by Caroline Connolly - September 7th 2012 05:04pm - Read more Local News
Belfast - In a matter of hours, a new business sprouted up in downtown Belfast, Friday afternoon.
"So far, I've gotten strawberries, fresh strawberries," said customer, Cynthia Porter.
Located at the intersection of High and Main Street, it offered popular fare that was all made in Maine.
Shopper, Tom Delmoor, told us, "I have all different colored cherry tomatoes, which are delicious."
MaineFare, as it was called, aimed to introduce consumers to the producers, according to one organizer, Erin Herbig.
"To celebrate local food, local food preparation, farming in Maine," said Herbig.
She is the outreach coordinator for the Maine Farmland Trust, a non-profit group, which sponsored the event.
Herbig said, "Supporting farmers markets, coming to events like this, that is truly supporting agriculture."
Maine Farmland Trust has helped protect thousands of acres of farmland throughout the state, and has provided services to more than 375 farm families. Herbig believes Maine's farming industry will play a big role in the state's future.
She said, "I have complete faith it is one of our most sustainable aspects of economic growth, economic development, particularly here in the Midcoast."
With events like MaineFare, she hopes to help the industry grow, by taking customers back to their roots.
"We see Waldo County as having the potential to be the food basket of New England," said Herbig.
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