Founded in 2016 by Mitch Lench, Ocean’s Balance is a vertically integrated seaweed ingredients company based in Biddeford, Maine.  With a passion for sustainable food systems and ocean conservation, Mitch

In 1971, Shep and Linnette Erhart foraged their very first edible sea vegetables while picnicking at Schoodic Point. That same evening, they used the alaria fronds they had gathered to

Well before the trees have begun to leaf out in early Spring, seaweed season on the north Atlantic coast has reached its peak. On Ironbound Island, a small group of

Seaweed has been eaten by humans since prehistoric times, by cultures around the globe. Although it used to be extremely significant as a food source and resource in the early Americas, our taste for it ebbed over time. Fortunately, this unique and nutritional food has been making a comeback across the country over the past couple of decades, thanks to the sustainable food movement, popular health trends, and traditional food revitalization.

The idea for Grandy Organics (formerly “Grandy Oats”) originated when two friends, Sara Carpenter and Penny Hood, sat around a campfire in Baxter State Park contemplating the future. They both cared deeply for the earth, dreamed of making a positive impact, and loved granola. Their small company was founded in 1979 on the firm belief that business should be more about having a positive impact than about making money.

Maine’s oldest operating orchard, Sewall Orchard is nestled on the side of 1,065-foot Levenseller Mountain in Lincolnville, Maine. The barn and property overlook Camden Hills State Park, Norton Pond, Megunticook Lake, and the ocean beyond—you can see as far as Acadia in one direction and all the way to the foothills of western Maine in the other.

I can look at a pile of rocks and instantly find that one heart rock. It’s a thing! I guess I am the heart rock whisperer! -Ellen Thayer At the

Looking for all-natural, handcrafted soaps and skincare products made in small batches and with materials found in nature? Look no further than Westbrook, ME! Bare Naturals Soap Company produces ultra-clean products to keep you (and your conscience) spotless.

Eric Ziner and Missy (Melissa) Green moved to Deer Isle, ME, in 1991. At the time, they were both deeply absorbed in their art careers—Eric is an artist blacksmith and

In May 2024, Mathias Kamin and Anne Bryant opened the doors of Bon Vent Cider in Hancock, ME. Their cozy, inviting tasting room is located in a former antique shop

Meet Jill Miller, owner and founder of The Maine Pie Company in Biddeford, ME. Jill has decades of baking experience under her apron. She owned The Runcible Spoon in Nyack,

A small, diversified farm, Rainbow Farm specializes in MOFGA-certified organic vegetables, as well as pasture-based chicken, pork, beef, and lamb, and is owned and operated by Noah and Lorelei Cimeno. Rainbow Farm is located on a fertile ridge in Orland, Maine, adjacent to Penobscot’s town line. 

The Grafton Cooperative Cheese Company was founded in 1892 by dairy farmers who gathered together in a cooperative to make their surplus raw milk into cheese. In the days before refrigeration, there were many such cooperatives in rural agricultural communities in order to turn an abundance of fresh milk into a food that could be stored for a longer period of time.

Started by Kyle DePietro and his wife, Angela Trombley, Sasanoa Brewing is an organic brewery that uses Maine farm-grown ingredients. The brewery is located at Tarbox Farm on the end

As a former bread-baker, dairy-farmer, and award-winning cheesemaker, Karen Getz has always had a deep love for food. When she learned that she needed to cut out gluten from her

A family owned, 40-acre saltwater farm nestled in Dyer Harbor in Steuben, Maine, Painted Pepper Farm was started in 2005. The farm, which includes the on-site creamery Dairy Delights, is owned and operated by Lisa Reilich. Lisa keeps a herd of about 70 Nigerian dwarf dairy goats and utilizes silvopasture, which is a practice of grazing livestock with trees.

For four generations – and over 100 years – Carrie Whitcomb’s family has milked Jersey and Guernsey cows on Springdale Farm in Waldo. The Whitcomb family had always produced quality,

Caitlin Frame and Andy Smith started The Milkhouse Dairy Farm and Creamery in Monmouth, Maine, in 2015. The 280 acres of land they acquired in Monmouth was an ideal setting

Barbara Brooks established Seal Cove Farm and started handcrafting goat cheeses in the French tradition in 1976. At the time, she worked as a part-time lifeguard, swim teacher and a waitress and had two clear goals: to work independently and to make cheese. Though goat cheese would not catch on throughout the United States for a number of years, a handful of Maine farmers (including Brooks) started milking goats in the late 70s and early 80s and were pioneers in introducing goat cheese into the market. Soft chevre made from goat milk was already very popular abroad, but it took time to gain momentum in Maine. Goat milking and cheese has come a long way over the past few decades; with their cheeky personalities and tasty cheese, dairy goats have since captured the hearts of farmers and consumers across the country.

Charley and Carol Baer have operated Baer’s Best Beans in Maine for over three decades. They specialize in producing heirloom bean varieties that have grown here in the Northeast since colonial days.

Ian Jerolmack’s passion for farming started when he was just a sprout. His childhood was spent living in the suburbs and both of his parents were from the city, but he constantly gravitated towards the farms that existed beyond the sphere of this residential world.

Originally from Europe, Angelo Popolare has always had a passion for baking and captures the essence of traditional European bread-making in his sourdough loaves. Trained at Italy’s prestigious Alma Culinary School and seasoned in various Michelin-starred kitchens across Europe and the US, he is bringing a slice of artisan dedication to midcoast Maine.

Paul and Karen Volkhausen have been running Happytown Farm in Orland, Maine – selling meat, vegetables, maple syrup, flowers and eggs – for 46 years. Over the years, they’ve built a house, a barn, 5 hoophouses, a greenhouse, and a legacy, as well as raised a family and countless animals.

Farmer direct, open-pollinated, open source and regionally adapted, Bhoomi Devi Seeds is a no-till seed farm operated by Olivia O’Dwyer, Noah Dest and Bhoomi Devi (Mother Nature) and is based in Lincolnville, Maine.

In 2018, Matt Horwitz-Lee and his family left their life in Baltimore, Maryland, to be closer to his ailing father and were thankfully able to be there for him when he passed. Afterwards, it became a question of where to go and what to do next with their lives. The pandemic arrived soonafter and, with his wife’s family already living in Maine, they chose to take a chance on Stockton Springs.

Every March we celebrate women-owned local businesses carried at the Co-op. Here are three more awesome small businesses owned and operated by savvy Maine women and one woman-founded business (now a cooperative).

Every March we celebrate women-owned local businesses carried at the Co-op. Here are three more awesome small businesses owned and operated by savvy Maine women.

Every March we celebrate women-owned local businesses carried at the Co-op. Here are three more awesome small businesses owned and operated by savvy Maine women, one from outside Maine doing great work for women, and one local woman-founded (now family-run) business.

Every March we celebrate women-owned local businesses carried at the Co-op. Here are two more awesome small businesses owned and operated by savvy Maine women.

Every March we celebrate women-owned local businesses carried at the Co-op. Here are four awesome small businesses owned and operated by savvy Maine women.

Ray Schofield’s first motivational spark to bake bread came as a result from attending the Kneading Conference in 2007/2008. At that time, he was living in Rhode Island where he

Owned and operated by Rodney Boyington and Vanessa Rancourt since 2012, Jackman Maple Syrup is a 3,000 acre sugarbush located on the north side of Bald Mountain