The Local Food Switchboard is a food supply chain coordination platform that helps people across Maine’s food system work together to buy and sell local food more easily. By shifting from competition to coordination, the Switchboard encourages collaboration, transparency, and community-building. It provides support including infrastructure, technical assistance, and access to institutional markets especially for producers and processors who have faced systemic barriers to capital and market access. The Switchboard creates reliable sales channels, new market connections, and a more equitable, resilient, and relationship-based food system for Maine.
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Advisory Team
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Susan Olcott
Maine Coast Fishermen's Association
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Leah Rovner
New England Food System Planners Partnership
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Courtney Crossgrove
FocusMaine
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Abby Snell
Fork Food Lab
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Sarah Speare
Tootie's Tempeh
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Brittany Peats
Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
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Darcy Cooke
The Maine Network of Community Food Councils
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Mike Flynn
Sheepscot Valley RSU #12
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Katherine Bessey
Cooperative Development Institute
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Katie Knowles
Maine Department of Education Child Nutrition
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Katelyn Porter
NH Food Alliance
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Chris Linder
Cooperative Fund of the Northeast
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Alida Peterson
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area
Goals of the Switchboard Project
Build relationships with food supply chain actors across Maine
Identify opportunities to maximize the use of existing food infrastructure and equipment across Maine; supporting small business access to infrastructure and markets
Increase local food procurement in Maine schools
Increase food system efficiency and decrease input costs for processors by supporting expanded food storage and processing infrastructure and the movement of seconds or excess fresh product for processing
Provide data on food supply chain needs so that investors, policymakers and service providers have a better understanding of where resources can be deployed for greatest impact
Timeline of Project
Year 1: Research & Design
> Gather an advisory team
> Design the infrastructure, product, and resources inventory process, data points, and interface of the Maine Food Atlas.
> Determine locations for cold storage units
> Conduct data gathering with high school student research teams and local food councils.
Year 2: Pilot Year
> Pilot services focused on school procurement
> Purchase and place 2 cold storage units
> Continue gathering inventory data
Year 3: Full Implementation/Scaling
> Scale up participation and membership in the Switchboard platform
> Purchase and place 2 more cold storage units
> Leverage insights from years 1 and 2 to develop a sustainable fundraising and revenue strategy.
> Enhance the Switchboard's functionality and outreach efforts based on user feedback.
Year 4: Project Sustaining & Report Release
> Increase participation/membership
> Purchase and place 2 final cold storage units
> Conduct analysis of project outcomes and release a report
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Juliana Beecher
Central Operator
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Rae Sage
Central Operator
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Lucy Flores
Equity Consultant
Local Food Switchboard Project was awarded funding by Full Plates Full Potential and The USDA Food System Innovation Grant! This is part of the USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentive Initiative’s School Food System Transformation Challenge.
This project is funded using U.S. Department of Agriculture Grant Funds.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender
