Aroostook vegetable processor closes; searching for buyer
Amber Waterman
Leah Cook, left, with sister Marada and Arthur, are shown in this 2011 Mainebiz file photo. Leah Cook told Mainebiz that Northern Girl, a vegetable processor and packer in Van Buren, has suspended operations and is looking for a buyer.
Northern Girl, a vegetable processor and packer in Van Buren, Aroostook County, suspended operations and is looking for a buyer.
In a letter to the the public dated Feb. 28, principals Leah Cook, Marada Cook and Chris Hallweaver said “we have decided to suspend our operations.” The company will “pursue all viable options to sell our business.”
Reached by phone, Leah Cook told Mainebiz that as a small processor Northern Girl could not compete on scale. It is looking for a buyer that might be able to incorporate the processing operation into a larger business — possibly a distributor or a large-scale food processing or farming operation.
She said, while there was widespread support for the company’s mission of supporting local farmers, the definition of “local” sometimes worked against Northern Girl. For instance, an institution like the University of Maine, which has mandated the purchase of local foods for its food-service operations, has campuses statewide and has a broader definition of local. But a campus in Boston may want to buy produce within 250 miles, in which case northern Aroostook County, at more than 400 miles away, is well outside the definition of local — meaning “very few pings on the radar,” Cook said.
The decision to suspend operations came after a discussion with board members, she said.
Crown O’ Maine Organic Cooperative, a Vassalboro company in which Marada Cook is still a partner, is a separate company and not affected — apart from the fact that Northern Girl is a supplier.
In six years, Northern Girl processed more than 400,000 pounds of Maine crops and paid $155,000 to local farmers and suppliers, the company said. It paid out $386,000 in wages.
When it got started, it received a public financial support from the town of Van Buren, and the company is in the process of settling with stakeholders, Cook said.
“Right now the focus is to do right by Van Buren and other stakeholders,” Cook said. “Van Buren has been a wonderful stakeholder. Van Buren as a community has an incredible solidarity.”
Sisters Leah and Marada Cook were named to the 2011 Mainebiz NEXT list.
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