Clinton Family Farmers Take Action after State Regulators Shut Down Their Popular Farm Stand

Clinton family farmers are taking action after an inspector from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (ACF) arrived at their house on Tuesday and ordered them to stop selling milk and sourdough bread at their farm stand.

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“I was just at home, a man showed up at our house, which happened often, because we have a farm stand and a lot of friends, and he showed up at our house and came up to our door. I met him out there,” said Chris Harrington, speaking with The Maine Wire,

“And then he told me who he was, handed me his card, and told me that we are not allowed to sell milk or any baked goods on the farm stand anymore without a Maine state license,” he added.

The Harrington Homestead and Farmstand is a small, family-owned operation in Clinton, run by Chris and Karen Harrington, who work other jobs and operate a farm stand in their free time.

The Harringtons explained that they decided to expand and build a small farmstand on their property after having previously sold eggs and given away produce at the end of their driveway.

After they built their farm stand, Karen began selling her popular sourdough bread, and they began selling other dairy products, including milk from their two Nubian goats.

“I get a gallon of milk a day. I sell a quart here and there to people, and they love it. That’s the thing we can’t keep our farm stand in stock, people love it. We have like lines out the door on Saturday morning. That’s the only day I sell baked goods, Saturday morning, one day a week,” said Karen.

They’ve been operating without issues for years now, and built the farm stand in accordance with town regulations and with approval from the local Clinton Code Enforcement Officer.

“The code enforcement officer was like, ‘No, no, no, you don’t, you don’t need anything, the dimensions are small, you’re good, you’re good, go ahead,'” said Karen.

That all changed on Tuesday, when ACF Inspection Program Manager Ben Metcalf showed up at their home and told Chris that, due to state regulations surrounding food sales, they would no longer be allowed to sell any dairy products or baked goods without state licenses.

Metcalf didn’t show up for a random inspection. He came after someone showed him a picture from the Harringtons’ Facebook page and reported them.

The couple have urged their followers not to respond with hostility towards Metcalf, who was only doing his job as required by state laws and regulations. They have tried to determine who reported them.

The state told them that Metcalf was shown their social media page at a youth group event, but that he did not know the name of the person who made the report.

“They said that it was at a local community function, and somebody showed him the picture on Facebook, and he doesn’t know the name of the person who showed him,” said Karen.

The Harringtons explained to The Maine Wire that the process to become licensed by the state would be unduly difficult and expensive. They would be required to obtain two separate licenses for baked goods and dairy, both of which would come with prohibitive regulations and costs.

“There’s a ton of restrictions on the baked goods, like you can’t use butter in your buttercream frosting, and my whole thing is like I’m making like real food, I don’t want to use processed crappy shortening in my food,” said Karen.

Karen said that a license to sell dairy would require them, among other things, to build an entire separate “milk house” with running water just to sell products from their two goats.

State licensure is not the Harringtons’ only option to get their farm stand up and running again, however; they can have recourse to Maine’s food sovereignty laws.

Under those laws, first passed in 2017, local municipalities can pass ordinances that allow residents to sell homemade food locally without requiring them to submit themselves to the state’s onerous regulations, made for commercial producers rather than small-town family farms.

Instead of simply shutting down their farm stand, the Harringtons have decided to take action and try to get a local food sovereignty ordinance passed in Clinton.

“All jokes aside, the guy from the state said that if our farm stand was in any other neighboring town with a local food ordinance, it would be a non-issue, but because Clinton does not have one, it is an issue,” said the Harringtons on Facebook.

“Over 113 municipalities in Maine have implemented local food sovereignty ordinances. This means nearly 30% of Maine’s towns have local laws allowing farmers and producers to sell food directly to consumers. Surely Clinton, the best town in the state of Maine, should be one of them,” they added.

They immediately began working to get the ordinance passed and have spoken about it with the town’s code enforcement officer and town manager, along with Rep. Amanda Collamore (R-Pittsfield), all of whom, they say, have been extremely helpful and supportive.

“Our town has been super awesome and receptive,” said Karen.

They explained that, according to the town manager, the town could pass a local food ordinance at a special town meeting if the Harringtons are able to collect signatures from 149 registered Clinton voters, five percent of the votes cast in the town in the most recent gubernatorial election.

On Wednesday, just one day after the inspector shut them down, they submitted a draft of their proposed local food sovereignty ordinance, based on similar ordinances from surrounding towns.

“We, the People of the Town have the right to produce, process, sell, purchase, and consume local foods thus promoting self-reliance, the preservation of family farms, and local food traditions. We recognize that family farms; sustainable agricultural practices; and food processing by individuals, families, and non-corporate entities offer stability to our rural way of life by enhancing the economic, environmental, and social wealth of our community,” says the proposal.

“We have faith in our citizens’ ability to educate themselves and make informed decisions. We hold that certain federal and state regulations unnecessarily impede local food production and constitute a usurpation of our citizens’ right to foods of their choice,” it added.

Under the proposal, everyone in the town would be allowed to buy and sell locally produced foods. The ordinance would not apply to meat and poultry, which would still need to be produced to state safety standards.

On Saturday, the Harringtons are planning to host a “petition-signing party” at their farm stand, where they will give out free sourdough and other baked goods, and invite registered Clinton voters to sign their petition.

“If you’re a registered voter in Clinton and you want to sign, come on down. If you’re not a registered voter, but want to sign, go down to the town hall to get registered to vote. If you’re not a Clinton resident, but you know someone who is, let them know. If you’re not a Clinton resident, but you want to try to score a free loaf of sourdough bread and shoot the breeze over some coffee, come on down,” said the Harringtons on Facebook.

“The free goodies are for everyone (while supplies last). There is no expectation for you to sign the petition in order to get freed goodies,” they added.

The couple told The Maine Wire that every Saturday until the ordinance is passed, they will host a bake sale, with all proceeds going to a different nonprofit. Fundraising bake sales for nonprofits are not subject to the same state regulations as their private farm stand.

“We’re going to do a bake sale, and every week we’re going to donate all of the sales, not even just the profits—every cent—to a different organization,” said Karen.

The first organization they plan to support is PAL Sports, the organization through which their son plays baseball.