Monthly Newsletter

July 2025

Stay up to date with upcoming opportunities, events, resources, and news on the continuing work of Farm to Institution across the State of Maine.

In This Edition

1. MEFTI Summit RFP Submission Deadline Approaching: July 15
2. Sponsorship & Exhibitor Opportunities
3. Upcoming events
4. Farm to School Learning Opportunities
5. Food Systems Grants & Funding
6. Reports and Publications
7. State Policy Updates

Have an event, job, or news to share?

Contact our Communications Lead, Sarah Sims, at s.sims@hccame.org

Caribou, Maine, October 1940

Photograph by Jack Delano, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Still Time to Submit a Proposal!

The deadline to submit a session proposal for the 2025 MEFTI Summit is fast approaching.

Session Proposal Deadline: July 15

Join Us!

We’re looking for sponsors and exhibitors who want to be a part of and support the 2025 MEFTI Summit

Funders & Partners

Your sponsorship helps make this event possible and boosts your organization’s visibility among institutional buyers, school nutrition professionals, farmers, fishers, policymakers, and food system advocates across Maine.

Food Producers & Vendors

Join the Local Food Show to connect directly with institutional buyers and regional distributors. It’s a unique opportunity to showcase your products and grow your market.

Questions or ready to get involved?



Reach out to Sarah Sims at s.sims@hccame.org

Upcoming Events Calendar

• MOFGA Gather & Grow Tour: Growing a School Garden | July 10 | Belfast, ME

• Maine School Garden Network 2025 School Garden Summer Tours



• Maine Farm & Sea to School Institute Academy Program | July 21 - 23 | The Ecology School, Saco, ME

• The Kneading Conference | July 23 - 25 | Skowhegan, ME

• Open Farm Day | July 27 | Statewide

• MAITC Summer Teacher's Institute | July 28 - August 1 | Waterville, ME

• Maine Wild Blueberry Weekend| August 2-3 | State-wide

• CACFP Virtual Summit | August 13–21 | Virtual

• Common Ground Country Fair | September 19-21 | Unity, ME

• Maine Open Creamery Day | October 12 | Statewide

• Maine Farm & Sea to Institution Summit (RFP deadline July 15) | October 14, Colby College, Waterville, ME

• Maine School Garden Network Annual Meeting | November 7 | Falmouth Audubon

• National Farm to Cafeteria Conference | December 2-5| Albuquerque, New Mexico

Explore more food & farm related events across the state

Learning Opportunities

(Farm to School Spotlight)

CACFP Serving with Care: Food Safety 101 (webinar)

July 10 | 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm ET

Gain the confidence to ensure a safe and healthy kitchen environment for the children in your care.

FARMWISE Farm to ECE Monthly Webinar

July 14, 2-3pm ET

Childcare Outdoor Learning Environments as Active Food Systems: Effectiveness of the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) Gardening Component

Funding Youth Gardens (webinar)

August 6, 2025

Join this Community Chat to ask your questions and share ideas about all things related to funding youth gardens from creative strategies to challenges and everything in between.



Teacher Training: Cultivating Hopeful Abundance and Practicing Experiential Ecology

August 11, 2025, Unity ME

A professional development intensive for teachers and educators to increase skills and comfort for outdoor teaching. 

Grants & Funding

Native Agriculture and Food Systems Scholarships

Deadline: July 11, 2025

Offered by First Nations Development Institute, these scholarships aim to build Native leadership in food systems and agriculture.

Community Facilities Direct Loan Program – Support for Rural Food Systems Infrastructure

This USDA funding program provides financing to rural communities to invent in Food Systems Infrastructure.

Maine School Garden Network School Garden Caretakers grant

The Maine School Garden Network is offering five (5) $2,000 grants to pay School Garden Caretakers in Maine!

Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood Grants 

Letter of Inquiry Due: September 30, 2025 

The Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood is an incubator of promising research and development projects that appear likely to improve the welfare of young children, from infancy through 7 years.

Organic Dairy Promotion Grant

Deadline to apply: July 31, 2025

This grant, offered by the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, supports the purchase of regionally-produced USDA certified organic dairy products for youth-serving institutions (ages 5–25), with awards ranging from $50,000 to $500,000.

Recent Reports and Publications

2025 CDC’s Early Childhood Nutrition Report 

Explore state and national data on affordability of nutritious foods, breastfeeding, and other policies impacting healthy development of children 5 years or younger.

SFUSA Local School Wellness Policy Tool Kit

Chech out this toolkit that serves as a blueprint for using legislation at the local level to create sustainable, equitable change in school environments. 

Optimizing Food Distributor Contracts to Achieve Local Food Procurement Targets

Considerations for State and Local Public Sector Entities



Policy Roadmap for Increasing Scratch Cooking in Schools

The Chef Ann Foundation outlines its policy priorities for addressing systemic barriers to increasing scratch cooking in schools.

F2i State Policy Updates

L.D. 1141 – An Act to Increase the Procurement of Maine Foods by Certain State Institutions

The Legislature passed and funded LD 1141 which reduces bureaucratic hurdles for state agencies—like the Department of Corrections (DOC)—to purchase food from local farmers.

L.D. 1858 - An Act to Promote Local Seafood in Schools

Passed and Enacted. Amended to expand the Local Food Fund: for every $2 a school spends on local food, $1 is reimbursed by state. Includes seafood. Also: increased cap to $11K per school per year.

L.D. 550 - An Act to Support Outdoor, Agricultural-based and Hands-on Experiential Learning in Public Schools

Establishes Maine Experiential Education Program and Fund to support farm and sea to school learning multiyear grants to public schools to support outdoor educator positions, including school garden coaches. Enacted, 6/9

Several States, including Maine, File Legal Complaint to USDA for Termination of Local Food Purchasing Programs

On June 24th, several states, including Maine, filed a legal action against multiple federal agencies including the USDA. In this complaint, states allege that the agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) when terminating the grants and highlight the Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools and Child Care (LFSCC) programs. " Read the full complaint here.

Stay Informed on Food Policy in Maine

Maine State Legislature Calendar

Stay up to date on public hearings, committee work sessions, floor sessions, board appointments, and more.

132nd Legislature Summary from the Maine Food Policy WG

Now that the 132nd Legislature has wrapped its first regular and special sessions, review the Summary of Bills the Maine Food Policy WG tracked this year

The Maine Farm to Institution Network wants to hear from you!

We’re collecting stories and photos from across the state to highlight all the great things happening on our farms, kitchens, campuses, warehouses, and more.



Whether it’s a big success or a small moment we’d love to share it and help inspire others to get involved.

For any questions about Maine Farm & Sea to Institution, please contact Healthy Communities of the Capital Area's Food Systems Coordinator

Alida Peterson at a.peterson@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