By: Sarah Tewksbury, Editor-in-Chief
Thursday, Sept. 14 USM Corporate Partners held a breakfast gathering and discussion. The topic for the breakfast was Maine’s Future in Food. Three speakers were invited to share with the audience of nearly 60 their thoughts on how, according to the discussion question outlined by USM Corporate Partners, “Maine’s food-related businesses are capitalizing on the enthusiasm for foodie culture while also fueling [the] economy.” The speakers were John Naylor, owner of Rosemont Market, Michael Hillard, USM Professor of Economics and Director of the Food Studies Program, and Richard Bilodeau, USM Professor within the Business department.
Attendees at the event included USM faculty and staff, students, USM Corporate Partners and community members interested in learning more about USM’s ties to the food realm. Prior to the panel, individuals at the event were enthusiastic about the topic of discussion. Mary Moran, graduate student assistant for the Food Studies Program, was excited to listen to the perspectives of the three speakers. Christine Cummings, from Maine Grocers and Food Producers Association, attended the event in order to gather a better understanding of Portland’s perspective of food waste and food sustainability. Working directly with the Maine House of Representatives to ensure public policy changes that benefit both the consumer and grower, Cummings detailed that she was “curious to see the vibe in the Portland area for food entrepreneurs.”
Among mingling during the meet and greet breakfast portion of the event, conversations revolved around food. Groups of professionals and students talked about food insecurity, the safety of products being sold, the abundance of food waste and the benefit of a strong food industry.
USM President Glenn Cummings began the event promptly at 7:30 a.m. With pride, he shared with the crowd the benefits USM Corporate Partners have had directly on USM students.
“I’m proud to announce that when I first began working on increasing internships at USM, 39 out of 50 undergraduate majors had internships,” Cummings said. “Today all 50 have internships. Corporate partners is all about building connections and helping the USM students to do that.”
Cummings went on to discuss how thrilled he was to have the Food Studies Program up and running this semester. Highlighting the topic of the discussion as both inspirational and tragic, since Portland is a hub for “fabulous restaurants” while Maine has the seventh highest level of food insecurity in the nation, Cummings said that it was relevant and important for USM’s Food Studies Program to participate in events like this one.
“Sharing food with people creates a connection that is invaluable,” said Cummings. “It is a tragedy for students and across Maine that our level of food insecurity is where it is today. With the help of folks from the USM Food Studies Program, we might be able to gain some insight into what is going on and potential solutions to our problems.”
With hope for the future of the program, Cummings introduced graduate student, Elliot Lee, to begin the panel discussion. Lee explained the path that led him to USM’s Muskie School and it’s unexpected outcome. Through his undergraduate career at USM, Lee switched from a theater student to declare his major in the economics department. While in a class with Professor Hillard, Lee encountered issues within the food industry that he had no idea existed. Labor, environmental, ethical and public policy issues were noted in regards to the food industry. Lee was intrigued.
“Issues came up that economics didn’t have the keys to answer,” said Lee. “That began my interest in food studies. Economics, the environmental sector and public policy all encompass food studies.”
Following Lee’s introductory speech, USM Corporate Partners’ Vice President Ainsley Wallace acted as a moderator for Hillard, Naylor and Bilodeau. Asking Hillard how the Food Studies Program began, Wallace questioned the relationship the program has to economics.
“This started with my students around ten years ago. They were on fire over the corporate takeover of the food industry and the simultaneous remarkable transformation of the economic energy in the food sector,” said Hillard. He went on to explain that the program was made possible with funding from the Maine Economic Improvement Fund (MEIF). Since the conceptualization of bringing a Food Studies Program to USM, Hillard explained that 30 existing and established programs around the country were looked at in order to mimic their success.
“The idea that you can build an academic program beginning with a community network is just fantastic. There were roughly 60 stakeholders in the Maine community who inspired and invited success for USM’s program to take off.”
Currently the Food Studies Program offers a minor with three different tracks, Social Justice, Policy and Advocacy Track, the Entrepreneurship Track, and the Hospitality and Management Track. Looking to the future the program hopes to expand to offer a major, a graduate studies certificate and eventually a Master’s degree. Internship opportunities that offer students real world applications of the skills they learn in the Food Studies Program.
Hillard went on to explain that the mission and values of the program are focused on three aspects: environmental sustainability, economic development and social justice in the food system.
Naylor then changed the tone of the conversation to discuss how local entrepreneurs have been able to help partner with USM to ensure the success of a Food Studies Program and work towards reducing food waste while acknowledging food insecurity. As the owner of Rosemont Market, Naylor discussed the ways in which his own business has been able to tackle the question of Maine’s future in the food industry.
“[At Rosemont Market] we want to focus on bringing more local food to the community. Today we bring fresh produce to the community through a small store scale,” said Naylor. “We deal with 165 different farms while trying to feed the Portland area.”
At Rosemont Market, Naylor has implemented innovative techniques in order to reduce waste and increase the preservation of food. Due to the staggering numbers of Mainers that experience hunger every day, Naylor has made every attempt to reduce the amount of waste coming out of Rosemont Market. “Because the perishability window is very small we try to pickle, process and preserve in order to widen the perishability window. We also spend a lot of time reducing the packaging on items,” said Naylor.
Speaking last, Bilodeau highlighted the idea that supplementary products to replace items that generate a lot of waste can be a benefit. Passing around examples of supplementary products, Bilodeau showed the audience Dulce, a salt substitute which tastes like sodium but is in fact a natural and healthier solution. Products like Dulce, as Bilodeau put it, are the “future of food products that are more sustainable and beneficial to the consumer.” As he continues his work in the private sector, Bilodeau is hopeful to create products that are “better for us and waste less.”
Bringing the panel discussion to a close, the three speakers were each asked to summarize what audience members can do next to continue to educate themselves on food in Maine. Hillard, Naylor and Bilodeau responded by saying audience members could attend the fall lecture series, continue to think about the farmers in Maine and to think about hosting an intern in a local business.