A recent tour of the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program’s warehouse in Brunswick inspired an artist couple from Harpswell to contribute unique pieces for auction at the organization’s upcoming fundraiser.
Live and silent auctions to support the anti-hunger organization will include art and performances donated by several Harpswell artists. The Plates of Plenty event includes an online auction that starts May 1 and a live auction on May 14 at Maine Beer Co. in Freeport.
Painter Emilie Stark-Menneg and sculptor John Bisbee, who live on Mountain Road, have connections to people who work or volunteer for the nonprofit, but hadn’t seen its operations until their tour in March.
“It was impossible not to be inspired,” Bisbee said.
Stark-Menneg said she loves the organization’s inclusive efforts to help anyone who needs food. She also felt a connection to the idea of nourishment — with food and with art. She created a small original painting depicting a surreal face with delphinium flowers for eyes. In it, she sees optimism and metamorphosis.
Bisbee is contributing a sculpture he made last year — one of the first pieces he made after taking a five-year break. His 10-inch-high sculpture consists of several larger-than-life nails twisted around one another.
He keyed into the Hunger Prevention Program’s efforts to reduce the sense of shame people feel about needing food or not having enough money to provide for themselves or their families. He was impressed with the scale and efficiency of the operations he saw during the tour.
Bisbee and Stark-Menneg both have studios in Fort Andross, the former mill in downtown Brunswick. Each has shown their work in exhibitions around Maine, in New York City, and across the country.
The Plates of Plenty auction is in its third year. The Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program’s development director, Alyssa Schoppee, said the organization holds the event in the spring because the summer can be harder for families than many people realize. That can be especially true for families whose children rely on free breakfast and lunch during the school year.
“For some families, that is a really hard additional burden,” Schoppee said. “It’s easy to forget some of us aren’t hanging out at the beach or eating lobster rolls.”
This is the first time the auction will take place in the Maine Beer Co. tasting room. Schoppee said the location will allow the nonprofit to sell twice as many tickets as it could when the event was at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath for its first two years.
The Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program has a food pantry and soup kitchen in downtown Brunswick. The warehouse, along with offices and a commercial kitchen, are on Brunswick Landing. The organization also stocks satellite food pantries around the region, including one at Harpswell’s Town Office.
Four other Harpswell artists are contributing to the auctions. Jan Roberson, of Great Island, will donate three pastel paintings. Many of her paintings capture scenes from Harpswell’s shorelines.
Susan Pearson, of South Harpswell, is making a custom quilt. She is a member of Ocean Waves Quilters, which makes quilts for patients in Mid Coast Hospital’s palliative care unit and hosts its own fundraiser for the Hunger Prevention Program and other local organizations.
Dean Stein and Kathleen McNerney, musicians and artistic directors of VentiCordi Chamber Music, are offering a home concert paired with a meal cooked by Bath chef Chris Toy. They live in North Harpswell.
The auctions also include massage and exercise sessions, craft and cooking classes, gift cards and other local experiences.
Tickets for the live auction and a link to the silent auction, which runs May 1-14, are available at mchpp.org.
