Fishermen Wanted
2016 Washington County Food Summit
Fishermen, from lobstermen to clammers, are an integral part of our region’s food system. Washington County is highly dependent on a single fishery: lobsters. Could diversification of fisheries prove beneficial for all fishermen? What opportunities exist given current state and federal fishing regulations? How can fishermen and local food producers strengthen connections that are mutually beneficial for both industries?
Farmers, fishermen, harvesters and food enthusiasts are invited to attend Healthy Acadia’s second biennial Washington County Food Summit on March 12, 2016. Organized by the Washington County Community Food Council, this full-day event provides a unique opportunity for people from our region and beyond who interested in healthy vibrant food systems to come together in order to network, address infrastructure gaps and share successes and challenges. By strengthening our food system, more producers and fishermen will be able to sustain their businesses and more residents will have access to healthy food at affordable prices.
The event’s keynote address, “Land and Sea: Connections in Our Food System,” will be provided by Amanda Beal, Maine Farmland Trust’s Research and Policy Fellow. Beal’s life-long interest in how we produce food began as a child growing up on her family’s dairy farm in Maine, as well as on the coast of Casco Bay, where she has fond memories of digging for dinner alongside her grandfather in the clam flats during the summer and warming the bench of his smelt shanty in winter. She recently completed the Agriculture, Food & Environment master’s program at Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and is now working toward her Ph.D. in the Natural Resources and Earth Systems Science program at the University of New Hampshire. Amanda is co-author of “A New England Food Vision: Healthy Food for All, Sustainable Farming and Fishing, Thriving Communities.”
Breakout session topics were chosen based on a community survey completed last fall:
• Maximizing Farm Productivity – Clara Coleman, Four Seasons Farm Consulting
• Can It Be Both? Food Security as a Community or as a Business Model – Dale Flewelling, Friends of Aroostook; Fred Moore III, Sipayik Tribal Chief; Wendy Harrington, Maine Sea Coast Mission; and Hannah Semler, Healthy Acadia.
• To Market, To Market: Land and Sea – Nadine Preston, Mother Shuckers; Tim Sheehan, Gulf of Maine; and Alan Furth, Maine Fresh.
• Wrapping It Up & Getting It There: Processing and Distribution – Jonah Fertig, Maine Farm & Sea Cooperative and Cooperative Development Institute; Richard East, Growing Concern; and Matt Tremblay, Unity Food Hub.
• Fisheries Diversification – Robin Alden, Penobscot East Resource Center; Larch Hanson, Maine Seaweed; and Jackson McLeod, Fluid Farms.
Maine Farmland Trust will show their film Growing Local and FoodCorps, a national AmeriCorps program, will do a presentation on their activities here in Maine and in Washington County.
1:1 Business Counseling Sessions will be available at no extra charge by Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC). Pre-registration is required by emailing Tanya Rucosky at trucosky@sunrisecounty.org or through the online Eventbrite registration process by clicking on “1:1 Business Consulting ticket.” SCEC provides this service to qualified businesses at any time. Call their office at 255-0983 for more information.
Recipe to Market: Is it For Me? is also being offered free of charge by University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension. Participants in this workshop will learn about licensing, how to prepare and package their food product safely, and how to access potential profits. They will discover some of the resources available to support them in business development and will be taught by Extension Staff. Pre-registration is required by clicking on the “Recipe to Market ticket” at the online Eventbrite registration site. For info about other Recipe to Market workshop offerings, contact the University of Maine Cooperative Extension office.
The event will take place from 8:30am-4pm in East Machias at Washington Academy’s Fine Arts building. A catered lunch will include vegetarian and meat/seafood entrees. There is no charge to attend, however a $5 donation to benefit local food pantries is suggested. For online registration, visit www.healthyacadia.org for a link to the Food Summit’s Eventbrite registration. A final agenda will be listed at the Healthy Acadia website and at the registration site. In the event of inclement weather, a cancellation notice will be announced on WLBZ by 5am on the day of the event. Snow Date is March 19.
The Washington County Food Summit is sponsored by Healthy Acadia’s Community Food Council with major funding support provided by Maine Community Foundation. Additional sponsors and partners include Downeast Salmon Federation, Maine Farmland Trust, Sunrise County Economic Council, and Washington County Council of Governments.
For more information about the Washington County Community Food Council or to register for any of the day’s event by phone, contact Regina Grabrovac at Healthy Acadia’s Machias office at 255 3741 or at regina@healthyacadia.org.