Chris and Karen Harrington have gathered more than two-thirds of the 149 signatures they need to help pass a food sovereignty ordinance in Clinton, after a state official showed up at their house and stopped them from selling baked goods and dairy at their farm stand.
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“One thing was clear today… food sovereignty brings people of all political parties together. And you can’t say that about a whole lot of topics in our divided world today. The camaraderie and conversations that were shared today truly warmed my heart,” said Karen Harrington in a Facebook post.
On Saturday, the Harringtons held an event at their homestead to gather signatures for a petition to put the ordinance before a special session of the Clinton Town Council. Chris told The Maine Wire that, as of Monday morning, under a week after the state first shut them down, they had already collected 108 of the 149 required signatures.
The Harringtons had been selling their homemade sourdough bread and dairy products at their farm stand for years when, last week, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (ACF) Inspection Program Manager Ben Metcalf arrived at their home.
He told the couple that they would need to stop selling baked goods and dairy unless they obtained prohibitive state licenses and complied with regulations.
Instead of folding under the weight of government regulations, the Harringtons immediately began taking action, circulating a petition to pass a food sovereignty ordinance in Clinton.
Under Maine law, local municipalities can establish ordinances that allow for the local sale of food products without being subject to the burdensome state-level regulations.
The petition will greatly expedite the process of passing the ordinance, which would need to wait until next year without a special council meeting.
The Harringtons’ petition-signing event on Saturday encouraged people to come, sign the petition, and take home free baked goods, including sourdough.
They also collected donations for PAL Sports, the local organization through which their son plays baseball.
While only Clinton residents registered to vote can sign the petition, numerous people from surrounding towns came to show their support.
“Many other people from surrounding towns showed up in solidarity. One family even drove from the Portland area to show their support! I felt bad that the only thing that was left for them to take by the time they got there were two dozen quail eggs,” said Karen.
Throughout the event, Karen was manning the petition to witness every signature to ensure that they were collected properly.
The couple is aiming to collect 200 signatures as insurance so they will still have enough even if some are deemed invalid.
The Harringtons told The Maine Wire that, according to town officials, theirs is the first-ever citizens’ petition effort in the town’s history.
The Harringtons plan to hold another event this coming Saturday, which falls on the nation’s 250th anniversary.
