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.

Advisory Team

  • 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

  • Brittany Peats

    Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry

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  • Darcy Cooke

    The Maine Network of Community Food Councils

  • Mike Flynn

    Sheepscot Valley RSU #12

  • Katherine Bessey

    Cooperative Development Institute

  • Katie Knowles

    Maine Department of Education Child Nutrition

  • 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

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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

  • Juliana Beecher

    Central Operator

  • Rae Sage

    Central Operator

  • Lucy Flores

    Equity Consultant

Sign Up for the Local Food Switchboard Substack Newsletter!

Read all newsletter posts HERE

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