SKOWHEGAN — The Somerset County Commission unanimously adopted a food and community self‑governance ordinance Thursday that gives residents of the county’s unorganized territories the right to produce, process, sell, purchase and consume local foods.
The ordinance drew no objections during a 15‑minute public hearing held before the vote.
The measure states that it is intended to “preserve the ability of individuals and communities to save and exchange seed, to produce, process, sell, purchase and consume locally produced food,” and to “ensure the preservation of family farms and traditional foodways through small‑scale farming.”
The ordinance also contains language noting its intent to improve the health and well‑being of residents by “reducing hunger and increasing food security through unimpeded access to wholesome, nutritious foods by encouraging ecological farming.”
The ordinance was enacted after Leslie North of Rockwood told commissioners that, because no ordinance governs local food sales in the UT, she had to obtain a license to sell her goods, which required a sewer inspection and water testing.
When her water tests showed contamination, she replaced her water system and had it tested again to qualify for a license.
“There’s a lot of bureaucracy to get a vendor’s license,” North said, just to “allow me to sell at a farmers market.”
She told commissioners that having an ordinance specific to the UT will “allow my neighbors to sell their things. To sell their vegetables without going to Augusta” for a license, as she did.
Pointing out that food ordinances already exist in other places, including Moose River and Cornville, she said the ordinance will allow expansion to towns in the UT, including Rockwood.
“So, because you live in the unorganized territory, you’re subject to more of this bureaucracy than people who are not?” Commissioner Joel Stetkis of District 5 said.
North said that was true, even though Maine passed the Maine Food Sovereignty Act in 2017, because the act requires towns and counties to opt in.
County Administrator Tim Curtis agreed with North, saying: “The law that was passed does not apply to everyone. It’s an opt‑in law, and we need to have an ordinance in place.”
Commissioner Don Skillings of District 2, who attended the meeting remotely, asked North for clarification on licensing and whether, without an ordinance, a farm stand in Rockwood would need a license to sell food.
“It is my understanding that you do,” North said. “From what we can read and what we can see, technically we would be violating the law if we don’t have a license to sell.”
No one at the public hearing spoke against the ordinance, and commissioners adopted it unanimously.
The ordinance exempts producers and processors of local food intended for direct producer‑to‑consumer sales from licensing and inspection requirements in the UT. It does not apply to meat or poultry products, which must be processed in compliance with the Maine Meat and Poultry Inspection Program.
The ordinance makes enforcement citizen‑driven, giving residents of the Somerset UT standing to enforce its provisions, including responding to threats or challenges to their right to sell goods.
It also includes a reciprocity clause with other local food‑sovereign towns and territories to “aid food security, including mutual barter, trade and other exchanges between producers and consumers.”
