Attention! Buying Club Coordinators - Please help us assess the needs of buying clubs by taking the Buying Club Coordinator Survey. THANK YOU!
Farm Fresh for ME is a newly established initiative of the Maine Department of Agriculture in collaboration with Western Mountains Alliance and other for-profit and NGO’s who are supporting development of food buying clubs throughout Maine. The ultimate goal of Farm Fresh for ME is to increase the market for small family farms in their local communities while providing nutritious, healthy and affordable foods to Maine families.
Farm Fresh for ME embraces the concept of consumer food buying clubs. A consumer food buying club pools the demand of several households, allowing them to purchase larger quantities of food at less than full retail price. Local food buying clubs are a wonderful way to help Maine farmers sell more products in a more organized, collective way.
This fall, funding from USDA and the Maine Department of Agriculture will help Farm Fresh for ME pilot an innovative buying club model in Readfield where Maranacook Area School’s support will enable student involvement in the project and a distribution site at Maranacook Middle School. Farm Fresh for ME is also seeking to support the development of additional buying clubs. For more information contact Tricia Cook at tcook@westernmountainsalliance.org.
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