Erica Berman

Morris Farm, a Wiscasset nonprofit providing food and educational programming, received a wave of donations from the community in the past month, closing the gap on a $30,000 shortfall caused by the pandemic.

In just over one month, community members donated over $25,000, according to Morris Farm Board Chairperson Madelyn Hennessey. The donations alone reinforce the nonprofit’s existence for the next few years.

“I can’t even describe the gratification,” said Hennessey. “People’s generosity has been wonderful, and now that things are opening up, we’ll be able to have fundraising events and programs again. We’re all feeling quite cheerful.”

Last month, Hennessey told The Times Record she was worried the nonprofit would have no choice but to tap into its endowment, which wouldn’t last more than a year.

“We have always been in need of public support, but the pandemic erased all our best-laid plans, as it has for most nonprofits,” Hennessey wrote in a statement last month. “Despite severe limitations on what we can safely do – our buildings still need to be maintained. Our utility bills still need to be paid. We still want to be able to provide free fresh produce to local families. All that takes money. And, without it, we have very few options.”

Sarah Skillin Woodard, advocacy and public affairs director for the Maine Association of Nonprofits, said most of Maine’s nonprofits are small businesses who have budgets of $50,000 or less. Despite their size, nonprofits are valuable to the state’s economy because they’re a top employer — one in six Mainers work for a nonprofit, she said.

“Despite their value to our economy, they are often left out of the COVID-19 relief programs for a variety of reasons,” said Woodward. “Like Morris Farm, they have been addressing shifting community needs with fewer resources.”

Hennessey said restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic stymied the organization’s ability to hold fundraisers and programs, including school programs and summer camps, that keep the farm alive. It would also staunch the farm’s latest venture, a free take-what-you-need farm stand.

The stand is supplied by Veggies to Table, a Newcastle-based organization that gives local organic produce to food banks. Veggies to Table Founder Erica Berman said the organization has supplied about 300 pounds of food to the table from September when it began to the end of October when the growing season ended.

With the farm’s renewed life, Hennessey said she wants to create a free and reduced lunch program aimed at seniors but open to anyone in May or June. She said the lunch program would be similar to what students have access to in school. She said she hopes providing fresh, free meals could help fight food insecurity and isolation in Lincoln County’s senior population, both of which can cause adverse health risks.

“Seniors have been particularly isolated during the pandemic … because most of us have some sort of pre-existing condition,” said Hennessey. “A hot meal and company is never a bad thing.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 28.2.% of Lincoln County’s population is 65 and older, the highest in the state as of 2019.

About 12.5% of Lincoln County was food insecure in 2018, according to the most recent data from Feeding America, a national hunger relief organization.

Chronic diseases and health conditions associated with food insecurity include asthma, low birth weight, diabetes, mental health issues, hypertension and obesity, according to a 2019 Lincoln County needs assessment report.

Similarly, social isolation and loneliness can pose serious health risks, including cognitive decline, depression and heart disease, especially in older populations, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Although Morris Farm is back on solid ground, Hennessey said other small nonprofits that rely on fundraisers and programs to stay afloat may not be so lucky.

“Most of our small nonprofits are in a similar situation,” Hennessey warned. “People should donate to their local community nonprofits because those places make community living worth living. Small, local nonprofits are put together by community members who care about their neighbors. That kind of character is something we’ve always prized about being from Maine and maintaining that character in the middle of all this change is vital.”