Maine Cheese Guild Gets Grant for 2003

The new, statewide Maine Cheese Guild, comprised of dairy farmers and approximately one dozen artisanal and farmstead cheesemakers, is off the ground. The group will be receiving $6,628 in grant money to organize workshops, produce promotional materials, launch a website and put on a cheese festival this fall.

According to John Harker of the Maine Department of Agriculture Agricultural Development Grant Program, the grants awarded by his office each year are given to agricultural proposals that help entities "establish new markets and adopt new technology." Harker noted that the Maine Cheese Guild's proposal was "well written, and it helps move a commodity to a higher level." The idea of dairy farmers and cheesemakers "joining together as a group" helped win points as well.

Forty-one applicants requested a total of $746,000 in funding from the competitive grant program. All grants require matching funds as well. With only $141,000 available this year, only 10 grants were awarded. For the new, fledgling Cheese Guild, which did not exist until this year, receiving the grant is key to its success.

Part of the grant will go toward Maine's first Cheese Festival on October 12, 2003. The Guild will co-sponsor the event with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Cow, goat and sheep milk cheeses will be displayed, sampled, available

for sale, and perhaps crafted at the event. This will be the second annual Food Festival MOFGA has co-sponsored; it will be held at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity, Maine.

The Maine Cheese Guild is becoming a non-profit membership organization. It is dedicated to the mission of supporting and encouraging the Maine cheesemaking community through development of a collective voice to promote Maine cheese and cheesemakers, to educate cheesemakers and consumers, and to coordinate resources and share the joy and art of regional cheeses. For more information about the Guild, visit www.mainecheeseguild.org or call 207-326-4741.

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