The Maine Community Foundation awards a grant to Community Partners, Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Community Partners Receives $1200 Grant to Supply Fresh Produce to Food Pantry (CPI), assisting adults with disabilities to grow and distribute food to Preble Street in Portland. PORTLAND, Maine (August 3, 2010) – A $1200 grant from the Maine Community Foundation will support adults with developmental disabilities to champion a social cause by asking fellow gardeners in Portland to join them in donating a row of fresh produce to the Preble Street Shelter. The Plant a Row for Preble Street: Seeding for Social Change grant will provide funding to grow and distribute vegetables from the Portland Community Garden on Baxter Boulevard to the Preble Street Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry. “Adults in our Community Inclusion Program now have the resources to grow vegetables in space donated by the Portland Community Gardens,” says Nancy Gavel, Program Administrator at Community Partners, Inc. (CPI). With the help of Direct Support Providers, the CPI Project Manager, and a volunteer horticulturist from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service, adults with disabilities will champion a social cause by asking fellow community gardeners to join them in donating a row of fresh vegetables to the Preble Street Shelter. A 501(c)3 non-profit, CPI has been providing direct support services to individuals with developmental disabilities since 1967. Programs include independent living, employment support, community inclusion services, and senior enrichment. Individuals are supported residentially with a variety of housing options, ranging from supported independent living to licensed facilities in communities throughout York, Cumberland, Androscoggin and Kennebec Counties. For further information, please contact Amy Safford at (207) 282-7113 ext. 125. Contact: Amy Safford Director of Development & Community Relations (207) 282-7113 x125 asafford@cpime.org