Mills unveils $20M grant program for Maine farmers, food processors
Courtesy / Office of Gov. Janet Mills
Ron Howard of Brodis Blueberries in Hope leads Gov. Janet Mills on a tour of the facility, where she announced a $20 million grant program to help Maine farmers and food processers upgrade aging infrastructure.
Gov. Janet Mills on Monday unveiled a $20 million federal grant program to help Maine farmers and food processors upgrade aging infrastructure to meet growing demand for locally grown food.
Funded through her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, the grants aim to help farmers increase the supply of Maine-grown food, meet growing demand and create and sustain jobs in one of Maine’s heritage industries.
The grants, to be administered through the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, can be used to upgrade harvesting, processing, manufacturing or packaging equipment.
The state hopes the improvements will allow the sector to boost production and storage capacity, enhance supply chain resilience and drive growth within the state’s agricultural and food economy.
Maine is home to 7,600 farms of all sizes, scales and agricultural practices. Many of those farms along with food processors lost some of their biggest wholesale customers during the pandemic.
Investment in upgrading infrastructure is meant to put Maine farms back on solid footing and could lead to an estimated 1,367 in new jobs, $321 million in annual statewide sales revenue and $62 million in labor income per year, according to the DACF and the University of Maine School of Economics, based on preliminary results from an assessment earlier this year.
“When we grow and raise our own healthy food, in our own fields and waters, and sell it through our own shops to our own neighbors and friends — that’s a recipe for a healthy people and a healthy economy,” Mills said in a news release issued after unveiling the grant program at Brodis Blueberries in Hope.
“Our farmers and food processors have told us they can deliver Maine-grown food to more people if they can upgrade their equipment," she added. "With this new program through the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, we can deliver that help and they can deliver to all of us and to the world over healthy food, all while creating jobs and strengthening our economy.”
This new Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan program comes on top of $18 million in CARES Act relief grants awarded earlier this year to more than 600 farms, food processors, producers and food banks and pantries across Maine. Brodis Blueberries, a family-run business dating back more than 150 years, used those funds to help build a new processing center to package their wild blueberries for direct sale to consumers.
“Gov. Mills’ decision to support Maine's farmers and food processors has a dramatic, direct, and far-reaching positive impact on Maine agriculture,” said Eric Venturini, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine.
“This investment empowers Maine farms and businesses to innovate, grow, and build economic sustainability. Maine's iconic wild blueberry industry is well-positioned to help put these funds to work to support Maine's vibrant agricultural future.”
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