Ellison Food and Events

25/03/2023

In honor of Maine Maple Weekend... we took the brand new Blackstone grill out to the park! We feel every Mainer deserves a little taste of maple syrup this time of year so we brought it them. As many of us spend some time this weekend supporting local Maine agriculture ...we ask that you take a moment to acknowledge how lucky we all are to live in Maine and how sweet it could be if the basics needs of people were being met.

01/03/2023

After a much needed social media break we are excited to come back ready for the 2023 season!!

This new year will bring some changes as to how Ellison will operate going forward. We are now going to be a 'not-for-profit catering operation" with the goal of any money we make goes right back into Ellison to keep providing bagged lunches and meals for the Park Peeps in Portland.

The biggest change is that any event we are asked to be at... there will be a suggested donation amount to access the spread of food. There will be no firm prices as we believe that food should be accessible to everyone.

We will be working on creating a mission statement soon that further explains why we are making this switch and outlining the goals for our future.

If we have spoken about dates for the 2023 season already. . Please know we will be reaching out this week to lock in those dates. If you have not reached out about dates yet...We suggest doing so soon as weekends are filling up fast!

For everyone who has supported us thus far..it is so appreciated and has kept us able to continue to feed the park Peeps this winter. If you are interested in ways to help support us further..please direct message us as we will take all the help we can get.

Be looking for more updates soon as we gear up for a busy and amazing 2023 season!

-Ellison

25/12/2022

Today was brutally cold in the Park. Nearly two hours outside was enough to know that living in these conditions is a fight for life. While today's successes of getting hot food to our friends seems like a small victory...we must remember that what we are doing is merely a band aid on the problem and more is needed.

A bright spot today were the volunteers that came out on Christmas in painfully cold weather for no other reason than to be a part of the change. Again this could not happen with out you and it is very appreciated! A special thank you to Longhorn Steakhouse and Seadog Brewing for their donations of some soup, bread, and bowls.

21/12/2022

On the longest night of the year...we ask everyone following our page to think very critically about the lives we have lost in our city/state and the ones who will be fighting all winter due to not having anywhere to go.

This is why we do what we do. I ask anyone with no plans to join us this Sunday from 11 to 1 to share a meal with our current unhoused friends.

If you are in a position to make a donation... it would also go a long way to making sure we provide food to our friends all winter long.

Thank you for all the help thus far!

13/12/2022

Next up in the series of winter meals!

10/12/2022

After a two week post Thanksgiving break..we are back at it this morning! Tried something new and did Turkey Cheddar Bacon Ranch Cups.( The cup is a Cresent roll!) Handheld..full of meat and cheese and hopefully still piping hot on arrival!

Plans for a big meal either the night of the 24th or the afternoon of the 25th are in full swing. Stay tuned for further details!

16/11/2022

We are so excited for Thanksgiving this year!

07/11/2022

With Thanksgiving racing toward us..now is the time to start planning your meals with the people who you are thankful for.

At Ellison...we are doing the same! We have plans to provide a full hot Thanksgiving dinner to our Park Peeps! We will be on location in Deering Oaks park Thanksgiving morning at 11 am and feed as many people as we can all the goodies you've come to expect of a Thanksgiving feast.

While the whole Ellison crew will be in attendance...we could use some extra help with this one! The easiest way for someone to help would be a financial donation to help with food costs. Other ways would be to show up and help serve Thanksgiving morning or in select situations cook some food or dessert.

After the success of the last 7 months..we know we can make this happen! Thank you to everyone for the support thus far as we continue to show our friends that they are valued and respected and not forgotten on a day where family and friends are the center.

01/11/2022

OCTOBER was our busiest month ever! We are now moving into a small break from any big events as we work on the next steps for Ellison! If YOU see yourself as someone who really supports the idea of a Not-for-profit Catering Operation and wants to lend your feedback to a steering committee..Please reach out! No cooking required! :)

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who made our first year a major success. We look forward to honing in our mission and setting some lofty goals for 2023!

29/10/2022

Brunch Spread with made to order egg and cheese sammies! All proceeds today going back to the Special Olympics. So happy to be at Clambake this year. If you ever want Ellison to show up at your fundraiser to help..simply reach out!

09/10/2022

We now have our own dedicated Venmo account to accept payments and donations! Thank you to everyone who has contributed to helping feed the Park Peeps so far. Yesterday was a trial run with some hot food ( Chicken Teriyaki Stirfry) and it went well. We hope to keep doing more hot foods this winter along with more community outreach as what we do is merely a band aid on much larger issue.

01/10/2022

It's a simple photo but it means alot. This week..the Park Peeps were treated to something extra special...in honor of Maine Lobster Week and in solidarity with the lobstering industry... a very stuffed lobster roll! When the idea was first pitched people initially scoffed and that only made us want to do this more. Our unhoused friends are Mainers as well and they deserve this just as much as anyone else.

19/08/2022

Summer has been great for our namesakes! We have been able to continually provide bagged lunches every Saturday through the summer for the Park Peeps Program.

Tomorrow, the entire Ellison Crew will be joining Betti Curran in the park at 11 Am to serve another classic cookout! We have everything we need and thank everyone who has helped us this far! We cordially invite all of you who have expressed interests in joining us to do so tomorrow at Deering Oaks and find out why the Park Peeps are so special.

20/07/2022

This event is going to be amazing!!! Please consider going if you can!

The view from the back deck last night at the Chipman Homestead ✨

The team is busy prepping and getting everything ready for an amazing time!

This weekend!!!

Join us for the Buck Moon Garden Party!

🦌🌕🦌

Gates 3pm Friday! Fireside jam Friday night 🪘

Live music Saturday from amazing New England talent 🎹🥁🎸🎤

Sam Pallazolla

Treelock and Def Sauce

NeonGypsy

Frank Burns

Merther

Skyfoot

Dead Sessions East

Food by Pigpens BBQ and Ellison Food and Events🍗🌯

Vending by Jenzified Designz, Art By Megastar and Color Matrix Clothing 🎨

Sound by HPA Production Services, Inc.. 🔊

Lights and photography by Dave Grimmel Photography 📸

All proceeds to support Bath Area Food Bank and Midcoast Hunger Prevention!

Tickets are still $60 and $75 day off show! $25 camping per vehicle! ⛺️

Get your ticket 🎟 today!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/buck-moon-garden-party-tickets-371823212237?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

14/07/2022

So many adjectives can be used to describe our fundraiser event at Lincoln & Main Electric Bike Café & Winery last night. Amazing, wonderful, supportive, successful are just a few words to describe it.

Red Door Market and Deli showed up with what can only be described as charcuterie artistry. Anna and Pete, thank you so much for your support. The food was delicious and the spread was beautiful.

Lincoln & Main Electric Bike Café & Winery - thank you for opening your wonderful space and the great drinks. If you haven't had the opportunity to visit Thadd and his crew, please do. Thank you to Sam from Lincoln and Main for helping with packing up the leftover food.

Thank you to everyone who showed up, everyone who donated.

We are thrilled to report that our grand total in donations was $1335.00! This money is going to go so far in helping us help the Park Peeps.

Leftover food was packaged up and brought to the park after the event was over and given to Park Peeps and other unhoused people.

On behalf of Ellison, Betti, the Park Peeps and Betti's crew of helpers thank you so much for the unwavering support!

13/07/2022

Happening soon! We are so excited!

08/07/2022

Next Wednesday is our first Fundraiser!! Please consider coming by or making a donation next Wednesday if possible!! Thank you!

04/07/2022

Hello Everyone! Another long post but worth the read!

Today, Ellison showed up at Deering Oaks Park and threw a cookout to remember! For a great description of how the event went, please check out the post from Betti Curran! It was a humbling and amazing experience and we look forward to doing something like this again around Labor Day Weekend! Until then, we will continue with bagged lunches for the foreseeable future.

When we started Ellison we knew we would be successful. But after our first few events, we started to really think about what success is, and more importantly, how it was measured. Did everyone have fun? Did everyone get plenty to eat? Did the event run as smoothly as it could? At the end of the day, how much we made in profit was not nearly as important as the answers to the questions above.

That is why we are extremely proud to announce that moving forward Ellison Food and Events will be a not-for-profit business!

What does this mean exactly? Honestly, we are not sure what this will look like but for now, we will remain a catering business, legally licensed with the State of Maine. It is our vow that we will give out as much food as the profit we take in, continually providing food where it is needed. We are not, nor will we become a non-profit in any official capacity, simply a business that, on paper, is not really good at doing business.

As this format evolves, we will surely update the changes. It is our hope by the end of the year to form an advisory board to help steer Ellison in the right direction as we have always believed this to be a group effort.

For now, we will leave you with information about our first ever fundraiser! We will have one day where we will accept donations to help fund the Park Peeps Program through the summer into fall. We hope that if you support the work we are undertaking, to consider making a donation on July 13th 2022 or to show up at the fundraiser and make a donation in person!

As always thank you for the support thus far. It really does take a village and I appreciate everyone in ours who helps make the world a better place.

26/06/2022

Long but important post!

We are so pleased to announce our Park Peeps Program!

Portland, like any other city these days has a growing number of unhoused people, and like many of you, we drive passed them thinking we wish there were more we could do. For years, feeding people has been a love language and ideas of getting decent food to the unhoused have been growing for some time. Due to many reasons such as logistics, cost, and anxiety...nothing materialized for those plans.

Well here we are now, running a very successful catering operation and we have figured out many logistics of doing food at a cheap enough cost. Anxiety was the only thing holding us back and along came an introduction that would change everything!

Betti Curran is a local woman who embodies the words " Be the change you wish to see in this world" . For many years, she and her friends have simply gone to Deering Oaks park and just hung out with the unhoused people. They have grown so close with this woman and she had affectionately dubbed them her "Park Peeps". She started bringing snacks and drinks as she could, but not being affiliated with any organization, her resources only could run so deep. Through a chance FB connection, we started talking with Betti and an idea was formed!

We piloted a program where last week, we provided her with 20 bagged lunches for her Park Peeps! Chicken ceaser wraps, Mac salad, fresh cut strawberries, and a brownie! They loved them! Yesterday, as seen in the pictures, was Turkey, Provolone, Spring Mix and Dijonaisse Wrap, fresh cantaloupe, chips and a cookie! Next week Sunday July 3rd... in honor of the new Park Peeps Program, Ellison will be on site in Deerings Oak park hosting a 4th of July Cookout for the Peeps! As a family and organization, we could not be more excited!!

As Ellison Food and Events, we see the value in everyone eating our food. We are hereby committing to provide Betti with bagged lunches for her Park Peeps at minimum once a weekend for the foreseeable future. We believe you must bear your neighbors burden within reason and your labors will be borne when all is done.

How we accomplish this program will be outlined in a post next week. We will make some organizational changes/distinctions and speak more as to where the funding will come from. Plans are in place and we look forward to sharing them soon. For now, let's celebrate a fantastic connection that will make the world a better a place!

19/06/2022

People who don't know us personally will sometimes ask how we came to be known as Ellison. As a combination of both our daughters names, we are named after the two biggest successes to date! We figured this was a solid bet to harness all the good they bring to this world.

Later this week, we will proudly share news on our pilot ' Park Peeps Program' and news on a small shift in our model. We are very excited about both as we will continue to show our daughters how to be the change you wish to see in the world. Thank you for being part of this adventure with us!

29/05/2022

Everything about the last night at Stonehedge Concert Adventures was amazing! Thank you to all the amazing volunteers, the band and to all the people who ordered food! This place is what live music should be about! Can't wait to be back with more wraps and quesadillas soon!

27/05/2022

Had a fantastic night at Bittersweet Ridge serving up some solid food and a chance at Glory! Everyone who purchased dinner had the chance to throw an Ace ( a hole in one ) and get rewarded with $500 cash. NOBODY was able to hit the Bounty so we will do it again next month! Thanks everyone for participating in our first of many Dinner Dubs events!

01/05/2022

Last night went so well at Stonehedge!! Chicken Caesar and Buffalo Chicken Wraps for days! Certainly looking forward to the next events here in a few weeks!

25/04/2022

Hey All!

You will find us this Saturday night at Stonehedge in Gray Maine! This venue is so underrated being so close to Portland!

Who is playing?

April 30th: Hearts & Bones: A Celebration of the Music of Paul Simon, with special guests CC & Friends

If you cannot make it to the Saturday night show..we will be at all the other events below!

May 20th: Bearly Dead

May 21st: Rose Alley, with special guests Wake Up Mama and Captain Bangaroo

May 28th: An Evening with Maine Dead Project

Come check out one of these amazing shows at what will be your new favorite venue!

22/04/2022

Happy Earth Day Everyone! At Ellison, we lead by example and have chosen to do right by the earth and use compostable products going forward! It was an easy decision to make as single use plastics are unsustainable for a healthy planet and compostable is the best we've got! 🌎 ❤️ ✌️