MAINE MODELS ... STATEWIDE FOOD WORKit all starts at the farm

Restaurants/Storefronts ... with educational mission

2. Mobile Markets

Food Hubs

1. Food Cooperatives

Farm to School

Unity, ME

Spent over 40% of their school cafeteria buget

on local produce in 2011

Farm to Hospital

Norway, ME

Steven’s Memorial Hospital sources local produce for its salad

bar

inst

itutio

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direct-to-consumer

retail or foodservice

Crown O’Maine A cooperative that distributes Maine-grown products to buying clubs, restaurants, and retail stores throughout the state. Products available include: fruits and vegetables, grains, dry beans, honey, maple syrup, tofu, tempeh, value-added products, frozen sustainable fish, natural and organic meats, cheese, and fermented foods.

Farm Fresh Connection Markets and distributes produce for Maine farms. This LLC buys food from over 60 Maine producers and sells to over 150 establishments, including restaurants, retail stores, schools, hospitals, farm stands, buying clubs, and processing operations.

Northern GirlBased in Aroostook County and started in 2011, this minimal processing and packaging facility purchases and processes surplus produce items from local farms and resells them to schools, restaurants, and retailers across New England.

support Organizations

Finances

• MOFGA: Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association est.1971

• Eat Local Foods Coalition of Maine

• Maine Farmland Trust

• Maine Department of Agriculture

• Maine Network of Community Food Councils

Slow Money MaineA growing network of diverse actors such as individuals, philanthropists, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government entities focused on investing in farms and fisheries throughout Maine

No Small Potatoes Investment ClubGroup that pools funds and makes micro-loans to farmers and food businesses in Maine

Online MarketsIncreasingly the internet is being used to market and sell local produce. Online buying is an alternative way consumers can purchase food. Now various direct-to-consumer marketing strategies, such as farmers’ markets, food buying clubs and CSA shares can be accessed virtually. The rise in online buying is facilitated by technology, innovative website designs and new software programs that simplify purchase and distribution.

Software Businesses• BuyingClubSoftware.com • LocalOrbit.com

Maine Examples • Western Maine Online Farmers’ Market• Portland Cooperative online buying • Oxford Hills Food Collaborative

Fare Share Co-op, Norway

Portland Food Cooperative, Portland

Local Sprouts Cooperative, Portland

Jordan’s Mobile Farm Stand, Cape ElizabethA renovated school bus that sells fresh produce to 5 senior housing sites in South Portland

Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Food MobileProgram that serves a mix of frozen, refrigerated and dry grocery goods to Maine’s neediest and most underserved families. In 2011, two mobile pantry vehicles took 94 trips to deliver 602,144 lbs. of food throughout Maine.

Barrels Community Market, Waterville Forage Market, Lewiston Kennebec Local Food Initiative, GardinerLongbranch School and General Store, Bowdoinham Nezinscot Farmstore, Turner

Wholesale Distributors

“a centrally located facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and/or marketing of locally/regionally produced food products” (USDA)

Unity Food Hub: Maine Farmland Trust is helping to develop the business plan for a facility in Unity, Maine that will serve several functions: dry storage, cold storage, limited processing, and the possible creation of new retail venues, including a multi-farm community supported agriculture (CSA) and/or catering facility.

Skowhegan, ME: An old jail building in this large town of central Maine is home to the Skowhegan Farmers’ Market, CSA share “The Pickup” and the Somerset Grist Mill. Their farmers’ market finds success with EBT acceptance and their Fruit &Vegetable Prescription Program. The market had $18,000 in EBT transactions and $25,000 in credit card sales in the summer of 2011. “The Pickup” recently received private funding to subsidize first time CSA participation by 15% to low-income community members. Finally, the grist mill is a processing facility for turning grain into flour and other value-added products. The mill’s purpose is to revive local grain production in Maine.

3. Community Supported Agriculture & Fisheries Port Clyde Fresh Catch, Port Clyde The first Community Supported Fishery (CSF) in Maine to deliver fish, shrimp and lobster on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis to consumers who pay prior to the start of the season