Attendees of the 2024 Maine Farm & Sea to School Institute Academy Program

Three new school teams joined the Maine Farm & Sea to School Institute community at the Academy Program in July. The Westbrook School Department, Cherryfield Elementary School, and Seedlings to Sunflowers Nonprofit Childcare and Family Center joined Institute organizers, coaches, and presenters at The Ecology School in Saco July 22-24 for three days packed with workshops, plenaries, networking, and bonding opportunities as each team developed a unique farm & sea to school Action Plan that will guide their year of professional development ahead.

We are so excited to see what these teams accomplish this year!

Policy

This summer, the Policy Workgroup Lead Team has been interviewing folks from various advocacy networks to learn about their processes of formalization and coalition building. The workgroup has also hosted several guest speakers who have contributed to the creation of state plans, such as Maine's Roadmap to End Hunger, Maine Won't Wait Climate Action Plan, Maine's Aquaculture Roadmap, and Vermont's Farm to Plate Plan at monthly Workgroup meetings. Recognizing the movement towards a Maine State Food Plan, the Lead Team is interested in exploring the supporting role the Maine Food Policy Workgroup can play in its development.

The full workgroup will reconvene on August 28 with a discussion on regional food policy and workgroup priority setting.

Stay in the loop! Email Alida to join the Maine Food Policy Workgroup listserv.

Local Food Processing

The Local Food Switchboard has been awarded a School Food System Innovation Grant through USDA/Full Plates Full Potential!

The Switchboard is a budding project of the Processing Work Group (co-coordinated by the Maine Food Convergence Project and Maine Farm & Sea to Institution). Using the Maine Food Atlas as an online platform, the Switchboard will serve as a central hub for coordinating logistics services within Maine's local food system. The operational backbone of the Switchboard will be its “operator”, responsible for updating inventory on the Maine Food Atlas and fostering ongoing communication with interest-holders along the supply chain. The project will supply detailed information on the existence, capacity, and production of food infrastructure, product, and resources, facilitating efficient local food procurement, and enhancing access to locally sourced foods for schools.

The Processing Workgroup will reconvene on September 9 with an update on the Local Food Counts project from the New England Food System Planners Partnership.

Institutional Buying & Selling

Just starting to take shape and build momentum in the past couple months, this workgroup’s goal is to create spaces for more local producer/institutional buyer matchmaking. This summer, we are conducting interviews and hosting site visits with the aim of better understanding the opportunities and barriers faced by producers and buyers when it comes to increasing local food procurement in Maine institutions, growing workgroup membership, and informing a matchmaking event to be held this fall in partnership with the DACF.

Our first site visit will be to Mountain View Correctional Facility on August 21. 

Interested in attending site visits and contributing to matchmaking events? Email Alida to join the September meeting.

Technical Assistance & Training

This summer the TA & Training Workgroup is launching a co-branded workshop series for farmers and school nutrition providers in partnership with the DOE and Full Plates Full Potential. This series aims to support these audiences in increasing local food served in schools.

Catch us at all these upcoming events!

• Maine School Nutrition Association Conference (August 7)
• Dirigo Buying Club Annual Meeting (August 14)
• MaineHealth Let’s Go! Culinary Skills Training (August 6, 13, 20)
• Maine Nutrition Council Annual Meeting (October 18) 
• International Maple Producer Conference (October 24)
• MOFGA Farmer to Farmer Conference (November, date TBD)
• NERO Local Procurement Training (November, date TBD)

Do you have an event in mind that would be a good fit for a local food in schools workshop?

The Northeast Farm to Institution Summit Comes to Maine!

The biennial Farm to Institution Summit, hosted by Farm to Institution New England (FINE) will be held in downtown Portland, Maine on April 7-9, 2025 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.

Join FINE on Thursday, August 22, 2024, 10:30am ET for an informal coffee hour to chat about the F2iSummit. This planning conversation is for anyone in Maine, including food systems advocates, farmers, fishermen, institutional partners—all are welcome. Share your ideas for programming, field trips, places to visit in Portland, and how to join the F2iSummit Steering Committee.

Calling All Maine Artists

Help FINE find a local artist to design the visual identity for the 2025 F2iSummit. They are seeking someone with a connection to Maine and a passion for our shared food system to add their creativity to this great event. Compensation: $1,500.

Shelburne Farms' ABCs of Farm-Based Education

October 20–22, 2024 or March 28–30, 2025 (In-Person)

At this long-running workshop, you’ll fill your toolbox with kid-tested activities alongside a community of peers from around the region. ABCs is designed for farmers, farm-based educators, and non-formal educators with any level of teaching experience who are building or looking to re-inspire farm-based programming.

Apply by August 9!

Technical Assistance Provider Applications Are Now OPEN

The Northeast Regional Food Business Center has opened applications for the first round of technical assistance provider funding. The deadline to apply for funding is 7:59 PM ET on August 23, and sub-awardees will be announced in early October. For organizations interested in applying to this funding opportunity:

• Applications are now open and will close on August 23.
• Further information on the funding opportunity can be found here, including the Request for Application (RFA), scoring rubric, application checklist, and webinar recording.
• The Center will host three informational sessions to offer applicants an opportunity to ask questions and to respond to any technical issues. Sign up to join the following information sessions:
• Tuesday, July 30 (9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. ET)
• Wednesday, August 7 (12 p.m. – 1 p.m. ET)
• Thursday, August 15 (2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET)

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

For any questions about Maine Farm & Sea to Institution, please contact Healthy Communities of the Capital Area's Food Systems Coordinator Alida Farrell at a.farrell@hccame.org