|
Stay up to date with upcoming opportunities, events, resources, and news on the continuing work of Farm to Institution across the state of Maine.
Whether you are an advocate, farmer, educator, food service professional, or anyone interested in MEFTI's work across the supply chain, you will find valuable information to help us build a healthy and sustainable regional food system.
| | Purple Crocuses starting to bloom in Alna, Maine. April, 2025 | | |
In This Email
- Upcoming Events & Opportunities
- Save the Date: Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Summit
- Announcing the 2025-2026 Maine Farm & Sea to School Institute
- Northeast Farm to Institution Summit
- News from the Network
- Donate to the Maine Immigrant Farmer Fund
- Community Arbor Day Celebration
- Harvest of the month
| | |
Exciting News!
The Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Summit Returns
Save the Date: October 14, 2025!
| | |
After a multi-year hiatus, the Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Network (MEFTI) is thrilled to bring back the Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Summit!
Join us for a powerful day of learning, connection, and action as we gather change makers and food system leaders from across the state to celebrate and strengthen the movement for local food in schools, hospitals, colleges, and other institutions.
MARK YOUR CALENDERS!
Details on proposal submissions, speaker announcements, and registration coming soon.
Stay in the loop through the MEFTI newsletter or visiting the Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Network website
We can’t wait to see you there!
| | |
Announcing the 2025-2026 Maine Farm & Sea to School Institute Cohort!
The Maine Farm and Sea to School Network is thrilled to welcome the newest cohort of school teams to the 2025–2026 Maine Farm and Sea to School Institute:
-
Portland School District – Longfellow Elementary, Lincoln Middle, and Deering High, Portland, ME
-
Montello Elementary School, Lewiston, ME
-
Great Salt Bay Community School, Damariscotta, ME
These dedicated teams will gather this July at The Ecology School in Saco, ME to kick off a year-long journey of learning, collaboration, and action.
Throughout the year, teams will receive ongoing support, practical resources, and personalized coaching to grow robust Farm & Sea to School programs in their communities. As Institute participants, they’ll also become part of a growing statewide network of alumni committed to building healthy and sustainable school food systems across Maine!
The Maine Farm & Sea to School Network is excited to celebrate their leadership and look forward to the work ahead!
| | |
Building Belonging:
Northeast Farm to Institution Summit Unites Food System Leaders in Portand, Maine
| | |
The Northeast Farm to Institution Summit took place last week in Portland, Maine, bringing together more than 400 food system leaders from across the region.
The event served as a vibrant space for exchanging ideas, building partnerships, and generating collective momentum for meaningful change in our food system.
Participants explored strategies to increase local food procurement in schools, hospitals, and other institutions. We were challenged to reflect deeply on why we do this work—and how we confront the significant barriers that stand in our way.
Maine’s Farm to Institution leaders left the Summit inspired, with renewed energy and stronger connections to move our local food efforts forward.
| | A heartfelt thank you to Farm to Institution New England (FINE) for organizing such an impactful gathering and bringing us all together under the powerful theme of Belonging. | | Federal Funding Cuts are Impacting Maine Communities | | |
The Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Network is drawing attention to the termination of several key federal programs that have created new challenges for farmers, local food systems, and the communities they support.
The abrupt end of the Local Food for Schools (LFS) and Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) programs—along with pauses in contracted federal funding and the cancellation of the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant, has introduced uncertainty and, in some cases, severe hardship to many Mainers, including farmers, students, families, institutions, & community organizations.
| | |
Let Your Voice be Heard
-
Share your Story. If you support these programs or have been impacted by them, consider sharing your story. Personal stories help policymakers understand the real-world impact of their decisions. When they hear directly from people in their communities, farmers experiencing financial stress, schools working to feed students, families facing food insecurity—it puts a face to the issue and can influence funding decisions and legislative priorities.
-
Notify your legislators about the impact of this abrupt cancellation with the National Farm to School Action Alert
A Call to Farmers & Producers Impacted by Federal Changes: The seven Northeast Organic Farming Associations (NOFA-CT, NOFA-MA, NOFA-NH, NOFA-NJ, NOFA-NY, NOFA-RI and NOFA-VT), and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) are documenting the impacts of the recent federal funding freeze, program cancellations, tariffs, and other executive orders on farmers and food businesses in the Northeast.
Their goals in collecting this information are:
1) to share the economic, environmental, and social impacts being felt across our region with our congressional delegations, and specifically with the Senate and House Agriculture Committees.
2) to understand what our membership is going through and identify how we can best be supportive.
3) to possibly reach out and connect with you if a narrative or legal strategy develops to take collective action.
| | |
Make a Direct Impact:
Support Mainers directly effected by LFPA Program Cuts
| | |
For New Roots Cooperative, Cultivating Community, and Somali Bantu Community Association’s Liberation Farms, the recent LFPA cuts mean:
- They lost $225,000 that helped more than 50 immigrant and refugee farmers build livelihoods and food sovereignty
- ~140,000 lbs of local fresh vegetables won’t be delivered directly to low-income neighbors
- Thousands of new immigrant families who benefited from LFPA won't have access to culturally familiar crops like amaranth greens, flint corn, roselle, and moroho.
"We have the choice, in the face of increasing challenges, to stand together and support immigrants and farmers of color who have been and are systematically excluded from federal resources and access to food and land. We are working together to launch a new fund that directly supports Immigrant Farmers. Please join us in supporting local food!" - Somali Bantu Community Association
| | |
Opportunity to get involved!
Help establish the 2025 ReTreeUS Fruit Tree Nursery at the 3rd Annual Community Arbor Day Celebration
April 26 | 10am-3pm | Sandwich, NH
| | Every spring, ReTreeUS receives hundreds of bare-root fruit trees that need to be potted and cared for throughout the summer. These trees will eventually find homes in school and community orchards - This is no small task, which is why they are calling on friends, family, and neighbors to lend a hand and make this possible! | | |
In the News!
Maine is on the Menu at Portland School District
| | South Portland Schools are making big strides in bringing more local food to students' plates, thanks to a strong network of partners, supporters, and dedicated staff. With Maine seafood, locally grown vegetables, and soon, Maine-grown grains, it’s truly the taste of Maine on the menu at South Portland School District. | | |
Harvest of the Month
Harvest of the Month (HOM) promotes the use of seasonal, local Maine products in schools. Each month, a different local product is highlighted and participating entities pledge to serve the product and promote it through educational materials and activities.
Many schools in Maine have already made the pledge, and more local food is being served and eaten across the State. Learn more and get involved!
| | | This April, we’re celebrating Maine’s vibrant dairy industry. Dairy farms are the backbone of many of our rural communities across the state, providing milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, and more to our schools, hospitals, and homes. | | For any questions about Maine Farm & Sea to Institution, please contact Healthy Communities of the Capital Area's Food Systems Team Alida Peterson at a.peterson@hccame.org & Sarah Sims at s.sims@hccame.org | |
MEFTI fosters collective power through collaboration and coordination to strengthen farm to institution efforts in Maine. By addressing systemic challenges and supporting public health, education, and the local food economy, MEFTI catalyzes a resilient, equitable, and sustainable food system that benefits all. To Learn more, visit mainefarmtoinstitution.org
| | | | Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Network is supported by the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation | Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Network is supported by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation | Maine Farm & Sea to School Institute is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture | | | | |
