NEWCASTLE — It’s August in Maine — peak season in Vacationland. But at the 1.3-acre nonprofit farm Veggies to Table in Newcastle, vacation will have to wait. 

Alain Ollier, left, and Erica Berman created Veggies to Table, a nonprofit farm in Newcastle, to help alleviate hunger in Maine. (Photo by Kelsey Kobik)

On a typical morning, you won’t find the farm crew swinging in hammocks, sipping lemonade. Instead, they might be busily hauling crates of just-picked greens, cucumbers and tomatoes, then washing, sorting and packing produce that will be distributed that same day to local schools, food pantries and hospitals.

Founded by husband and wife Alain Ollier and Erica Berman, Veggies to Table describes its simple but ambitious mission: “to grow top-quality organic produce and flowers to donate to local people experiencing hunger and needing joy.”

It’s an idea that took root in 2019. Berman and Ollier had moved to Maine seven years earlier from Paris — he’s French, she’s American — and soon after settling into their new community, they realized the severity of hunger around them. 

“We were heartbroken to learn that one in seven adults and one in five children go hungry each day in Maine,” Berman said. “We couldn’t imagine not being able to eat fresh, nutritious food whenever we wanted it.” 

So they set out to make a difference, guided by a vision, as they describe it, “to restore a measure of normalcy and dignity to families and individuals who have lost control over the most basic choice: what to eat.” 

The timing felt right. She’d been running a boutique vacation-rental business but felt the tug toward more meaningful work. “It didn’t feed my soul,” she said, adding, “We were in our mid-40s, so we thought, if not now, when?”

Over the past eight growing seasons, the farm’s impact has grown steadily. Berman, the farm’s executive director, is quick to share the credit. “It takes a village to run a nonprofit,” she says, crediting her dedicated board, a small paid staff, and hundreds of volunteers who have helped the farm thrive.

Erica Berman, co-owner of Veggies to Table farm, also raises flowers. “Everyone deserves the joy of flowers,” Berman said. “All of us are going through something and flowers make it better.” (Photo by Kelsey Kobik)

To date, on its relatively small plot, Veggies to Table has donated more than 95,000 pounds of produce — enough for 286,225 meals — to more than 35 local organizations and families. 

Boothbay Region Food Pantry, a partner since the farm’s earliest days, receives weekly supplies. “The food I pick up from them each week is literally just pulled out of the ground before they hand it over,” said pantry president Fleet Davies. 

In 2025, Boothbay Region Food Pantry received more than 3,000 pounds of fresh organic produce from Veggies to Table, along with about 550 flower stems, 500 seed packets and occasional seedlings. The pantry distributes those items to several organizations on the Boothbay peninsula and shares them with about 40 local families each week. “The families are all smiles when they see what we have to offer,” Davies said.

It’s feedback like his that keeps Berman excited about her work despite sometimes feeling overwhelmed by the countless hours she puts in each week, rising with the sun to manage operations, including community outreach and fundraising. 

Ollier is involved in the nonprofit, but in a different capacity: During his summer break from his regular job as a French teacher at nearby Lincoln Academy, he’s the farm’s “systems guru,” which involves building deer fencing and portable chicken coops, installing irrigation, tending the bees and tackling whatever projects arise. He’ll sometimes swap out his farm tools for a baking whisk to craft his own sourdough bread, French pastries and even macarons for the crew and visitors. 

Growing food is only part of sustaining the nonprofit. Raising money is equally essential. A major focus each summer is the farm’s biggest fundraiser: the annual auction. Last year’s sold-out French- and travel-themed gala raised a record $250,000. This year’s third-annual event, “To the Nines” (for both date and dress) takes place Aug. 9 at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay.

Offerings range from trips to Paris, Provence, Piedmont and Puerto Vallarta to fine-dining meals, original artwork, concerts, rare Champagne, unique Maine experiences and plenty more expected to entice bidders. 

Paolo and Mercedes Laboa of Solo Italiano in Portland and Solo Pane in Bath recently joined the effort, donating their own food-and-wine tour in Italy and also a farm feast cooked by Chef Paolo. “It’s easy for everyone to get behind this cause,” Mercedes Laboa said. “The auction is a chance for like-minded folks to mingle and talk about the importance of Veggies to Table’s mission.” 

Attendees can host a table, bid in the live and silent auctions, or buy a $100 “Golden Ticket,” which lets one lucky winner choose any prize before the live auction begins. But supporters don’t have to be in Boothbay to win. Those who can’t attend can still bid in the silent auction online or purchase a $100 Golden Ticket.

At last year’s auction, Mary Allen Lindemann, owner of Coffee By Design, won a weeklong stay in a luxury Paris apartment. The timing couldn’t have been better: she and her husband used the prize for their honeymoon. Lindemann has been one of the farm’s biggest fans since she first learned about it.

“Hunger is such a huge issue in Maine,” she said. “What they are doing is deeply significant, and they clearly have their hearts in the right place.”

Jennifer Wolcott has been writing freelance articles on the arts, home design, food and travel for about 25 years. She lives in Portland with her husband, Bernard, who is French, and her dog, Coco.

“To the Nines” auction, 5-7:30 p.m. Aug. 9, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, 60 Bigelow Drive, East Boothbay. For more information about the auction, go to veggiestotable.org/2026-auction. For information about Veggies to Table, go to veggiestotable.org.