By Leah Penniman Leah Penniman is the author of “Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land,” and serves as founding co-executive director of Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York, a people-of-color-led project that works toward food and land justice. The first part of Penniman’s 2020 Common Ground Country Fair
Richard Silliboy (left), vice chief of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, introduced keynote speaker Sherri Mitchell (center), shown here with April Boucher, Common Ground Country Fair director. English photo A large crowd gathered on The Common to hear Mitchell’s heartfelt speech. John Williams photo Standing on Indigenous Rights Saturday, September 23, 2017 – Common Ground
Common Ground Country Fair keynote speaker Jonathan Rosenthal talked about new economies that use strategies such as cooperatives and public ownership to give power back to communities. John Williams photo From Local to System and Rural to Urban: Building a New Economy Sunday, September 24, 2017 – Common Ground Country Fair, Unity, Maine During
Will Allen described Growing Power Inc. during his keynote at the Common Ground Country Fair and said the program is growing farmers because, in part, “it costs 10 times more to send somebody to jail than to help fix their life.” English photo Will Allen lunching and talking veggies with MOFGA member and Exhibition Hall
Sole Food Street Farms, founded and directed by Michael Ableman, employs 30 people and produces 25 tons of food each year on large parking lots using an innovative moveable box system. English photo April Boucher, Common Ground Country Fair director, presents a shirt to Ableman. English photo Street Farm – Growing Food, Jobs, and Hope
Fifty by 60 – Amanda Beal, president and CEO of Maine Farmland Trust, described how Maine could produce 50 percent of its food by 2060 during her keynote speech at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (right), a strong supporter of Maine-grown and organic food, attended Beal’s keynote speech and
Tristan Noyes at the Common Ground Country Fair with Sarah Alexander (left), MOFGA’s executive director, and Heather Spalding (right), MOFGA’s deputy director. English photo Growing Together: Reaping the Rewards of a Passionate Interconnected Community Sunday, September 21, 2018 – Common Ground Country Fair, Unity, Maine Tristan Noyes is executive director of the Maine Grain
Baldemar Velasquez described the efforts needed to create a more just food system. English photo Our Food System: The Tie to Immigration, Migrant Workers, Exploitation and Human Trafficking Sunday, September 22, 2018 – Common Ground Country Fair, Unity, Maine Born in 1947, Baldemar Velasquez grew up in a migrant farmworker family based in
Hanne Tierney of Cornerstone Farm in Palmyra is a strong proponent of farmers’ markets. English photo Farmers’ Markets and Strong Communities Sunday, September 23, 2018 – Common Ground Country Fair, Unity, Maine Hanne Tierney has been farming in central Maine for 17 years. She owns and operates Cornerstone Farm, a hog and organic
Craig Hickman. English photo Fumbling Toward Prosperity: Family, Community and the Maine Food Economy Friday, September 20, 2019 – Common Ground Country Fair, Unity, Maine Winthrop, Maine, farmer Craig Hickman is serving his fourth term in the Maine House. He twice chaired the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. His keynote speech
