MEXICO — It’s a growing trend: Producing nutritious food close to home to save money and improve health.

“It’s a necessity. We have to get back to our roots,” said Sandra Witas, project coordinator at Rumford’s River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition.

Her organization, along with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Paris, are partnering for the third year to have a nearly acre-sized vegetable garden at the edge of Hosmer Field in Rumford.

It is now part of the state Extension’s Harvest for Hunger program. Last year, nearly 5,000 pounds of fresh produce was distributed to needy people.

Witas is also the person who has transformed two large brick flower planters in the downtown Rumford area to vegetable plots.

Her vegetable growing passion began when her husband lost his job and she was working part time. She wondered how they’d feed their three children.

The Hosmer Field garden was started by a group of retired mill workers 13 years ago. They took the required instruction to become master gardeners. The partnership of the RVHCC and the Extension came later.

This year’s garden was completed June 21, and the first distribution of fresh foods will likely begin in mid- to late-July.

Barbara Murphy, Extension educator, said vegetable gardening is becoming more prevalent due to the economy and a desire to offer fresh, local foods to children. She said the traditional art of preserving foods has also grown so much that courses are offered throughout much of the summer in Oxford County.

A second Harvest for Hunger garden is at the Extension office in Paris.

Schools and at least one library are offering youngsters and adult volunteers a chance to grow foods. At Gardner Roberts Memorial Library in Hanover, retired teacher Lynne Ramsey, along with others, are guiding children in planting a garden for the second year.

At a roughly 30- by 50-foot plot at the intersection of Howard Pond and Mill Hill roads a dozen children planted a variety of vegetables and flowers Wednesday as part of the Compost, Art, Planting, Stories summer program at the library.

The use of the parcel was donated by Carol and Scott Gould of Bethel.

Children will take home the foods as they are ready, and some will be sold to help plant next year’s crop.

At Telstar Middle School in Bethel, art teacher Melissa Prescott and science teacher Kate Flattery, with the help of some members of the Western Maine Senior College and local businesses, led her students through renovating an old greenhouse, starting seedlings, and planting several garden beds. This is their second year and the garden has expanded.

New this season is a ‘three sisters” garden, which is what corn, beans and squash were called by Native Americans.

People can view the garden via a webcam at www.mediamaine.org/webcam/telstar.

Some of the food is used in the school cafeteria, some donated to a nonprofit public supper and some is taken home by students.

Prescott said the students approached her a couple of years ago with the idea to renovate the greenhouse and grow a garden.

“This has made me more passionate about gardening. It’s the perfect learning environment,” she said. The students’ passion led her to plant her own garden.

A solar panel is planned for the fall to extend the growing season.

At Mountain Valley Middle School in Mexico, teacher Lindsay MacMillan has been working with her students for several years on a school garden. They begin many of the plants while school is in session, then plant them at the end of the school year. Much of the food is used in the school’s cafeteria.

MacMillan is looking for volunteers to tend the garden during the summer. She may be reached at lmacmillan@rsu10.org The garden has expanded each year to include blueberries and several more beds and garden plots.

A Web page devoted to the garden activities may be accessed at http://mvmsgarden.wordpress.com/

A grant has enabled the RSU 10 summer program to buy several raised beds for Meroby Elementary, Rumford Elementary and Dirigo Middle schools. Not all are up and running yet, Allie Burke, coordinator for the RSU 10 summer program, said. The one at Rumford is and students will care for it and eat from it throughout the summer.

A 4-H camp at Bryant Pond is also growing a vegetable garden, Murphy said.

The largest and most ambitious of the school gardens has been in operation for several years at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School.

The 1.2 acre garden, coordinated by teachers Gretchen Kimball and Annette Caldwell, produces tons of vegetables. The school runs an honor-system produce stand and supplies vegetables to the cafeteria as well to public suppers.

The teachers’ project was recently named one of five nationally for its excellence in teaching through agriculture.

“Growing local foods by students and adults are all good trends,” said Murphy.

She may be reached for gardening information at 743-6329.

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