During the summertime, a common sight throughout various Midcoast towns is a simple table heaped with boxes and piles of produce, often stationed outside the public library or some other community hub. Often bearing the banner of the Merrymeeting Gleaners, these Sharing Tables offer free fruits and vegetables, available for anyone to take anonymously.

The Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program supports tables at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick (Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.), the Patten Free Public Library in Bath (Tuesdays, noon to 3 p.m.), the Bath YMCA (Thursdays 9-11:45 a.m.), and the Topsham Public Library (12:30-2:30 p.m.), and similar sharing tables can also be found in other small towns around the region. This year, a new Sharing Table will become a fixture at the Brunswick Recreation Center on Venture Avenue (Fridays, 12:30-2:30 p.m.).

Summer at MCHPP is busy, with the gleaning of produce in full swing and added programming to accommodate both the influx of harvested crops and the lull in services offered by schools. Summer lunch sites pop up in local partner organizations to fill the gap of school lunches during the months-long vacation, and our school pantries shift to their summer hours. Volunteers in the community kitchen work quickly to process vegetables into prepared meals or pre-chopped ingredient packets, with any over-ripe or blemished food we receive made into sauces, soups and more.

MCHPP also hosts and co-hosts a variety of events during the summer months, from partnering with music festivals like Maine Folk Festival and the Summer Jam Camp Out — with benefits like a food drive and CLYNK bottle collection going to support MCHPP — to our own volunteer appreciation gatherings and benefit auctions.

This summer, MCHPP is also hosting a free all-levels yoga class on the Brunswick Town Mall by the gazebo, with teachers from Sundara Yoga (Wednesdays July 10 through Aug. 21 at 7:30 am). As the Midcoast bustles to life during June, July and August, MCHPP has a presence throughout community events, local neighborhoods and shared spaces.

And in the midst of the it all, the regular work keeps chugging along: the kitchens and pantries, deliveries and drop-offs, the steady work of of volunteers and staff. We welcome our community to MCHPP this summer via whatever avenue works best. At the very least, swing by your local public library and take a moment to appreciate the produce piled high on the Sharing Table, a perfect symbol of summer’s bounty shared between neighbors and friends.

Kenyon King is communications coordinator for Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program. Giving Voice is a weekly collaboration among four local nonprofit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in the community.

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