Bangor Livable Communities Committee explores food, connection, volunteering

[0:00] Speaker A (unidentified): Also, even with the failure, they're still going to be obsessed to some extent, right? But and [0:05] Speaker B (unidentified): We're reducing the risk by funding it from sources that aren't going to hurt the wallet, right? You know, so you know, even not in the year hurt the wallet, right? The wallets hurt in a lot of different [0:20] Speaker C (unidentified): ways. So it's like saying, you know, like funding prisoners, right, or doing more to get people out of places, right? Prisons are so expensive, the individual cost to keep somebody incarcerated, you know, like, but people don't necessarily equate that. They're like, well, that money's already spent, [0:41] Speaker B (unidentified): right? That makes sense. And they often cite the homeless protocol as like a policy failure when it's like, we're saving 250,000 a year per kid that you're throwing in there for some stupid this reason. Yeah, that's the second time my wife's called, so that's all right. Smart. Hello, [Speaker C (unidentified): they called twice.] It wasn't as important as a two call. Do we have anyone on Zoom? No, we're it. So really, I think what I wanted or I envisioned that we would do is continue our conversation into the domains, and we kind of started, right? It actually kind of moved into like social inclusion, belonging, respect, and some of those ways that we feel connected to our community, which I think intersects with a lot of our social problems. [2:29] Speaker D (unidentified): We're so, I think I might have talked about this last time, but the we at the Health Department are part of a statewide launch of a new nutrition education program. It's called Nourish Me, and it is for, it's a food is medicine approach, and what that really means is the former SNAP Ed was focused on people who were eligible for SNAP benefits. This is a more, it's rural focused. There's, and when I say that, I will also admit that there doesn't seem to be complete uniformity in how that definition is applied and that so for example there are sites in bangor that are included and then there was a site in the world that was excluded so we're trying to get more like clarity about defining verbal too it 's I'm not a hundred percent so something I'm we're trying to everyone statewide is trying to nail this down a little bit more because the fact of the matter is that like 70 of people who live in Maine have are managing the health conditions that could be improved by better nutrition. So one of the very interesting things that we learned about when I was at this kickoff this week is that several kind of food is medicine approaches have been used by some organizations throughout the state. One of the things that every one of them mentioned was how the social component of these programs was one of the things that stood out most to them, bringing people together, providing connection, providing [Speaker C (unidentified): this community.] There were I don't know her name but she was from the southern main area on agents you just right yeah small she was from small and she we talked just a little bit about the connections between like the livable communities efforts throughout the state and then this nutrition education effort. And so all I wanted to do was throw that out as like this is something that's evolving and it fits in the connection you know part of this plan and that as it becomes more concrete I would like to explore ways that we can you know [6:01] Speaker B (unidentified): use that to increase feelings of connection. I love it I grew up in an area where we had the dinner bell every Friday and it didn't matter if you were low income or anything people just went you went and it was your time to be social. We're very social animals and the meal the meal is the social time for humans like we just naturally gravitate toward that. I don't know if we have something that is in the general like we're not all going to manna for their meal you know what I mean like a very general more regular you know so I noticed in your agency an agent does [6:47] Speaker C (unidentified): us do a weekly I think lunch and it's free to anybody who wants to go but again because it's at the center a lot of people identify that as being for older adults but I think that there's a lot of [7:07] Speaker B (unidentified): value in going somewhere where there's lots of people that are older than you. I love doing that [7:15] Speaker C (unidentified): I would if I had the time a lot of the lifelong communities in Maine do a monthly I think in Danforth they call it breaking bread and that's like a monthly luncheon but again it tends to gravitate to people who would benefit from having a free lunch like almost like a free lunch program yeah and you know they post what the meal is going to be similar to what you used to near your age. Yeah, but actually I think they might be doing it weekly now. They were originally doing it monthly, but I think they've got enough time to do it weekly. But yeah, the original SNAP benefits a lot of the aging lifelong communities would do, like meal prep. Right. How to, you know, how to bless it. That's right. You could come in and do a whole meal using what they could do from their SNAP benefits, what they could purchase and how to almost stretch it out, stretch it out, yeah,, with that kind of girl. [8:19] Speaker B (unidentified): Yes, exactly, and you know, the other thing I thought of is the CDBG program this year, I was just talking about it this morning because we were trying to figure out how to make it eligible it's this food is medicine concept right so we funded pchc a grant to be able to do what they call gaps in care and so they're going to be able to help fund some of their clients that might need something that has a documented medical need and so we had to figure out how to be able to let clients directly purchase their own food because who wants you know somebody shop for you so to be able to give the monies like a gift card or we were going to work with GA to do a voucher but I'm really trying to just give out the gift card because if they have now they're on a low sodium diet now they're on something or they need a bullet because they now want pureed or something like that and they don't have the money for it food is medicine like that should be allowed so i don't know if are you saying that approach is sort of like becoming a philosophical adopting like that sort of approach as like a best [9:40] Speaker D (unidentified): well i think two things is like the food is medicine is rising as a way like an important way to improve health outcomes right and then just the most of these classes the ones that we're starting with are statewide hello oh yeah hi the classes we're starting with in that the will be run throughout the state will be 12 weeks in length okay so the other organizations that we heard from who've been doing some of this we're talking about nutrition education they ran anywhere from like 12 weeks to a Year depending on what was happening, so I think that I would say that if you asked any of those organizations who were running those nutrition education classes what was your outcome, they would say participants will lower their cholesterol over time, you know what I mean, these health outcome things. But I think every, what they found was the unexpected outcome of people were connected, people were happier, there was less isolation. That was something I didn't expect to see. [11:22] Speaker B (unidentified): But we know that all those things impact health anyway. Sure, and it's not a Zoom meeting, right. Yeah. People are getting, now do those education classes, are they like where people are sitting around a table learning something, or is there like a hands on component? [11:39] Speaker D (unidentified): I think that it's a two, both. So it seems like there will be maybe six weeks of kind of more instruction and then six weeks of how to. [11:56] Speaker B (unidentified): Too, like active prep. So do they have, who is in our, in Bangor? Do you say there was [12:04] Speaker D (unidentified): an approved site? There are the, on our work plan, there are approved settings and I don't know what those are in Bangor. But there are, there are, and the other thing is that we can, we can hold them at a site and recruit, through an approved setting, so it could be like three things. So say we knew there was a kitchen, we could fold it here, we could recruit primarily through an approved setting, which could be like PCHC or a piece of marriage name, but like all of them, exactly, yeah, and then we can also, they said you can open it up to the community, so you could also recruit wider, so it's still like they're still trying to nail some [12:51] Speaker B (unidentified): of this down. We're gonna be, you could invite a restaurant chef who wants to show people how to [12:59] Speaker D (unidentified): flip a crate or something, you could, I mean the, you could, I think if you tried it out you could figure out, and it ultimately may not even need to be connected to this, you know, anymore, you know, figure out what works, what makes people happy. We could, I mean there's all sorts of things I think we can do with it, so it's really interesting, I really like that. So we're spending the rest of the year just kind of planning, getting our bearings, and then plans for classes [13:41] Speaker C (unidentified): to start in January. Oh yeah, so and then they're going to be 12 week type classes, yes. Oh and do people have to commit to the 12 weeks? Well ideally it's not like a drop-in thing. [13:55] Speaker D (unidentified): It's not a drop-in, yeah, so it's right, there will be registration and I don't know how [14:01] Speaker B (unidentified): Many people per class, yeah. Okay, but it might be a good way to see what the interest is for something that is that structured, yeah, to then see if an expansion on the idea for something that would be more casual, like a more of a connections meaning, might spring up organically, like yeah, through those approved sites even. Yeah, we can, I think there, I think we could figure [14:35] Speaker D (unidentified): out, you know, what might work. It'd be really cool if like eventually we can do some multi-generational [14:42] Speaker C (unidentified): stuff, right, too, right? I know there's been some conversations in the past about for communities like Bangor about doing sort of a cooking 101 for young adults because we have so many colleges in the area and not all of them use the meal plan or whatever. They come and they're like, we don't know how to manage your budget book. And to your point about that connectedness, they start to meet maybe other people that aren't on their campus but live within the Bangor community. Yeah, so I know that, you know, I don't know if those ever got off the ground, but there was some, particularly since isn't there a college that has a food nutrition, yeah, Humane does, they have a nutritionist program. Is there one in Bangor? You know, it doesn't make community [15:33] Speaker B (unidentified): college have sometimes. Oh, they have a culinary. Oh, culinary, yeah, there's several culinary [15:40] Speaker C (unidentified): like job for, yeah, it's a big culinary, yeah, so then that's a center where you can bring people [15:47] Speaker B (unidentified): in and yeah, they would love to be involved in something like that. And you know what's really funny, when you were talking just now, I thought about my grandmother. The thing that I inherited from her that is so precious to me is all of her recipe books and all the little scrap pieces of paper that was like from Dottie, like these cookies, and they would go to these recipe swaps and they loved it, and I benefit from it because I get all those recipes. But what would a recipe swap look like with a multi-generational bent, right, like what's your grandmother's recipe, right, or [16:28] Speaker C (unidentified): asking people like if you have a connectedness to places in your agency and you may say hey, we're doing these things, cooking one-on-one, would any of you like to participate and as like a guest chef or something come in and make your simple, right, recipe and come with cards or whatever? I mean, there's a lot of, we have a lot of facilities and that's the way that would be so [16:53] Speaker B (unidentified): awesome to learn a method that might have been lost. You didn't have a grandmother, grandma, right. Doesn't that sound cool? It's like a share. [17:06] Speaker E (unidentified): I think to add to that, too, is bringing your grandma's recipes to the 2026, you know, nutrition thought process. Like, we don't cook with lard as much as we used to. [17:21] Speaker B (unidentified): We bring it into the 21st century if they're eating us. [17:25] Speaker E (unidentified): Right, exactly. And there's a lot more food allergies than there were when my grandmother was there. And what is, you know, a recipe that will make your doughnuts, but are good for gluten-free or dairy-free or lactose-free? I mean, I think that's where the nutrition comes in because I have, I, like you, I inherited my grandmother's recipes. They're like this, I mean, they're just held together with like paper. I mean, not paper, like string, those string books back in the day. And I have like the donut cutouts that were like an old can that they made for the round and the whole and the whole bit, and I would never part with them, but they were just made with a lot of ingredients that I really wouldn't eat today. Yeah, you need to customize them, right? But what would that look like? Because I mean, I would like to talk to a nutritionist or a chef or somebody that would take my grandmother's or help me take my grandmother's recipes and make them a little more. [18:24] Speaker B (unidentified): That's really cool. I mean, isn't that a broad interest thing? Because that gets, you're not just food insecure now. You're not just learning how to cook now. That's anybody. [18:34] Speaker F (unidentified): That's an adult ed course. [18:36] Speaker C (unidentified): Well, absolutely. But also like Matt Dexter's group, Christine B. Foundation. Okay. They do a lot for cancer patients, right, so that's another one that's very, to your point, might have very specific needs, right, around nutrition. Yeah, but he's got a big, I feel a big. [19:00] Speaker B (unidentified): Volunteer group. Oh yeah, he, yeah, they, so CDBG has funded them the last couple years and they've sent us like their reports. Yeah, and it is absolutely amazing. They have a dietician that meets with them and like makes a meal plan specifically for the patient based on all the things that just sound. [19:21] Speaker E (unidentified): Like such a great approach. It is, yeah. And you add the food insecurities to that, and people have this notion, and there's some truth to it, but you know, eating healthy doesn't have to break the bank. Yeah, it's very expensive. You know, you go get your grocery, got to learn, right, versus Shaw's, it just may be different, right? But I think that there may be something out there that can help you know bridge that gap so you can be as healthy as you can afford to, because I think that people just get lost in. It and they don't want to do it because it's so costly. They feel I'm not, you know, here to decide. But yeah, how do we wrap on beards and vegetables pretty cheap, you know, shots, I mean. [20:19] Speaker F (unidentified): That organic usually but and maybe teaching people how like dry beans, that's right, yeah, or. [20:28] Speaker B (unidentified): Or folding in the garden ideas, right? I was gonna ask you like, what if we looked at the city of Baymoor's nutrition as also where your food deserts are and where you're getting your fresh vegetables and what's accessible, could be another piece of it down the road. [20:50] Speaker A (unidentified): Maybe in the future, you could kind of integrate the community gardens where people might volunteer some of their extra produce. [20:57] Speaker B (unidentified): Produce to form a meal, just to say, hey, I love that, unless you have the city like. [21:07] Speaker F (unidentified): Operating more than you need to have community groups and neighborhood groups come together and take the initiative to start that. [21:13] Speaker A (unidentified): But there's that big one on Essex that even that alone is somehow there's a way of approaching them and saying, giving them the thought, the idea of this and like looking for volunteers here to donate some of their extra produce or right. Do you say that, do you mean the people that regularly garden there? Well, I guess get the city's permission to ask and then the get the to yes the individual somehow there might be email page or something that yeah especially the way. [21:45] Speaker F (unidentified): That community gardens functioned where I came from, I think it was like a certain percentage of all of their food went to the local food pantry. But there was actually like a person, he was a volunteer, he managed the whole garden. He grew a lot of extra produce like outside of what other volunteers, a lot of volunteers came for themselves. There was a larger section that donated a lot of food. Well. [22:10] Speaker B (unidentified): That's how our garden kind of started with David Patrick. He was the one who also started our advisory committee. I wish he pushed for the community gardens but he had a role, you know, yeah, and when he moved to Lewiston and we lost a piece that probably could help connect the dots between this sort of adult ed, where's the food, how to get it kind of. [22:38] Speaker C (unidentified): So I've seen programs where the community garden or farms, you know, if it's more rural, provide extra food to food pantries, and the volunteers who are working the food pantry will help to, like, I've seen ones where people will take, say, the zucchini, make a recipe, and then offer it the next week alongside all the zucchini. Yeah, like, here's a recipe for zucchini bread, here I've made a couple of zucchini breads, have a slice of zucchini bread, take some zucchini and way out, and the people who really love to cook, but if you have a central place like here, the food pantry is really the one in Hamden, right? I mean, there's no [23:30] Speaker F (unidentified): couple around town, there's one up on Center Street, there's one of the Together Place and [Speaker C (unidentified): They do.] But I know that a while back, years ago, I talked to Captain Carr at the Cooperative Extension, and it seemed like there was an effort that was already happening where they would do gleaning from local farms, extra produce, and they were distributing that to different food pantries. I'm not sure if all that's still happening. [23:59] Speaker B (unidentified): They have the same concept in, because we have a cooperative extension in Thorndike, and Mocka obviously is right there too, and it's Common Ground Fair, this meeting, and this piece of plugging. And they have this whole, you know, Walden County Bounty comes and they get all of these extra fruits and vegetables, and then there's sort of like these boxes that appear, and you know that you can go and get your 18-pound zucchini there. So that's kind of neat. It is not a lot of structure, but it was born out of COVID. [24:38] Speaker C (unidentified): The challenge is still like the food deserts [24:43] Speaker F (unidentified): that you mentioned. When we did our input meetings up near Cape Cod, a lot of people said that the challenge, like how do you make it happen? We can't. I mean, I guess theoretically, the city could make a city grocery store, but and we can change the zoning, we should change the zoning, which we're planning on doing, to allow more like small-scale grocery stores and mixed-use development, but that just opens the door, like you have to have somebody come and make the [25:13] Speaker B (unidentified): groceries forward. I wanted Tozers to do it. I really tried to convince them to either go into the Miller building, buy Miller Drug, or go up to the Cape Car when they were trying to expand band, really wanted them to, and they ended up buying the Sears for it, but I think even like [25:31] Speaker D (unidentified): The gleaning through Cooperative Extension, I know that Kate has one of the ongoing issues with that is that like getting people to do the gleaning and then they're like often and the opportunities are kind of like, I don't want to say last minute, but it's like, it's not like, it's not actually like something that you can plan for as much as spontaneous. Yes, more spontaneous. And so it makes it harder to get the volunteers to do the gleaning. And that seems to be, and I think capacity maybe within Cooperative Extension to continue to manage all of that, I think have been just things that you have to manage in order to [26:31] Speaker C (unidentified): do that. But is there a gap? So I think it's great if all of these resources are available, is there room to bring it all together or a gap to say like if more volunteers were brought to that if it was communicated and more volunteers were brought because I know for like for me when I try to convince other people to volunteer they want to know exactly what they want to show up they're not as interested in creating but if there's an opportunity that I saw there's a volunteer fear for you know hearts of something you know if there's a gap like you know and we say the public health would like to help fill this gap and this is you know here's three programs that could potentially be a step in the right direction that [27:32] Speaker B (unidentified): actually one of the goals I think that we had tried to increase volunteerism. So, that's definitely like the trend line over the last 20 years of volunteerism. Yes. [27:47] Speaker C (unidentified): Yeah. And there was volunteer fear and it was held at Beale College and it was well attended and we got home, but you know, with the pandemic hit. Yeah. So I was happy to see that the United Way is still in the moment. [28:09] Speaker B (unidentified): Because I think you're right. I don't have the bandwidth to plan and organize a place and a way to volunteer, but I'll show up. [28:18] Speaker C (unidentified): Right. Some communities just do a volunteer board. Like I know Chimera tends to have stuff just thrown up on their board and people look at it. You know the library I think is a time-honored you know thing of stuff being put on their boards and you just can pull a little tag off it or something oh that's fun where you're just like [28:39] Speaker B (unidentified): what am I doing today and it's a secret it could be more or there's a lot of communities that [28:46] Speaker C (unidentified): will do a day of service I mean a lot of businesses I believe I want to do a good neighbor day well, yes, so you could tie it into that. You know, you could say the Good Neighbor Day. [28:56] Speaker E (unidentified): Right. The Good Neighbor Day, you're going to be like, [28:59] Speaker C (unidentified): pick your, you know, pick your adventure on the Good Neighbor Day. You could do this, you could do this, you could do that. [29:05] Speaker B (unidentified): You remember this? That would be a really great way to start. [29:09] Speaker C (unidentified): Choose your own adventure after this. They're kids' books. Choose your own adventure and depending on how you read it. [29:17] Speaker B (unidentified): Yeah, okay, if you want to do this, turn to page 36. like that because you have a framework that exists you can kind of plug and play there are lots of organizations that need a volunteer that could easily put together the thing that they want you I want to take three people and we're going to do this thing and then you have them like everybody needs at the library is that kind of like how it works when you have yeah but like so I [29:47] Speaker C (unidentified): think the problem we're getting with bangor is like sometimes we were stepping on people's toes right so like doesn't the unit well they're not united way i keep calling them but they're parts of me right don't they do a like they must know every organization that allows their employees to do a day of service and they try to fill that need so is it better that if we see something that we go to them and say we would love to be included in your day of service and this is the project that we would love to have companies come to, or do we say hey Robin, do you know what Redmond Winchell does, do they, right, and then contact each individual company, and then Parts of Maine comes back and says hey, [30:34] Speaker D (unidentified): very hard to do that. Yeah, I think they're, they, the service that they offer is to be the one-stop shop, right? So if we, and they have, I think, you know, an electronic like a standing website that hosts volunteer opportunities, yep. So if we were able to define what we wanted, [31:02] Speaker C (unidentified): then we could, we could make it, and all of that came out of this group because they used to be very active in this group, and then that's what we go click back is NASA RSVP, do they do it, was that part of her, no, the one-stop, the one-stop-shop thing was like we can volunteers go so that we're all not trying to volunteer at the same time, but they agreed to house it basically, I mean, and build it as an [31:33] Speaker B (unidentified): organization. Is that what's the University of Maine office that was like the older folks volunteering and giving rides, remember, that was called RSVP, oh ours, retired and senior volunteer program, yes, and then all of a sudden [31:52] Speaker C (unidentified): They apparently it does, but there's, is there on it, no, I don't, so RSVP is like some also like foster grandparents, so I believe there's a minimum, right, I know, I think there's an income limit, but I think Penquist has, I know they do a foster grandparent program in their daycare, but yeah, they also will take regular volunteers one day, yeah, they will, there's another track, and they also have a transportation program, because that was where, yeah, those two things kind of separated, his bank was all in and Saying, well, we think we'll try to get drivers for Congress, and they tried to expand their program, so I mean, that's the nice thing in bankers, we have a ton of people doing a ton of things, yeah, and [32:53] Speaker B (unidentified): How do we support that struggle? If you think about how volunteers can be a good response to the narrative that nobody has capacity, nobody has money, nobody can solve the problem for these social organizations potentially. Money is scarce, people are scarce. Where are our resources in people that would be very likely to plug a [33:27] Speaker D (unidentified): Gap there, and I would say, and then is there an opportunity to reduce isolation and promote connection with volunteers, yeah, [33:38] Speaker C (unidentified): And I think a lot of times that grows out of that service, right, so they come for one thing, and then they see, okay, in order for this to continue, I have to participate somehow, it grows on you, right, yeah, it's like, and I think that I think these, I think the arian agencies do a good job with that, I think the Hearts of Maine does a good job with that, I mean, I think, I think Christine B does a good job, they always keep their volunteers engaged, [34:09] Speaker A (unidentified): Yeah, to find out how them talk to us coming, yeah, because I'll say we volunteer, you have to also. So as much as you're there to do a job, but some way, and I know it's difficult, maybe in some volunteer situations, you've got to make it fun or make it social in the sense that you are building that connection. You're not just there to start, you know, moving or planting a tree or, you know, let's go out. You know, I mean, after this, we're going to have ice cream, you know, a simple something social afterwards, because I find with even volunteering with groups I do. Do okay we show up usually and then just disperse and there is a connection you know you it's a friendship of some sort but sometimes you just want to do something also fun yeah so and I think that draws my drawer some people and other people will be fine with the other model but I think there are others like myself that would prefer that there's also a social side of it as well. Who do you volunteer with? Well just Bangor Beautiful at times and department Downtown Bangor Partnership we had a meeting last night but you know stuff like that but you would you [35:24] Speaker B (unidentified): would be interested potentially in maybe doing some of these other things where there is a social [35:29] Speaker A (unidentified): component also and maybe it's not all the time it's maybe it's not with every volunteer thing but it's like okay we're just going to get together and yeah bring your looks yeah right and you just have to cost money or just say yeah picnic in the park yeah I mean just stuff like [35:46] Speaker C (unidentified): that yeah what hap what happened with that dinner it was just that oh the big table [35:55] Speaker B (unidentified): take the table of shared tables I shared those yeah apparently it was sold out and very successful but I wasn't able to make it I would I registered and then something happened it sounded [36:10] Speaker A (unidentified): like a great idea I haven't seen any good photos of it but I hear Betsy said that in Downtown Bengal Partnership that they 're they're out there on Facebook yeah I'll tell you something even with that even though they kind of set it as an aside and we're talking about grandma's recipes and all that stuff there are those who just are not cooks and shy away from going to something where bring your because they were kind of stressing bring your it was a potluck and then also bring something that it has meaning to you as far as a recipe or food and all that stuff and a lot of people probably do have that but a lot of pressure too it's a lot of pressure [36:55] Speaker C (unidentified): and I just want to go to Frank's Bakery let's be honest and that's it and I think that's and I don't [37:00] Speaker A (unidentified): think she'll mind me saying because I think she said it on her Facebook page but Ann said yeah first of all too busy to make something and I'm not a cook but I went to Frank's Bakery and these are the cookies that I bought because I would bring them up you know something like I'd bring them home to the family or whatever yeah or whatever good memory it was yeah to share but I mean but sometimes there are barriers and of course transportation is always a barrier not for many people we're talking Minimal people, right? But when you're having something away, yeah, then it's difficult for people to connect with that. But that's, that's a small thing, and maybe there's something we don't even need to discuss anymore at this moment because they're more important. Yeah, but I think, I think a picnic or a city gathering on the waterfront would be wonderful, of some sort, or whatever it is, just it's open to everyone. Yeah, and there'll be food there, but you can bring something, or you could, you know, or you could give ten dollars, you know, if they would have said, or you could give twenty dollars, a donate, make a donation, then yeah, here's money, I would do that. If I wasn't a cook, but I would feel like I was [38:16] Speaker B (unidentified): welcome. Yeah, right, because you have the same contribution that makes your participation sort [38:22] Speaker A (unidentified): of right. I don't want to take up a space, say if you're not bringing food and you're just going to [38:26] Speaker B (unidentified): eat someone else's food. Yeah, I can see what you might think that I would be a little uncomfortable. [38:35] Speaker A (unidentified): But I think a gathering of some sort in the future would be, if it's possible, you know, even that Pickering Square again. [38:42] Speaker B (unidentified): I think that neighbor day and the end of the day is a big barbecue. [38:47] Speaker C (unidentified): That's what Sullivan does for, they pick up trash one day a year. [38:52] Speaker B (unidentified): So is it like Sullivan Days or like how you see something, days? Sullivan Days. D-A-C-E. [38:58] Speaker C (unidentified): Yes. Yes, and they pick up the trash along route one, and then they have barbecue at the fire department or the public works. I know that share table event, I too signed up and [39:12] Speaker E (unidentified): then I bugged out, but I bugged out kind of to the same thing that you guys were saying. I got the day before, I didn't get my meal because it was the day before winter crap, and I just didn't get my like, you know, homemade meal made, and then the problem lied on the details, and then and I talked again about it, like they bring in a grill is, you know, could I bring something to grill, could I bring, you know, I can put it in the refrigerator at work, but I mean after, you know what I mean, like it really didn't come with a lot of details. And if I'm going to bring this dish from home with me to, I have a refrigerator, but not everybody may have one at work, but they could put like a big salad in, and then I was like, well, I get a little weirded out with, if I don't know that you put your salad in the fridge all day, I don't know if I'm gonna eat that salad later, and I don't know how clean your, yeah, and so many big pasta dishes, do we really need, right, but to your point, I was like, I'll just order pizza. Because that way I know. But then it was like I had to get it ordered, I had to get it here, I had anyway. It got to be just like it was just too weird and I too much and I was like I want to go, it's sprayed by the transit center, I should go, I want to be in the community. It was overwhelming and so I just bugged out at the last minute and just didn't and I [40:43] Speaker C (unidentified): No, I didn't sign up for that reason, because I was like, this is too, you know, like I'd rather say sign up, like anything I've gone to will say sign up for a main course, and then when we get X number of people who have signed up for this, or sign up for a salad, or sign up for a dessert, this just felt so random to me that I'm like, are we all going to be sitting there eating salad? [41:06] Speaker E (unidentified): Everybody brings this fruit salad. Yeah, I was thinking because like the recipe thing with like a menu, I thought we're all gonna bring cookies because I just think of my grandmother was always like the comfort food, the sweets, like you remember a home that always had dessert first, you know? And it's just one of those things that you know it didn't have enough detail and I didn't know if there was going to be, could you bring a crockpot, right? Yeah, well they're gonna be, electricity was there going to be, you know, silverware and plates? Yeah, do I need to bring my own? It just got too much, I had too many questions and so I had to walk by it to get to my car at the transit center and I had to like walk the walk of shame because I was not going. Well [42:05] Speaker D (unidentified): I have not been to this, but I can tell you it happens once a month on the last Sunday of the month, and it is a potluck. So those are the things I can tell you about it. I know that it happens at the Keith Anderson Community Center, right? Right? So people who go to that, like it's, I know that if I don't have anything going on, I can go there and I can like eat a meal with some people in Orono. And so I think like there's something to be said for giving more details, maybe like starting small and just doing it to your point. Maybe we just get together like, you know, at a certain time. And we always set that time and we just show up and you know bring the franks or bring your grilled cheese sandwich for yourself or whatever it is you want to do, but I think if people like can rely on it happening [43:01] Speaker B (unidentified): And if it's like low barrier, then like, what if it was just blankets on the park and you get assigned a blanket with someone you don't know? I don't know, I mean, something that's look, that if you're the coordinator of something that you haven't taken on this, because if you, if you're trying to attend an event that doesn't have the detail or the structure, is that a capacity in the coordination problem? And now is that this larger symptom of these volunteerism kind of gaps, the coordination isn't quite there. [43:37] Speaker C (unidentified): Yeah, I do think like the city of Philadelphia does a summer series where they close down sections of a number of streets, at least they publicize it in advance, but then they put out things, they put up round rugs and four round chairs, and the chairs are all four chairs that are in a circle facing each other, and then the next like half block might be a cornhole game, and then the next half block is another round rug and four chairs facing each other. It's It's fascinating, and people sit down, and I would think they would drag the chairs away. [44:12] Speaker F (unidentified): A lot of times they don't. [44:14] Speaker C (unidentified): They just sit in the chairs, they come walking down with their coffee, whatever, they sit down. It's kind of like the benches that they put outside of schools, like conversation benches, and they might even have had a little, they might do a little preemptive work, I don't know, it was only there one of the weekends then, my son lived there so he was explaining, but they might explain that the round circles are conversation circles, and so that's what they're for, that might be why people don't just move them all away. Well, but it was an interesting idea. [44:50] Speaker B (unidentified): Weren't we talking about Tracy wanted to occasionally close Broad Street for some of things, and that was sort of like an ongoing not ever happening sort of, and today people [45:03] Speaker F (unidentified): might have very strong feelings about that. There's going to be a pilot kind of, they're going to do that for like two events I think this fall, I'm going to see what kind of feedback we get, and then of course we'll just get rid of that Broad Street and just make it not a street. [45:19] Speaker A (unidentified): What I like, a lot of people have an idea, so going to Rocklin past few days this week, they closed off Oak Street, it's right downtown. They say actually part of it is a woman, which is a yeah, a paid bro, I mean top, yeah, stone road that I mean, what am I trying to say, that bricks, whatever, pavers. Some of it's, it's for everyone, part of it, part of it's for driving, but it's also walking and biking and all that, but it's landscape, a lot of native plants like ascented ferns, the big mural on the side. I mean, it's really, pretty. I took some pictures and I was really impressed with it, and yes, Broad Street should, and they have been talking about making it kind of like a Woonerf. Maybe that's not the right word. It should be more, I don't think people will like that, a foreign word for it, so it just should be pedestrian type but not [46:18] Speaker E (unidentified): it's not pedestrian even in Broad Street from West Market Square to the Banger Daily News building, for lack of a better word, that part of Broad Street just make it brick pavers and then you can come up, what is the street, is that, is that Broad, but it's the one that from the, what, Banger [46:37] Speaker C (unidentified): alley come up there and that's how I'll think, yeah, but if you have to deliver when they have [46:42] Speaker B (unidentified): the streets that are too narrow for cars and they have to deliver to the commerce, they get littler. I think the alternative is what they do in Burlington, is they open it up to deliveries [46:52] Speaker F (unidentified): and stuff during the day and then in the evening is when they close it off professionally, and I think they do the same thing about the city wall, so I think if we got something like that it needs to be just during the evenings, and I think honestly I think that would work for most people, and especially on the weekends, that's when you're, a lot of people come downtown and it is more pedestrian, and but anyway, yes, we're talking about that, we're just haven't brought it forward [47:17] Speaker A (unidentified): yet, but in regards to your blanket idea, I didn't want that to go, it should be more speed meeting, yes, not that you're devoting x amount, I mean you get to go around every blanket, yeah [47:30] Speaker B (unidentified): Do you not like the big shoes with their mouths open? [47:33] Speaker A (unidentified): No,, seriously. I mean, it gives you the opportunity to meet more people [47:36] Speaker C (unidentified): and want to connect afterwards. [47:39] Speaker B (unidentified): I did think that maybe the blanket idea would be great because if I get down and then have to get up 14 times on the blankets, but the chair on the rug, I was like, oh, there. [47:52] Speaker A (unidentified): In England, there was some article I read that they were doing in a certain part of England, swings, where there was a sign or something saying that it was geared towards strangers sitting together and yeah, conversation swings or whatever it's called. But they have it in Boston too, which I think is neat. I mean, I'm even this swing here in Pinkerton Square, I mean, I was at the same time someone was waiting for the bus and I sat down with them, we had such a nice conversation and I've seen other people sitting in the swing and [48:22] Speaker E (unidentified): enjoying it and it's I have seen a lot I walk that way every day coming and going and the swing has been used every day that it's been there and I haven't I haven't even [48:36] Speaker C (unidentified): seen I've tried like I walked on a lot I've tried to get on that swing like three times [48:41] Speaker B (unidentified): yeah you could probably fit five or six people on and one of the counselors who's running [48:55] Speaker C (unidentified): So I will also just say this really quick, if you do something like that, and I don't think this committee should do, is we should be the ones that immediately hop on Facebook, like it, make a positive comment about it, because anything a committee does, there should be a positive comment that sometimes gives people pause before they jump in on their negative but for every negative comment there should be two positive comments and so and that's [49:23] Speaker B (unidentified): something that we're even just moderating the comments right yeah you know if it was if this committee had a pay because this isn't a chartered committee so it can have its own Facebook page probably right that it can moderate the comments that would be like a public record I don't think [49:44] Speaker C (unidentified): you have to moderate it I think it's more like just jump on and make sure that you're supportive of it yeah because like we all just had very positive things to say about the swing and literally there's a city council member I just read the banger utilities and thinks it's a total who's running they're not lucky yet who thinks it was a total waste of money and I'm like it's [50:04] Speaker B (unidentified): just like it's constantly you can't get yeah you can't get your butt in it so that just made me [50:09] Speaker C (unidentified): think of it because I was like it's economic development too you're making a place pretty [50:14] Speaker A (unidentified): for people who are living there but also people who might want to move or come and visit the [50:19] Speaker F (unidentified): downtown so I wish they had to get on it too yeah and we can talk to Jeff but yeah definitely making that a place of better like quality like I think they've got the tracks doesn't sit right [50:33] Speaker B (unidentified): And have so many spaces in which you as a pedestrian often are walking looking down at where your next step goes and sort of like that chin up view of like there's beautiful things to look at and you're interested in what's around the next corner. Now you're going into shops because you're noticing things, you're seeing people's eyes. There's a lot of studies that talk about connection and just this bit that's almost exactly what the one in Boston looks like. So I feel like we really centered our conversation. I mean, I love how they just organically happen. We talked about social inclusion, civic participation, social participation, and some community and health services as we were thinking about food and medicine. One thing that I learned or heard about [51:41] Speaker D (unidentified): when I was at that training earlier this week to with that someone talked about the overwhelming number of people they served and I think maybe they like did one of these classes that I was talking about where people do not have a next of kin or a medical you know so they like they basically have no one right and so as we were talking about all these great ideas I kept thinking about they sound awesome and how could we go one step further and like make reach out to that population of people and bring them in to connect them with this too. Yeah, I have the answer. Well and it's [52:31] Speaker C (unidentified): talking about having a conversation on solo aging and that's that's yeah and having that be like a I mean we had that person from UMaine that talked to us at [52:44] Speaker B (unidentified): one livable communities meeting November. I found that really helpful to hear her perspective on that and I thought we had talked about how some of the health centers could help identify folks as well. Oh that's a really good idea, so doctor's offices yeah. [53:04] Speaker D (unidentified): Let's keep that maybe like we just keep that in mind yeah plan for these things. [53:11] Speaker A (unidentified): As far as doctor's office, I mean what type of information and how does your doctor ever [53:19] Speaker B (unidentified): ask you about your living situation, do you live alone, who do you live with? I mean they collect that right? [53:28] Speaker A (unidentified): But okay let's just how many people are you okay when they ask you really personal questions about depression and stuff like that are you going to actually on a computer screen that don't know who it's going to say yes I'm depressed and then what is that just go to the only time [53:48] Speaker C (unidentified): that i've ever seen doctors involved is where a committee like ours would or a public health or whatever would put together a rap card that just says these are resources that are available in the community and if they thought that you might be at risk for anything for depression or just They would let you they would inform you of it if none of that information would ever flow back It's just an informing you are you aware that these from some of the resources or hey? I've had some of my patients have great success with this particular video or whatever it. That's it. It's really just a not identifying you for us. [54:31] Speaker A (unidentified): It's right that I guess it's just a black and white because who isn't depressed right now at some point in their life? [54:38] Speaker B (unidentified): If you're not, then you have an issue. But to answer your question very specifically, when I was at Dartmouth, we did a study all through New England where you go to your primary care doctor and you are looking at a tablet and you're answering things that are difficult to say to someone's face, but you could push a button and say well maybe more than half the days, and then that data poured it into your chart. Nobody saw it. Your doctor would open your chart and the screen would be green, yellow, or red. Depending on how many questions, you know, lit up. So we created this threshold. So then your doctor was like, oh, there's an orange or a red, maybe I'll bring up. So it really was about the relationship, you with your doctor, then the doctor having a protocol. He knew you very well and had already talked to you about this, and he sees the orange or red and be like, we have a good relationship, and I know that they'll come to me. But they generally also ask you what your home situation is like. All the time. All those things. Is there room for someone to say, you know, if they know those patients, that they can hand them some material about solar agers group? [56:03] Speaker A (unidentified): Interesting. Yeah, it's just time wise with people with doctors these days and you really don't get to know them and they don't get to know you. Yeah, and in a lot of situations, I'm not saying all faces, but in a lot of situations, and people don't even have doctors who are walking around that I know in my neighborhood in pain because they don't have the money to pay for to go to a doctor, so I will just leave it at that. I do want to, if I may, in regard to one of these, transportation, if I may ask you a question. Absolutely. Is there a map or something that shows where the specific stops are now? I mean, I saw something with like the smallest little blue, almost bluish targets, like there's no way you could, most people would be able to see. So like if I want to know where is the nearest stop that so the best way to [57:02] Speaker E (unidentified): look at it is to use the app that we have it's bang for community vector and if you look up the bang for community connector app then you can see every single stop okay and it will tell you which side of the street it's on it will give you real-time information that all buses are low I have GPS is on them and AVL on them, automatic vehicle locators, so real-time information is now on the Bangor Community Connector app, and you can, you know, use your phone to, like, really pull in to get in the exact side of the street, so we'll let you know what time it's coming, and we have it so there's an estimated time for the schedule, but also you can literally see the little bus going around and around the corner. [57:48] Speaker A (unidentified): And I'll say that the Transportation Center, I love where it is, I love how you've been maintaining it. It is so spotless when you walk around it and walk into it, because people do have big negative comments about it. And I thank you. [58:03] Speaker E (unidentified): I appreciate that. It's been a neighbor of love for me, personally. Personally. I'm very,, very proud of the transit center. I feel like we've needed it for a very long time. I too love where it's at. I love when I leave the theater, because I'm a very frequent flyer of the theater. And I love being able to walk by it. And just everybody's in here, you know, they're sitting on the bench, and it's a Sunday, it's not working, you know, we're not operating. It's just people have been, you know, very [58:36] Speaker B (unidentified): respectful of it and just using it as a gathering yes I love that. It's a pleasant place to gather actually. It's likely now a bigger E-Square being done. Right and your point this [58:52] Speaker E (unidentified): wing is being used I see it used constantly you know and yeah I just wish they had a few more. [59:00] Speaker B (unidentified): So what do you think about next time we talk about housing, outdoor spaces, and buildings? That's some of the hard, harder stuff we haven't gotten into. And how does everybody like this type of where we're coming and having these types of discussions in a, it seems like this is lots of idea generation and planning, which is a little different than how we've been doing the last couple meetings. So do we like keep to keep going like this, just to get your temperature? I mean, I think it's, I think it's great to go [59:35] Speaker C (unidentified): back and revisit the plan because it really needs to be updated, and I think the city's probably doing tons in the housing in the last of the domains. Yeah, you know, in terms of, I mean, it's always around affordability, it's around solo aging, it's around, you know [59:53] Speaker B (unidentified): can do that are people in big homes that don't. Yeah, and what Anya has a lot to report out about some of those things that we've been doing with planning and zoning and stuff like that too, so we can bring our best. That'll be interesting. Yeah, let's bring our best minds next time. Well, and we're also working on a few initiatives committees feedback on [1:00:18] Speaker F (unidentified): around universal time and complete streets and stuff like that, but I'll be back maybe in the winter to talk about that. [1:00:26] Speaker A (unidentified): I love this stuff, so yes, more cash. Definitely. [1:00:32] Speaker B (unidentified): All right, thank you. This was awesome. Thank you. See you in a couple weeks, right? Yes.