Rosemont Market lands $65K for local food plan
File Photo / Tim Greenway
Jason Merritt, operations manager at Rosemont Market and Bakery's produce warehouse in Portland, stands by some recently delivered vegetables in a 2014 file photo. Rosemont was awarded $65K from the USDA to fund a comprehensive Local Food Development Plan.
Rosemont Market, with five neighborhood markets in Greater Portland, is receiving $64,922 from the USDA’s Local Food Promotion Grant Program, which the company says will allow it to double its volume of local food sales in the coming years.
Since its founding in 2005, the independent grocer and baker has quintupled its retail footprint, increasing the availability of locally‐produced fruit, vegetables, meats, grains and dairy for Maine’s largest city.
Rosemont estimates that between 40% and 50% of its current revenue, which is approaching $10 million in 2016, is connected to locally sourced food.
Rosemont said it will use the grant money to fund a comprehensive Local Food Development Plan that would provide a thorough value chain analysis and establish an integrated, global view of Rosemont’s activities.
As the plan leads to closer alignment of supply and demand, while optimizing distribution, the grocer says that it can double its volume of local food sales in three to five years.
“There’s been so many terrific efforts to make healthy, locally sourced food available to Mainers, which is good for consumers, farmers and the state’s economy. But the federal government simply wasn’t doing enough to support it,” U.S. Rep. Susan Pingree said in a statement about the funding.
“That’s why I pushed to triple funding for the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Programs during the last reauthorization of the Farm Bill. These critical investments help farmers and other small businesses meet the growing demand for local food — and Rosemont Market is a terrific example.”
Read more
Small Maine farms and niche food makers must be crafty to distribute to broader markets
Maine farmers: Cultivating a profit from organics
Lois' Natural Marketplace to open Portland store
The Farm Stand becomes part of a South Portland neighborhood's transition
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments