DEAR SUN SPOTS: In May 2025, we transitioned from 25 years as the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center to become Gather to Grow, a Center for Community Food Resilience. While we’ve embraced a new name and look, we continue to cultivate the same clear vision: to transform a place into a home where each of us can be fed and nourished, find belonging and purpose, and grow and thrive together in a more just world. 

We continue to keep our roots firmly planted in the rich soil of Lewiston-Auburn. We continue to work together, with people at the center and youth in the lead, in community kitchens, elementary schools, farmers’ markets and in urban gardens across both cities. And we continue to dig down deep, stretch toward the sun, and reach for the light during this difficult time. 

Our community needs us — all of us. We are living in a time of injustice and isolation. Too many of our neighbors are hungry, alone and scared. Too many young people in our community face an uncertain future. That is why we show up each day, bringing people together across differences to break bread with one another, to till soil side by side, to see in front of them a brother, a neighbor, a friend. Finding humanity in one another is more critical than ever.

Just as crucial is our resiliency as a community and ensuring we all have the skills, resources, and land base to feed ourselves and one another, now and into the future. When FoodCorps was cut, we rallied. When SNAP benefits were threatened, we responded. And when a safe cross-cultural community space was needed, we opened our doors and collaborated to amplify impact. Despite the challenges, we continued to walk toward our future together. 

We hope that you will join and support us as we reach for the light. Any and every amount goes a long way to put food into grocery bags and gardens; to create meaningful opportunities for young people to learn, lead and connect; and to ensure we remain a Center for all our communities to gather, to build bridges, and to grow stronger together. 

We wish you a safe and connected holiday season. — The Gather to Grow Team, Lewiston

ANSWER: This is another nonprofit that I am honored to assist by getting the word out about their good work, their fundraising efforts, and their huge, generous hearts. You can donate by clicking this link: https://tinyurl.com/2y2s9ax7.

I am here for all nonprofit organizations, large or small, throughout our readership area. I ask that Sun Spots readers engage in your community by simply spreading the word, sharing good news, volunteering, and donating when you can. Each person, each little act of kindness makes a difference. 

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