“The Downeast Food System Partners share an overall vision of a broader diversity of Downeasters involved with growing and regularly accessing affordable, locally grown food, where farmers and others in the local food economy are making a sustainable living. The DownEast Food System Partnership provides the platform for achieving this vision.”

Purpose

The Partnership provides a platform for developing joint goals and plans, conducting outreach to farming communities, coordinating with relevant actors within and outside the region, and accessing additional resources for implementation of priority actions. The goal is to grow an inclusive, innovative and more integrated food system in the DownEast region.

The Partnership brings together a broad range of DownEast Food System stakeholders: Farmers, processors, distributors, and value-add producers; Local communities; Institutions that purchase food and organizations that serve vulnerable and food insecure populations; Restaurants, grocery stores, farmers’ markets and other sales points that have an interest in offering local food.

Strategy

  1. Mobilize and convene the current and potential stakeholders in the DownEast Food System;

  2. Identify existing resources and assets, as well as shared needs and aspirations of the stakeholders;

  3. Identify joint actions for growing an expanded, innovative and more integrated regional food system;

  4. Inform the development of a plan for the sustainable growth of the regional food system;

  5. Develop partnerships with policy makers, technical assistance providers, financing and grant makers that can support the implementation of the joint actions identified.

Project Team

The Partnership is managed by GrowSmart Maine in collaboration with Healthy Acadia and Sunrise County Economic Council. It is funded by USDA Agricultural Marketing Service and American Farmland Trust.

Harald Bredesen, Program Director, GrowSmart Maine, hbredesen@growsmartmaine.org

Denise Cilley, Associate Director, Sunrise County Economic Council, dcilley@sunrisecounty.org

Katie Freedman, Community Health and Food Programs Director, Healthy Acadia, katie@healthyacadia.org