23RFSPME1068

Portland, Maine has achieved foodie status as Boston Magazine raved of the killer food scene in a 2021 review. In comparison, Food Solutions New England recently reported NE institutions spend 3 of their budget on local foods. The 2017 USDA Farm to School Census reported that Maine schools purchased approximately 7 of their budget locally once you exclude the value of fluid milk.

Meanwhile ReFED: Roadmap to 2030 estimates 30 or 10 million pounds of produce is relegated to food loss in the six-county Southern Maine region because there is no local processor that could transform these lower grade crops into value-added products. The Second Harvest Partnership is a mid-scale value chain that includes institutional buyers, farmers, processors, logistics, and small, socially disadvantaged farms to open new markets for produce. With its move to a larger facility, Fork Food Lab, the states leading commercial kitchen and food business incubator, will offer the solution that the current infrastructure has not been able to capitalize or incentivize.

The partnership will scale-up projects such as the Maine Marinara Collaborative from 3,000 gallons to 24,000 ethnic vegetable project from 1,000 pounds to 30,000 pounds while building a market for farm seconds through value-added processed local foods that are frozen to extend the short growing season. Through the Second Harvest Partnership, the region will establish the relationships, equipment, systems, protocols, and business model to capture upcycled and surplus product, add value to the fruits and vegetables, and sell intermediate inputs and finished goods to eager markets throughout Southern Maine.

Fork Food Lab

10.177 - Regional Food System Partnerships

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) [USDA]

Maine United States

State-Wide

Regional Food System Partnerships (USDA-AMS-TM-RFSP-G-23-0007)