RUMFORD — The University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Volunteers are sponsoring a traditional bean-hole bean supper at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 4, at the Rumford Information Center on Route 2.
Cooked by the Rumford Firemen’s Relief Association, the baked beans will be served with ham, coleslaw, bread and dessert.
The rain-or-shine event will benefit Maine Harvest for Hunger. It is a statewide program of the Extension that encourages gardeners and farmers to donate high quality, excess produce to those with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables, Sandra Witas, project coordinator of the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition, said Wednesday morning in a news release.
Witas said “generous financial support” from Bangor Savings Bank will allow all proceeds from the supper to benefit the Oxford County Maine Harvest for Hunger gardens at the Extension office in South Paris and at Hosmer Field in Rumford.
“The money will be combined with the profits from last year to build a much-needed, walk-in cooler,” Barbara Murphy, Extension educator, said.
Demand for the produce has grown at both the South Paris and Rumford sites.
“We typically serve over 50 families every Tuesday evening,” Witas, an Oxford County Master Gardener volunteer, said.
The Maine Highland Fiddlers will be playing Cape Breton Island Celtic music during the supper.
Informational displays will provide the community a snapshot of the work being done in Oxford County, specifically in the River Valley, Witas said.
A pie auction and the sale of native dry beans will accompany the bean dinner.
The meal will cost $10 for adults and $6 for seniors, ages 60 and older, and children under the age of 14.
Quarts and pints will be available to go. Orders for the mill employees can be made by calling 357-7663.
For more information or to purchase tickets, call Witas at 364-7408 or Murphy at 743-6329.
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