We are ecstatic to introduce you to the newest members of the Food Solutions New England Ambassador Team. As many of you know, we have had Ambassadors in the three southern-most states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut) of our region for quite some time. This year we have been able to add Ambassadors for Maine and New Hampshire as well. We hope to add a Vermont Ambassador to the team soon.
Learn more about the FSNE Ambassador Program here.
Maine Ambassador – Senator Craig Hickman
Organic farmer, chef, poet, and author, Senator Craig Hickman is the son of a Tuskegee Airman and a wise woman. Elected to the Maine Senate in 2021 after serving four terms in the Maine House of Representatives, Hickman is the first Black lawmaker in Maine’s history to serve in both chambers of the Legislature. Hickman is the original sponsor and author of the first-in-the-nation Right to Food amendment to the Maine Constitution, the first-in-the-nation Maine Food Sovereignty Act of 2017, and the Resolve to End Hunger in Maine by 2030.
Throughout his life and in his work, he has championed food rights, food sovereignty, food security, and other efforts to protect Maine’s small family farms and promote civil rights and rural economic development. He is also an adoptee with a long-standing commitment to improving the lives of both adult and minor adoptees.
Inspired by his father, a Tuskegee Airman, and his wise mother, both deceased, Hickman has spent most of his life serving his community, feeding people, and striving to bring people from all walks of life together in common purpose. His award-winning 2005 memoir, Fumbling Toward Divinity: The Adoption Scriptures, chronicles his search and reunion with his biological family.
Hickman is a National Poetry Slam Champion and the recipient of several awards, including a James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, AIDS Action Committee Community Recognition Award, Spirit of America Foundation Award for altruistic service to the community, the Maine AFL-CIO Edie Bealieu Award for his commitment to workers, and an Angels in Adoption Congressional Award, nominated by United States Senator Angus King.
Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Hickman moved to New England to attend Harvard University, where he graduated with a degree in government. He and his spouse, Jop Blom, own and operate Annabessacook Farm in Winthrop, where they raise organic produce, dairy, and livestock, sell products direct-to-consumers at their roadside farm stand, and host community gardens and a fresh food bank for anyone in need.
New Hampshire Ambassador – Ameenah Shabaaz
Ameenah Shabazz embarked on her journey of learning through the lens of her vibrant community. A native of the mid-Atlantic region, she developed a real sense of nature in her urban neighborhoods. She deepened her understanding of learning about plants and creating green spaces by earning a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture and Landscape Architect from Temple University in Pennsylvania.
Her studies were motivated from her beloved grandmother and mother who taught her about gardening and agriculture practices while using the land to help feed others. Having worked for the Environmental Protection Agency, Fairmont Horticulture Center in Philadelphia, Urban Nutrition Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania and the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success in Manchester, NH, has fueled her desire to share her knowledge and improve the quality of living for all.
Further, she completed her Masters in Chinese Acupuncture from the New England School of Acupuncture. Not long after, she joined the Urban Farming Institute and completed the 8-week intensive training in Boston. Ameenah is currently enrolled in an Integrative and Functional Nutrition Master’s degree program. Her passion is to merge preventative health options with healthier food alternatives and inspire change by creating a holistic view of the relationship between food, healing, nature, and community.
Ameenah enjoys spending time with her family and dabbling with home gardening projects.
