MAINE, USA — The University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) and the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF), along with food services provider Sodexo, were awarded $250,000.
The group was one of only six in New England to win the 2019 New England Food Vision Prize Award, which is given out by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation.
The $250,000 will go toward increasing the amount of locally sourced food on campus menus. The Maine University Team will seek to develop vegetable freezing capability in Maine, which they say represents a first-in-the-area opportunity to meet demand for locally sourced and processed product at a price the local market can afford.
“We are immensely proud of being selected as co-recipients of the 2019 Food Vision Prize by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. This initiative brings our universities and our strategic partners to the table for a vital, common purpose: to increase access to sustainable, locally-produced food year-round, and, in doing so, improve the quality of life for Maine citizens,” University of Maine at Presque Isle President Raymond J. Rice and University of Maine at Farmington President Edward Serna said in a joint statement.
Ideas for the Prize were required to be collaborative, meaning winning ideas had to represent two or more campuses working together. Ideas also had to be replicable, sustainable, and applicable outside of the specific contextual factors of one campus or one period of time.
Applicants also had to demonstrate how they would measure impact, and include elements of movement-building, such as growing demand or knowledge around regionally produced food.