BANGOR — Bangor Savings Bank Foundation announced an award of a $10,000 grant aimed at helping to find new markets for locally grown food in the Bangor region.
The money will be used by a consortium of municipalities and nonprofits to research whether the region can support a “food hub” that would gather products together and sell it to buyers in bulk.
“The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation is pleased to support the Bangor Region Food Hub Consortium with a $10,000 grant to help complete a market analysis for the greater Bangor region. The Food Hub analysis is a critical step in developing a potential strategy to connect local farmers with large food-buying institutions in the region to boost the local food economy by helping hospitals, colleges and universities to meet their goals of increasing their offerings of local foods,” said Yellow Light Breen, executive vice president and chief strategic officer for Bangor Savings Bank.
The consortium effort, organized under the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce and led by the Orono Economic Development Corporation, also includes the city of Old Town, city of Bangor, Good Shepherd Food Bank, the University of Maine and the Bangor Area Food Council. It is advised by Maine Farmland Trust, which will conduct the research.
A food hub is designed to aggregate produce from local farms and process it as needed in order to market it to large buyers, such as hospitals, colleges, restaurants and supermarkets.
“Within 50 miles of Bangor there are 10 college campuses, 17 hospitals, 33 nursing homes and many supermarkets and restaurants,” said Geoff Gordon, OEDC’s representative on the consortium. “Many of them want more local, nutritious food but in many cases don’t have a way to get it in the volumes and prepped condition they need. A food hub will provide essential services to local producers and open these markets to area farmers” said Gordon. Economic research across the United States shows that food hubs can result in a tremendous stimulus to the area economy, he said.
John Porter, president and CEO of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, agrees. “We see real potential in this idea,” said Porter. “It is far better for these local institutions to buy food from local suppliers than it is for them to send those dollars out of the region.”
Good Shepherd Food Bank already serves as a food clearinghouse, buying and receiving in donations more than 2 million pounds of produce from Maine farms for distribution to food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens around the state.
“We are keenly interested in exploring ways that we can combine forces with a regional food hub,” said Melissa Huston, director of philanthropy for Good Shepherd in Northern Maine. “This could strengthen the many area farms we work with and help us continue to serve our partner agencies efficiently and effectively with the most nutritious food.”