Khmer Maine Cultivates Food and Culture

I first learned about Khmer Maine back in 2023 when I was completing a horticulture apprentice training program at Tidewater Farm in Falmouth, through the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension program. The team I worked with had planted ginger and lemongrass in the high tunnel greenhouse in the late spring, and a group from Khmer Maine — a nonpartisan community organization for Cambodians living in Maine — had come in the late summer to harvest these crops along with other vegetables we had grown for the organization’s use. 

As a chef and cookbook author, I have long been fascinated by Asian culinary culture and Asian ingredients, so I was excited to learn about a Cambodian subculture right here in Maine. After the visit, I decided to contact Khmer Maine to learn more about their mission and community. Eventually I was connected with ChanBunly “Bunly” Uy, Khmer Maine’s Food and Farm manager, who turned out to be a font of information. Bunly explained that Khmer Maine’s mission is to improve the quality of life for Cambodians living in Maine and enhance their connections to one another. To do this, they offer programs to all ages on topics that include Arts and Culture, Civic and Community Engagements, Land and Justice, and — closest to my heart — Food and Farm. 

The Food and Farm program, I learned, collaborates with UMaine Cooperative Extension to offer innovative and culturally focused 4-H projects. By educating youth from diverse backgrounds, the program aims to cultivate future leaders in farming and food production. Gatherings, classes, and field trips to local farms (such as Tidewater Farm) take place throughout the year. Students learn about growing and harvesting produce and participate in activities such as picking highbush blueberries in warm weather, and indoor baking or cooking when it’s too dark and stormy to meet outdoors. 

Khmer Maine also partners with the Southern Maine Agency on Aging to provide health and nutrition classes for older adults. The program provides food vouchers for local Cambodian grocery stores to encourage participation and reduce grocery costs, educates elders on maintaining their health, and offers recipes to promote healthier eating. For those who can’t afford the best and healthiest ingredients, or who can’t access them if they live in remote regions, Bunly says, eating a nutritious diet can be a challenge. “This program helps them to adapt their food,” he told me, “so that they are healthier and adjust recipes [based on] their ages.”

Bunly became connected with Khmer Maine through a volunteer he met at the Cambodian Temple in Buxton, Maine. Born in rural Cambodia and raised in an orphanage in the city of Southwest Kampot, he moved to Maine in 2015 to go to college, earning degrees in Human ecology, sustainable agriculture, and food systems from the College of the Atlantic. Later, he studied microeconomics at McGill University in Montreal. Though he had initially intended to return to Cambodia to use his education to help people there, he changed his plans because of the country’s political climate. 

Today, roughly 2,500 Cambodians live in Maine. Bunly explained to me that many of them moved to Maine in the late 1970s and 1980s to escape political oppression in Cambodia. Through their churches, these immigrants were assigned sponsors — many of whom lived in small towns in Maine — to help them get settled. Moving to Maine had its challenges, among them the language barrier and a lack of access to traditional Cambodian produce and ingredients. Many who decided to stay ended up moving closer to the Portland area to secure jobs and to find community, and a few opened traditional Cambodian markets. 

“Food plays an important role in our culture, so we use food to fill in the gap between the generations,” Bunly noted. “The Food and Farm program opens the door to see if the next generation wants to build it as their future career.” 

The vibrant culinary traditions of Cambodian culture have quietly thrived in Maine, helping to bridge generations and offering a taste of home to many. A few traditional Cambodian recipes shared by Khmer Maine members follow. 

Khmer Maine Recipes

Mango Salad With Smoked Fish (Nhoam Svay Trei Cha’eur)

Lemongrass Chicken Stir-Fry (Cha Kreung Sach Moan)

Cambodian Doughnuts (Nom Korng)