Chris and Karen Harrington have gathered the required signatures to put their proposed food sovereignty ordinance on the Clinton Select Board’s agenda for Tuesday after the state ordered them to stop selling dairy products and baked goods at their farm stand.
The Harringtons were required to submit 149 signatures from registered Clinton voters as part of their citizens’ initiative to implement food sovereignty policies in the town that would allow them and other farmers to sell locally produced food without being shut down by the state.
They submitted their signatures on Thursday; they were validated later that day, and their emergency ordinance request will now be considered at Tuesday’s public selectmen’s meeting.
“Such an ordinance allows farmers and food producers to sell directly to buyers without navigating the bureaucratic red tape and state/federal regulations. Clinton doesn’t currently have such an ordinance so ‘the man’ is free to earn his pay on our streets. I find the entire situation very interesting considering the sheer amount of food stands and farmer’s markets I’ve patronized in my life,” said Recently elected Clinton Selectman Ken Paul, posting about the agenda.
The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and will be open to the public. Selectman Paul urged any Clinton residents with opinions on the agenda items to attend the meeting and voice those opinions.
In late June, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Inspection Program Manager Ben Metcalf showed up at the Harringtons’ home and told them that they would need to stop selling their homemade sourdough and dairy products after someone reported their farm stand.
The couple immediately began their citizens’ initiative—the first in Clinton’s history—to end the state’s ability to regulate local food sales in their town.
Since beginning their initiative, the Harringtons have been hosting events at their farm every Saturday to gather signatures and hold bake sales for local charities, because bake sales are not subject to the same state regulations as normal sales.
Good luck Harringtons!