Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Bill Eldridge of GWE Consulting, who has been hired by the Maine Farm Bureau’s marketing committee to conduct an inventory of where Maine’s organic milk comes from and where it goes, will be the guest speaker at the Aroostook County Farm Bureau’s upcoming annual meeting. He will discuss “The Resurgence of Farming in Maine in the 21st Century” Monday, Aug. 31 at Café Sorpreso in Presque Isle. Hors d’oeuvres and social hour will begin at 5:30 p.m. and a buffet dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. A short business meeting will follow.
The meeting is co-sponsored by Smith Farms, Crown Equipment, Norstate Federal Credit Union and Kofstad Financial Group.
“We have 450 members throughout Aroostook County,” said director Rommy Haines. “During our business meeting, we will elect new directors, so we encourage all our members to attend. Anybody who’s a farmer can be a member.”
Membership dues are $75 a year, which, according to Haines, provides “total democracy.”
The Aroostook County Farm Bureau is the largest county farm bureau in the state.
Haines said he wanted to have the annual meeting in downtown Presque Isle this year to showcase all the good work that the Downtown Revitalization Committee has done.
“A Farm Bureau also likes local food … we’re not big on government programming,” he said, “so by having it Café Sorpreso, we’re showcasing our local foods. It will be a nice night out for our members.”
Jan Lucas, co-owner of Café Sorpreso, says she uses local foods “all the time.”
“We have 12 different places that we buy from, but the SAD 1 School Farm is the big one,” she said. “There’s someone that we buy garlic from, someone that we buy mushrooms from, we buy from Jeffrey’s Garden, and we even buy the little pieces of broccoli that fall off from Friends Helping Friends in Fort Fairfield to use in our soups.”
Recognizing that they change the menu periodically, Lucas said the food is both seasonal and fresh.
“People don’t come and have the same food every week. We like to change things up a bit,” she said. “Everything we use – except the proteins – is grown locally, and we don’t freeze it. We make our own bread, soups and desserts. We don’t prepare anything that comes in a packet that you add to, and we don’t offer processed foods like hotdogs, for example. Our customers notice a difference in taste, and that’s why they keep coming back.”
Café Sorpreso is located at 415 Main St.
Haines said tickets for the annual meeting/dinner are $8, and members must RSVP by Friday by calling him at 227-5489, e-mailing aroostookfb@mfx.net or by contacting one of the other local directors.
“Last year’s event was a great success, so come early, visit with old friends, find out the latest on our new statewide marketing initiatives, and check out our latest membership services,” he said.
