Courtesy / USDA
Rhiannon Hampson, Maine director for USDA Rural Development
January 28, 2022
Five Maine community groups get $2.7M from USDA for facility improvements
Courtesy / Wolfe's Neck Farm
In Freeport, Wolfe's Neck Farm Foundation will use a $2.5 federal loan to build a center for agricultural research and training in alternative farming techniques.
By Staff
Wolfe’s Neck Farm Foundation Inc. in Freeport has received $2.5 million in federal financing to build a research, training and education facility that will teach alternative farming techniques.
The loan award and another $188,000 in grants to four Maine community organizations were announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program.
The funding is part of a $1 billion investment by the USDA to build and improve critical community facilities nationwide.
“These investments in rural Maine communities do not go unappreciated. The creation, renovation and rebuilding of these rural organizations are paramount for those who live and visit here,” said USDA Rural Development Maine state director Rhiannon Hampson.
“The awardees are not only celebrating the stories of our heritage, but the innovative work that we are engaged in now as a state,” Hampson said.
Wolfe’s Neck Farm will use its loan to build the Smith Center for Education and Research, which will allow the nonprofit to teach alternative farming techniques, conservation management, public stewardship and other topics.
The funding also will allow Wolfe's Neck to increase workshops, seminars and camp meetings from 18 participants to around 150 participants. The center will include a heated indoor growing space, teaching kitchen, classroom space, dining area and a small year-round retail space.
Other organizations that received funding include the YMCA of Old Town and Orono, which was awarded a $106,000 grant to replace a fire alarm system, and the town of Old Orchard Beach, which was awarded $50,000 for the acquisition of a new ambulance and safety equipment.
The Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum was awarded $12,300 for a new digital road sign, which will increase visibility of museum and community events and emergency alerts. The Ste. Agathe Historical Society also received a $20,400 grant to renovate the Longfellow School, a one-room schoolhouse dating back to the 1920s.
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