FAME Awards Food Processing Grants

The Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) today announced the recipients of $975,000 in food processing grants to be used for Maine fishing and agricultural enterprises.

Grant recipients are: Stonington Sea Products (seafood sales and processing); Blake’s Custom-Cut Meats of Alexander (slaughter house); Northern Girl, LLC of Van Buren (vegetable processing); Portland Shellfish Co., Inc. (seafood processing and distribution); Somerset Grist Mill of Skowhegan (grain milling); and The Gelato Fiasco, Inc. of Brunswick (gelati manufacturing/sales). The grants are expected to help create and retain 165 Maine jobs.

Created by the 124th Maine Legislature and funded by Maine voters through a general obligation bond approved in June 2010, the Maine Food Processing Grant Program provides grants for Maine food processors to support the creation, retention, and growth of fishing, agricultural, and dairy enterprises. 

Successful applicants for the competitive funds were required to be food processors located in Maine that demonstrated how the funds will be used to benefit the grantee, Maine’s food processing industry, and/or the community at large. FAME prioritized applications based on the economic feasibility and viability of the projects; the likely benefits of the grants to the financial success of the enterprises; the likely benefits of the grants toward the goals of creating and/or retaining Maine jobs; and the likely benefits of the grant to areas of the state having high areas of unemployment. 

FAME Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Bordowitz stated:  “FAME is particularly pleased with the diversity of the grant recipients, which process seafood, vegetables, meat and even make gelati. The companies range from new ones with few employees to well-established companies with many employees. The competition was keen and we regret that we did not have sufficient funds for all of the exciting food processing projects that Maine entrepreneurs are ready to pursue. We believe these grants will, as the Maine Legislature and voters intended, help Maine’s food processing industry grow, succeed, and provide good jobs in this challenging economy.”

“Our company is thrilled to receive the much-needed grant. We intend to use the monies to purchase equipment that will enable us to start up the business and create six jobs in Northern Aroostook County,” stated Marada Cook, President of Northern Girl, LLC.

Stonington Sea Products, which engages in seafood processing and sales, also received a grant. Adelbert Gross, company manager, stated: “We will put the grant monies back into the community to hire employees and employ local vendors such as contractors and truckers as we grow our business,” he said.

Additional details concerning the grant awards may be viewed on FAME’s Web site at www.famemaine.com