December 8, 2021 — Today a coalition of groups released a report highlighting lessons learned from the pandemic for Maine’s food system. A collaboration between the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI), Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) and Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), the report offers a snapshot of how Maine’s food
By Jacki Perkins Since entering into adulthood and having the responsibility of buying my own food, I have become cognizant of where that food comes from and how it is made or grown. I have not always found myself in situations where I could buy local or organic, but the source of my meat is
Toki Oshima drawing By Eric Rector I began baking bread for the Belfast Farmers’ Market in 2008. At that time Maine-grown grain was a novelty, and I could regularly source Maine-grown whole-wheat flour from only one vendor: Aurora Mills in Linneus (near Houlton in Aroostook County). My sourdough recipe calls for half organic white bread
We can see our work and our consumer choices as pro-active contributions to a new economic reality more consistent with our values – as growers from Rolling Acres Farm and their customers show. English photo. “Food insecurity cannot be solved by the food and agriculture system alone; it is a larger economic question.” – Mark
By Melissa White Pillsbury Maine’s natural food stores and co-ops, among the pioneers in the local organic foods movement, have been buying food from Maine farms for decades. In April MOFGA met with buyers and managers from these establishments to explore ways to expand their marketing and sourcing of local organic foods. Representatives came from
Direct marketing at farmers’ markets and farm stands is the primary way to sell local, seasonal, organic foods in Maine – as Tom Harms of Wolf Pine Farm did at the Common Ground Fair farmers’ market. To further meet the demand for year-round local foods, we need more storage, processing and handling facilities, more transportation
Toki Oshima drawing By Roberta Bailey Another fall has come, time to give up the quest to keep the garden watered and weeded. Many of the plants have faded to golden hues already. The brown of skin fades. We welcome a sweater and jeans. It is a time of surrender, yet it can be the
By Marina Schauffler Recent media attention on local foods has raised public awareness about the health benefits and community returns from thriving local agriculture. Often, though, stories portray local “foodies” as purists fixated on 100-mile diets that banish even imported condiments. Eating from local sources comes off looking like an extremist food fad, rather than
Company Profile: Barrels Community Market By Melissa White Pillsbury The buzz in the food scene lately has been “locally grown” – and even though the nature of buying your food locally from “farms with a face” goes against the predominant commodity-based supply system of supermarket chains and national food brands, it’s not stopping many of
More and more Maine families buy food directly from local farmers. Here are a few simple questions you can ask your farmer to get a better idea of how your food is being produced – and a few key concepts to listen for when you are having those conversations. How do you manage soil fertility
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