Guide spotlights local food producers

BY SCOTT MONROE
Staff Writer

08/26/2008

Polly Shyka and Prentice Grassi have been running Village Farm in Freedom for about two years. From June to Oct. 18, they sell in-season vegetables grown at their farm, broiler chickens, eggs and organic blueberries and strawberries from other local farms.

It's a lot of work and doesn't leave a lot of time for marketing and promoting their products, Shyka said.

Fortunately for Village Farm and others, there's a new resource that aims to help get the word out. The Vibrant Community Local Food Guide, produced by a group at Unity College, catalogs 82 farms and food businesses in central Maine.

"It certainly is a megaphone for local farmers and that is a real benefit, because we're all so busy," Shyka said. "It's a huge service to these small, family-run operations that are doing their best to provide good food for the community. It's just a tremendous service and I'm proud to be represented in it."

The local food guide was produced by volunteers of the Vibrant Community Project, a work group at Unity College that aims to get college faculty and students working together with community members on local issues. In 2006, the group decided on three areas to focus its efforts, including projects that dealt with self-sufficiency and sustainability.

One of the group's members, Melissa White Pillsbury, suggested producing a local food guide. White Pillsbury is also organic marketing coordinator for the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.

Staff photo by David Leaming
LOCAL: Tim Allen bags green beans while Maxine Morrissette selects potatoes from the Village Green Organic Produce farm at the Fairfield Farmers Market on Main Street.

The idea caught on and, over the next year-and-a-half, group members created a database of local farms and farmers' markets and sent out surveys seeking information. It didn't cost farms to be included in the guide.

Funding for the guide came from Unity College, MOFGA and a grant from the Maine Initiative Foundation.

The guide to local food and farms covers 33 towns and cities in central Maine, all within a half-hour drive from Unity. It includes a description of what the farm produces during the year, contact information, where the farm is located and charts that list food products and where they can be found.

Group members hope the food guide helps spark more interest in the "support local" movement amid high prices for food at grocery stores and restaurants.

"There's certainly a growing interest in local foods," White Pillsbury said. "I hope people use it and realize they can source more of their food locally, not just in the summer, but year-round. There's a lot out there and it's not just tomatoes."

Why should people buy locally grown foods?

"Their supporting the local economy; it's money spent supporting local businesses. It certainly has health benefits of local and organic foods -- the quality is higher, fresher and it's grown for flavor and it hasn't traveled thousands of miles," White Pillsbury said. "And it's preserving farming, open space, cultural heritage."

Jen Olin, community-based learning coordinator for Unity College and facilitator for the Vibrant Community Project, said the guide is important in an increasingly globalized market. Many people want to buy local food but don't know when and where to go, she said.

"People are actually surprised at the number of locations they can find local produce. You know about few places in your own community and may not realize on your commute to work, you could end up finding quite a few items that could wind up on your grocery list," Olin said. "This guide really shows it's possible to devote a portion of your weekly or monthly spending to supporting the local economy."

Olin said the group hopes to update and expand the guide in the coming years and to create similar catalogs of other local products -- not just food.

For Shyka, she sees a bright future for local foods, especially if people can easily find out where and when to purchase the goods through easy-to-use guides.

"There's a lot of regional pride that comes from a publication like that. It becomes a regional identity tool," Shyka said. "I think it's a wonderful product."