About 3.4% of food sold in Maine comes from local regional sources, according to a new study.
The findings come from the New England Food System Planners Partnership, which envisions a future where 30% of food consumed in New England is locally or regionally sourced by 2030. The Maine Climate Council set a similar goal for the state.
It's clear that Maine has room to improve, said study contributor Tanya Swain.
She acknowledged that many Mainers do not have access to local or fresh food, and that it can often be too expensive.
Large grocery chains must do more to make locally sourced food available, but individual Mainers can also play a role, Swain added.
"It comes down to when people have the option to buy local — and if they can afford it — making that choice," she said. "Some of that entails just choosing one product over the other."
Individual Mainers spent, on average, $312 a year on local food. The study also found that most Mainers buy their food from grocery and retail chains, which often source their products from all over the world. Consumers have become accustomed to having an array of options from a global supply chain, but Swain said it's important that Maine cultivate a supply chain of its own.
"The question we were asking ourselves is at some point if we really have to look at what we can produce here because of something that happens, in the country or globally, do we have the capacity here? It's important for our reliance as a region to do that," she said. "Buying local helps to build that capacity."
Maine has a higher percentage of local food spending compared to many other states in New England. But it falls well short of Vermont, where about 10% of food spending comes from local sources.
Maine has embedded local food goals in its climate plan and a statewide initiative to end hunger by 2030. But Swain said Vermont's success comes from a specific local food systems agenda that's embedded throughout state government.
