Category: General News

MPBN, WCSH and The Golden Dish have all published reports on the Portland Food Co-op,

The dairy cases stock all of the products that we’ve become so familiar with at farmers’ markets: Lakin’s Gorge’s ricotta (Rockport), Balfour cultured cream (great sour cream), yogurts and cheese to Swallowtail’s dairy lineup of kefir, cheese and flavored yogurts. Ice cream choices include the excellent Catbird Creamery and the store has a small but professional kitchen where many preparations like soups, sandwiches, salads and vegetable dips are made. [Golden Dish]

and today’s Press Herald includes an interview with Mary Alice Scott, the co-op’s education and outreach coordinator.

Q: Why join a co-op instead of going to a mainstream grocery store?
A: It’s a mission-driven idea. People want to support businesses that are locally owned and know they’re generating jobs. Our mission is to have a huge amount of organic and local products and buy from local vendors whenever practical. It’s not just fruit and vegetables, it’s local cleaning supplies and other local items. We already have relationships with more than 120 local producers.

News became public yesterday that Two Fat Cats bakery has purchased Maine Pie Line from owner Briana Warner.

Two Fat Cats has purchased both the business name as well as the recipes and plans to restart MPL’s wholesale business,

That means savory hand pies like spinach, feta and artichoke and southwest veggie will be back in Maine cafes, such as Coffee By Design, and a fresh line of gourmet, locally sourced pies will soon fill the cases at the nine-year-old India Street bakery.

[Two Fat Cats owner] Begin expects to see her retail business grow by 15 percent and double wholesale orders with the acquisition.
[Urban Eye]

For more information see these reports from Urban Eye and Eater Maine.

Westbrook-based Als Pals Pickles(twitter, facebook, instagram) has launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Kickstarter-clone site Indiegogo. Owner Al Arsenault is hoping to raise $5,000 to “better pickling equipment, promotion and building up a stock”.

I am passionate about making awesome pickles, I take pride in the quality of my product and I’ve really enjoyed all of the pickle lovers I have come across in my time as a pickler What your contribution will go towards is better equipment for maintaining a great quality pickle, this includes kitchen equipment such as knives, cutting boards, pickling pots and gloves and would allow me to buy my pickle jars in bulk. It also includes promotional equipment like banners, business cards, label paper, label printers, promo art and a tablet for mobile card transactions.

For more information or to contribute to the campaign visit the Als Pals page on Indigogo.

The Forecaster has published an article about the new Portland Food Co-op.

West End resident Jennifer Morrison works nearby on India Street, and said her first store visit came after months of anticipation.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, clutching a carton of almond milk and an orange. “I feel like I could do all my shopping here.”

Morrison said she tries to shop at locally owned markets, and was pleased to find a large selection of organic fruits and vegetables. Before leaving, she stopped at a table in the front of the store and signed on as a co-op member.

The co-op has a grand opening planned for December 10.

Today’s Press Herald reports on discussions between city officials and restaurant owners regarding regulation of outdoor seating.

Portland planning officials are struggling to find a way to protect the city’s vibrant restaurant scene while also making sure that pedestrians can maneuver through sidewalks and public spaces cluttered with outdoor seating.

The Blueberry Files has published her annual Thanksgiving turkey buying guide. It includes price per pound details on 18 different turkey brands available from local farms and markets.

Ah, meat. The epicenter of the local food dilemma. On one side, you could argue that meat should not be cheap. On the other side, you have your desire to serve a huge, perfectly-roasted, glistening bird that will satisfy all of your guests, with plenty of leftovers for the next day. Somewhere lost in all of that is the financial reality that locally-raised or organic meat simply costs more than the unethical alternative. 

In the new episode of Booze, Fish and Coffee co-hosts Bo Bigelow and Brian Ericson talk about the new Bramhall, The Hunter’s Bend and the kickstarter campaign for Which Please food truck.

MPBN’s Jennifer Rooks interviewed journalist Laura McCandlish, Mary Alice Scott, and Veronique Vendette from the Gardiner Food Co-op & Cafe for yesterday’s edition of Maine Calling.

A look at the rise of food co-ops in Maine.  We’ll find out how they differ from your  local grocery store, and the benefits of joining a co-op.

You can listen to the entire show on the MPBN website.