Maine Food Convergence Project Report 2021-2022
Miss the March ‘21 Convergence?
Looking back, we reported out on the outcomes and lessons learned from the events, and activities that have emerged since.
Looking ahead, we heard from participants how the Convergence space could strengthen and deepen all of our work and gather interest for deeper collaboration. This was mostly done in breakout rooms. FMI, contact us!
Miss the 2021 Convergence?
Check out our YouTube page for a collection of Convergence Recordings.
Top Action Areas from the 2020-2021 Convergence Event.
Information and contacts for the collective actions with currently the greatest energy and movement.
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Elevate equity and support tribal sovereignty.
Increase awareness/action across the state and across sectors that increases equity in Maine's food system, particularly supporting tribal sovereignty.
Contact: goodfoodforla@gmail.com and jfertigburd@sewallfoundation.org
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Advocate for a thriving wage for all.
What is a thriving wage? Address misinformation and misunderstanding about what a thriving wage means, understand policy, dispel myths about poverty and food insecurity.
Contact: kcollum@coa.edu
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Processing infrastructure
Small to Medium Scale formal cooperatives and informal cooperation, equitable workforce development, access to culturally appropriate food sources, support for existing and emerging processing models.
Contact: s.cesario@hccame.org
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Building Relationships Between Local Buyers and Local Producers and Seafood
Developing more collaborative efforts between buyers and producers & seafood folks. Expand the promotion of Maine foods to reach more and larger buyers.
Contact: r.page@hccame.org
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Maine Food Policy Newsletter and Work Group
The Maine Food Policy Work Group is a collaboration of organizations and people working to promote good food policies in Maine. Opt-in to receive the newsletter below.
We are convening organizations, networks, groups, and individuals to catalyze collective action towards a thriving Maine food system that is equitable, just, and regenerative.
Vision
A Maine food system that fosters the wellbeing of people, planet, and communities.
Mission
To develop deeper relationships and greater trust as we co-create an equitable and thriving food system for Maine.
We value Equity and Collective Power, Systems Thinking, and Networking Differently.
Equity and Collective Power.
Healthy food is a human right that unleashes human potential. Systemic racism and corporate consolidation limit equitable access to farmland, fishing, and food. Sharing power and honoring all voices through collective decision-making leads to community-centered solutions.
Networking Differently.
To create systemic change, we need to expand and diversify participation in food systems organizing. Convening and engaging diverse stakeholders across Maine’s entire food system, we leverage the power of networks to act collectively toward a shared vision.
Systems Thinking.
Maine’s food system is vast, complex, and interconnected. Trusting relationships, synergy, and transparency within the system supports the parts for a stronger whole.
We stand in solidarity with Wabanaki food, land, and water sovereignty.
We occupy the land, work, farm, and fish on the unceded territory of the Wabanaki People. We welcome and foster relationships with the tribes who sustainably stewarded this land for millennia. We acknowledge the history of violence and the many forms of taking that resulted from Colonization. We commit to supporting the efforts of Wabanaki People to restore their cultural lifeways and relationship to this beautiful place we now call Maine.
May this acknowledgement guide the long journey of building trust and integrating Maine’s food system projects with statewide truth and reconciliation efforts.
You matter.
Please join in this unique effort to catalyze collective action towards a regenerative food system in Maine for the health of our people, our planet, and our communities.
Our Network Partners
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