STOCKHOLM, Maine — When Stockholm launched Maine’s first sovereign market in 2024, few knew it would lead to a statewide movement.
But Maine’s expanded Food Sovereignty Act, which allows small farmers to sell goods directly to consumers without state licenses, resonated with people.
The act aimed to increase food self-sufficiency, encourage local farming and stimulate rural economic development. And at a time when people seek more farm-to-table options while battling high grocery prices, home food operations are flourishing. A Hodgdon family recently launched three ventures. Now, the St. John Valley’s two largest towns, Madawaska and Fort Kent, have jumped on the trend.
While the sovereign market is sometimes seen as an anti-government movement, it was made to address food insecurity by providing more options and easier accessibility for local consumers, Stockholm Sovereign Market founder Jerry Ferszt said.
“We live in such a rural region that having farm stands all over the place wasn’t convenient enough for [vendors] to get traffic,” Ferszt said. “So we wanted the benefits of having a marketplace where vendors can set up their own booths and be able to deal with people directly for a producer-to-consumer transaction.”
Once the markets started popping up, people started seeing more options for buying fresh, organic food in their own rural communities, Ferszt said.
While the majority of goods such as dairy and produce do not require regulations at sovereign markets, some restrictions still apply. Meat products, for example, still need to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture standards to be sold.
The original act required all transactions to take place on site, generally via roadside farm stands, but the expansion allowed for off-site sales, bringing multiple vendors to one place.
Sovereign marketplaces such as the one in Stockholm or in the midcoast town of Burnham require customers to sign waivers acknowledging that they understand that they are purchasing products from sovereign vendors who do not possess state licenses.
The goal was informed consent, Ferszt said. Organizers wanted everyone to be aware that some of the vendors aren’t licensed.
“No one here is producing food because they want a bad reputation producing food,” Ferszt said. “Everyone here wants to be known for producing a good product, so they’re bringing in the best possible products they can.”
The Stockholm market, now in its third year, takes place at the town community center on School Street every other Saturday. On one market day in late July, vehicles filled the street and vendors spilled outside the community center building.
The large attendance is not uncommon in the summer, Ferszt said. In fact, the market averages 25 to 35 vendors this time of year.
The diverse assortment keeps customers coming, he said. Products include sourdough breads and bagels, goat milk, raw milk and fresh cheese.
Kif Thacker of Frenchville-based LesSiFa Farm sells a variety of unique dairy products, including ice cream made out of goat milk. Thacker and her sister, Karma Swaney, run the farm, but about a dozen family members help out.
LesSiFa began selling from home four years ago when the ordinance passed, and then joined Stockholm’s sovereign market once it opened, Thacker said.
From an economic standpoint, Ferszt said the benefits are clear: money spent by local customers goes directly to their neighbors and not to corporate producers.
“We’re seeing a lot of money stay here, which is great,” Ferszt said. “We’re reconnecting people with their food systems directly — what I mean by that is, knowing your farmer and knowing your baker on an intimate level.”
Madawaska recently passed a food sovereignty ordinance and is holding its own hybrid market on the opposite weekends of Stockholm’s, ensuring that farmers and customers have an option to visit both. Sovereign vendors display badges at their tables letting customers know that they are participating under the ordinance.
Madawaska Farmers Market Manager Keren Ruth runs Freckle Farm, which is licensed, with her family. She sees the addition of sovereign vendors as something that will bring in more people and benefit both traditional and sovereign farmers alike. It is also adding to the momentum that the town’s market was already seeing in recent years.
“Every year, we get more vendors,” Ruth said. “Last year was record-breaking. We had 15 vendors. And then this year just blew us out of the water.”
Madawaska market now consistently sees about 20 vendors per market, a major jump from previous years.
The ordinance helps farmers overcome certain obstacles when it comes to selling their products, Ruth said. Some products, for example, require a commercial kitchen to sell, which requires a separate well and septic system.
“That’s inaccessible to most people, and that’s what was stopping them from doing their passion and turning it into a business,” Ruth said.
For Thacker, there was no other way her family farm could have operated without the sovereign designation.
“The money involved, and getting licensed, it’s just exorbitant,” Thacker said.
Some vendors that attend both markets, like Northern Reach Maple, are licensed. Owner Christian Thorsnes said the designation helps bring in vendors, which draws more customers.
Most recently, Fort Kent passed its own food sovereignty ordinance and plans a grand opening of its market on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Rivertown Community Arts Center on Market Street.
Andy Theriault is president of the Fort Kent Sovereign Market. His grandmother’s cooking and canning inspired him, he said.
“She always encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do,” he said. “If I could help someone else, it was worth the risk. I truly owe my empathy and passion to her.”
He also took encouragement from Acadian folk hero “Tante Blanche” Thibodeau, who was known for going out on her own during a rough winter on snowshoes and bringing clothes and food to the hungry settlers of the St. John Valley.
“It certainly took a lot of patience, but I was very passionate about setting this into motion for the town of Fort Kent,” Theriault said. “This ordinance aligns with Maine state law, which sets the precedent for towns like ours to adopt it.”
About a dozen vendors have joined, with space for 25 vendors in the summer and 20 in the winter.
Theriault hopes the movement will help small businesses test the waters without making major financial commitments.
“We want people to make their livelihood with us,” he said. “We want to collaborate with other markets and other organizations to truly build up the community.”