Local Foods, Sustainable Agriculture and Healthy Eating
Maine is fortunate to have one of the nation’s oldest and most highly esteemed organic growers groups, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). MOFGA, based in Unity, plays a vital role in promoting sustainable agriculture and is well-known for its annual Common Ground Fair (which routinely draws 50,000 visitors). See their useful lists of organic producers in Maine and stores with natural and local foods.
Maine has more than 60 farmer’s markets that are open once or twice a week through the growing season (with some offering occasional winter markets as well). For locations and times, see the State’s “Get Real, Get Maine” directory.
Eat Local Foods Coalition of Maine is an informal group of individuals and organizations committed to fostering consumption of Maine farm products within the state. Its web site features a discussion forum, a list of upcoming events, groups and more.
Kitchen Gardeners International, based in Scarborough, offers a free monthly e-newsletter designed to inform and inspire “kitchen gardeners” – those interested in growing their own fruits and vegetables and enjoying seasonal produce from local farms. The newsletter offers recipe ideas, gardening tips and “nourishing thoughts on sustainable eating.”
Local and sustainable agriculture depends on an adequate supply of prime farmland. Maine Farmland Trust helps ensure the long-term protection of valuable farms and connects aspiring young farmers with farm owners on the verge of retirement through its FarmLink program.
For those planning their own gardens, Maine is home to several fine seed companies that offer great catalogs and online sales. Fedco, based in Waterville, specializes in untreated, organic and heirloom seeds, trees, and bulbs. Fedco hosts an annual tree sale in early May where people can collect pre-ordered plants, as well as purchase seeds and plants “off the shelf.”
Johnny’s Selected Seeds, located in Albion and Winslow, provides mail-order seeds (and a few plants) to home gardeners and small commercial growers. The site allows you to search by category of products – such as “organic” or “heirloom.”
Pinetree Garden Seeds, based in New Gloucester, sells a wide variety of seeds for home gardeners that have been tested in Maine gardens.
Maine also has many producers of local foods, such as Morse’s Sauerkraut in Waldoboro, State of Maine Cheese in Rockport, Fiddler’s Green Farm in Belfast, Nervous Nellie’s Jams and Jellies in Deer Isle, and Raye’s Mustard Mill in Eastport. Maine’s “Get Real, Get Maine” site allows you to search by product and county to find a food producer near you.
The Slow Food Movement (www.slowfoodusa.org) is an international effort to “protect the pleasures of the table” from the homogenization of fast food and hectic lifestyles. It seeks to foster enjoyment of local and traditional cuisines, artisanal foods and agricultural diversity. Many Slow Food chapters (called Convivia) are forming in the United States: for the one nearest you, look at the “Local Convivia” section their site. To date, only one of Maine’s convivia has a website, Slow Food Portland.
To find restaurants that specialize in local, seasonal and artisanal cooking, download the restaurant guide of the Chefs Collaborative, a national sustainable cuisine network that helps restaurant staff support conservation practices.
Sustainable Table is a well-documented site offering information on food-related environmental issues (such as factory farming, genetic engineering, and pesticides), as well as resource information on shopping for sustainable foods and providing healthy food choices in schools. The site includes an on-line “Eating Well” guide.
Blue Ocean Institute has a MiniGuide to Ocean Friendly Seafood that can be downloaded to help in making seafood choices that are good for the marine environment and human health.
HappyCow.net and GreenPeople.org are two online directories that can help in locating healthy food sources. The first lists vegetarian restaurants and natural food stores; the second has eco-friendly produces, services and organizations.
