Staff Writer
HOULTON — “I gave out pretty near 50 bags of potatoes this morning,” Reggie Elliott said yesterday. He is site coordinator of the Wheels on Meals program and he had helped harvest more than 10,000 pounds of potatoes Oct. 3 with about fifty other volunteers that included three Boy Scout troops.
Contributed Photo
ALL IN THE FAMILY — Dale Flewelling, program director of Friends of Aroostook, said it took only three hours for 50 adult and child volunteers, including three Boy Scout troops to harvest 10,000 pounds of potatoes into five- and ten- pound bags on October 3 at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension farm in Presque Isle. One young volunteer, left, is assisted by Flewelling’s grandsons Landon Gregory, center, and his brother Lucas Gregory.
That particular harvest was part of a growing volunteer movement – Friends of Aroostook — being coordinated by Dale Flewelling under the umbrella of Empowering Life, a counseling and outreach program based in Houlton. Friends of Aroostook has been providing free fresh produce to senior citizen centers, Meals on Wheels and Catholic Charities. Its Operation Wood Heat program delivers processed wood at no charge to consumers in need during the colder months.
Elliott said the conditions that Saturday at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension farm in Presque Isle were about the same as Monday’s weather — cold and damp. But the elements, he said, couldn’t stop the volunteer adults and children who bagged the potatoes that the university machinery dug up with a two-row digger. Flewelling termed the harvest: “volunteerism in its purest form.”
Flewelling had made arrangements with Randy Smith and Jim Dwyer at the Presque Isle campus of the university where sample potatoes were analyzed to assist farmers with their crops. The remaining potatoes were not harvested. “This is the first time all those potatoes were used for food,” explained Flewelling.
Elliot said his clients, on fixed incomes, over 55 and often shut-ins, need some type of physical assistance because they often have mobility or visual impairments. “Several clients are in their 90s,” said Elliott who added that they “just love” the program that has been providing fresh produce since the summer. Flewelling and university staff have developed pamphlets for consumers on how to prepare fresh produce for maximum nutrition.
The Summer Fresh Produce Program has been harvesting fresh beans, peas, corn and squash for area programs in cooperation with local farmers and landowners. Elliot said: “Flewelling was bringing us some type of produce pretty near every week. It’s been marvelous for them. The cukes were the biggest thing we did this summer. Everybody was just crazy for them.” He said he thinks he has enough potatoes to distribute until the end of November.
According to Flewelling, the volunteer effort has accumulated more than 800 hours of donated time to provide fresh produce for central and northern Maine. “Dale has done a terrific job getting this program up and going. I have never had a job I liked as much as this one taking care of the elderly and I think Dale is the same way,” said Elliott.
Contributed Photo
SUMMER FRESH PRODUCE — This truckload of vegetables was just one of many delivered to senior citizen centers, Meals on Wheels and Catholic Charities. The program, part of Friends of Aroostook, delivered peas, beans, cucumbers, squash and corn fresh from the field during the summer.
