Harvest Portland

04/15/2020

Meet Allison Lakin of Lakin Gorges Cheese and East Forty Farm in Waldoboro. Allison started Lakin Gorges Cheese in 2011 and runs East Forty Farm with her husband. They raise cows, whey fed pigs, and ducks for meat.

When Covid hit Maine Allison started a Google sheet of farmers and fisherman so that people could connect with their local food producers. That list is now hosted on the University of Maine Cooperative Extension website and is helping to generate business for Maine farmers and fisherman. Her efforts have inspired other states, like Maryland, and countries, like Ireland and the UK, to create databases like this to connect their people with local farmers and fishermen.

How has your business been affected by Covid?
“The week before March 17th I saw that my numbers were already off. I thought it would be a miracle if things don’t start changing rapidly in Maine. I needed to start shifting the promotion of the business, and in fact the week of March 17th I only had 2 wholesale orders, that is not enough to run my business on.

I thought, what can I do with the skills that I have? I was having conversations with the other famers and other cheese makers who were all saying ‘Oh God none of us are making any sales’ so I decided to put together a shared Google sheet. Here farmers and fishermen could enter in their contact information, if they did delivery/pickup, online sales, and the types of products they carry. I also added a section for farmers to list if they had space to host another farmer that has products to sell. It was also a way to connect farmers to help one another if someone got sick. They would be able to tell us and we could pitch in to help. Within 24 hours of having launched the list around 80 people had signed on, and I only knew 10 of them. I started blasting the list out and wrote a press release sending it to all the major Maine news sources. From that Maine Cooperative Extension reached out to me and asked to take on the management of the list. The first weekend it had 2,500 views then spiking to 11,000 views.

Now the second part, My husband and I realized that if either of us got sick we would have no income. (More in comments)

04/01/2020

We celebrated by making and eating this salad cake. Hope you get a chuckle in your day because of this too 🥗 + 🎂
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Homemade rosemary lemon bread, whipped vegan sour cream and vegan cream cheese, cherry tomatoes, topped with broccoli shoots and drizzled with a balsamic reduction.
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#AprilFools #SaladCake #MaineIsDelicious #WickedGoodLocalFood #HarvestPortlandMagazine #localmaine @ Portland, Maine

03/11/2020

Challenge, #HarvestPiChallenge accepted! This is Gina btw... My pi(e) sweetness comes from maple syrup, cookies, apples, and chocolate! My Maine ingredients are chips, flour, tofu, maple syrup, apples, and salt! I was inspired by a caramel chocolate pie @tastemade posted.

Have you tried any of these Maine ingredients? Would you give this recipe a try at home? Let us know what you think below!

🍏Recipe: (yield one 9" pie)
🍁crust ingredients:
~10 oz plain potato chips @foxfamilypotatochips
~6 oz ginger snap cookies
~1/4 cup whole wheat flour @mainegrains
~6 tablespoons of plant butter
🍁chocolate filling:
~16 oz tofu @heiwa_tofu
~5 tablespoons oat milk
~4 tablespoons maple syrup #StrawberryHillFarms
~14 oz semi-sweet chocolate chunks
~1.15 oz hazelnut & almond butter
🍁toppings:
~5 apple slices @rickerhillorchards
~20 chips
~ sprinkle sea salt with sea veg @meseaveg

🍏To make apple chips: Bake the slices in the oven for ~2 hours at 225°F. Wish I had a dehydrator...
🍏To make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the food processor, pulse ginger snaps until finely ground, take out and save. Next pulse chips until finely ground. Add flour and melted butter until combined. Press into pie pan and bake for 12-15 minutes.
🍏To make filling: Drain tofu. Cut tofu into cubes and put into a food processor. Add oat milk, maple syrup and blend until smooth. Add hazelnut & almond butter, blend until smooth. Melt chocolate and pour into the bowl of the food processor. Blend until incorporated.
🍏To make pi(e): When the crust is cooled, pour the filling on top and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Then top with apple chips, salt and potato chips.

#HarvestPiChallenge #PiDay #3.14 #WickedGoodLocalFood #MaineIsDelicious #MaineFood #HarvestPortlandMagazine

Thank you @portlandfoodcoop for supplying me with apples from Ricker Hills Farm! I chose Granny Smith and Honeycrisp. I have had #StrawberryHillFarms maple syrup in my fridge so I didn't need to go out and buy a new jug! As for the chocolate I bought that from @loisnatural in Scarborough.

03/10/2020

If you're looking for a little entertainment, we have got you covered. Saturday is 3/14, Pi day! Pi has been recognized for at least 4,000 years. We want to represent pi by making pies.

#HarvestPiChallenge will be happening between us (Jess and Gina). We will be posting our finished products this week. And on Friday check out our IG story, for fun we will ask for you to judge us on presentation and recipe!

Our PI(E) rules:
1. A pie has a bottom crust, perhaps a top crust, and a filling
2. Sweet pies only
3. Must be made with at least 5 Maine products
4. Size matters, use a classic pie pan #mainefood

02/13/2020

Have you checked out our interviews in the latest issue of #harvestportland ?
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@sprouts207 was one of our interviewees and they run through how they got started to what they’re currently growing. Get to know them more by reading our current issue!
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#portlandmainefood #wickedgoodfood #mainefood

02/06/2020

In our first issue of @harvestportland we interview 3 #maine businesses that we’d like our community to get to know. Be sure to check the full articles via the link in our profile. @sprouts207 @goransonfarm @heritage.seaweed
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#LocalMaine #HarvestPortland #MaineIsDelicious #WickedGoodLocalFood #portlandmainefood
📸: @jesswebbphoto @ Portland, Maine, USA

02/03/2020

If you don't have a blender for our Thick Squash Soup use a potato masher instead. Now you have chunky squash soup 🤤. Serve with @millcovebakingco crackers and scoop it all up.
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You can view our first issue of Harvest Magazine via the link in our bio. 🤗
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#WinterSquash #Soup #LocalMaine #HarvestPortland #MaineIsDelicious #WickedGoodLocalFood #portlandmainefood

01/30/2020

Tasty recipes are coming! Here’s a sneak peak of @gmann_007 in action. Follow us to see what’s launching next week!
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#LocalMaine #HarvestPortland #MaineIsDelicious #wickedgoodlocalfood

01/28/2020

Hey, I’m Gina! I supply the goods (recipes). I think about food all of the time, I read about food a lot, for fun I watch people cook food, I eat food throughout my day and I also work in the food industry. Kudos to Jess for supporting my hunger furthermore by embodying me as the other half of Harvest Magazine.
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We want to share with you the links within Maine's local food systems. It all comes from somewhere, it all goes somewhere and it is all apart of a great something. Food nourishes our bodies. Food is preventable medicine. Food tastes good.
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I was born and raised in Massachusetts but my family's history in Maine goes back years. My great grandfather built hotels in Old Orchard Beach when bathing suits weren't even invented yet. My grandparents owned the Mt. Royal Motel and then sold it when I was young. My family vacationed in Maine almost every year until they purchased property in OOB. I moved out of my parents house after college to live in Portland. I am staying here, I love it here. I feel at home in Maine.
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Where are you all from?? & Tag a friend who you think would be interested in learning more about what's happening in Harvest!
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#LocalMaine #HarvestPortland #MaineIsDelicious #wickedgoodlocalfood Photo by @jesswebbphoto

01/26/2020

Harvest Portland updated their business hours.

Harvest Portland updated their business hours.

01/26/2020

Harvest Portland updated their website address.

Harvest Portland updated their website address.