Maine institutions get federal money to help grow market for Maine foods

PORTLAND (WGME) – Three Maine institutions have been given $1 million in federal aid to help grow local and regional markets for Maine foods.

One of those is Yarmouth's Sustainability Lab, which runs the Fork Food Lab in Portland. The lab provides small food businesses and startups with a commercial kitchen to prepare their products.

The lab will use the money to move to a new location and expand its operation. The money would also be used to purchase new specialized equipment.

“We're going to add some equipment on the processing and packaging side that would be critical for many of our members to grow further on the businesses they're working on,” Fork Food Lab President Bill Seretta said.

The Sustainability Lab will get $100,000 in federal aid. The grant money comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.