Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. X V I I I A U G U S T 1 9 , 2 0 2 4 20 G R E AT E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E F O C U S distributor Daybreak Growers Alliance and smaller donations from smaller farms. ere's also a tie-in with traditional foods. "Within each pickup and donation and the conver- sations we have, we try to tie almost every food back to either being a traditional food or supplementing with recipes for how to make this more of a traditional meal," says Amelia St. John, Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness's food sovereignty coordinator. Traditional foods include items such as elderberries, maple syrup, strawberries and brook trout. "Mi'kmaq Farms and Hatchery consistently give us hundreds and hundreds of pounds of brook trout, which has been a huge and popular traditional food that we give out every month," says St. John. "When I take brook trout to the two Passamaquoddy communities or the Penobscot com- munity, they can't get enough," he says. "ey love it. It's a real example of how important the work is and how important it is to provide consistent access to that small part of our culture." e Maliseet in Houlton — St. John's home com- munity — is also building up a community farm. "ey have a little farm stand," he says. "Every day they fill it up." Year-round production e hatchery expansion is needed in order to grow trout to a harvestable size year-round. "We typically run out after half a year," says Hill. e hatchery now has two 12,000-gallon tanks, seeded each January with eggs provided by an Enfield hatchery operated by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. e eggs take a year to grow to a harvestable size of at least 12 inches. e expansion will add four 15,000-gallon tanks, tripling capacity so that fish in the 12- to 14-inch range are available year-round. "Everything will be state-of-the-art," says Hill. Currently, the fish are cleaned manually. e new hatchery will mechanize and speed up the process. Fish waste is currently used as wet compost on the farm, which takes time to break down. e new hatch- ery will run wet waste through a dehydrator to produce dry fertilizer, which is expected to be easier to spread on the farm and to reduce odor. PNM Construction Inc. in Presque Isle is the contractor on the expansion, which will cost just over $5 million. Financing comes primarily through grant funding, mainly from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. e goal is to break ground by late summer or early fall and to be operational — with 60,000 eggs that are already undergoing incubation in the current facility — by early next spring. e expansion will accommodate additional employment, bringing seasonal workers on full-time and possibly adding one or two employees. St. John credits Mi'kmaq Farms for its contribu- tions to the larger Wabanaki Nation. "Just two weeks ago, they gave over 1,000 pounds of cucumbers, and 200, 300, 500 pounds of zucchini, sum- mer squash, cabbage and other things," he says. "I was already half full with what they were able to give us that morning. ey're producing and, whatever the commu- nities need, they're right there." L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t l s c h r e i b e r @ m a i n e b i z . b i z Forward Thinking • Innovative • Consistency You Can Count On D'arcy Main-Boyington Economic Development Director ecdev@brewermaine.gov 207-989-7500 W W W. B R E W E R M A I N E . G O V/ B I Z " The City of Brewer has helped us locate and secure the right resources to enable us to thrive and grow in Maine. Brewer is centrally located, making it a great home for Troy Industrial!" Bre MacLean General Manager of Troy Industrial Solutions » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness serves four federally recognized tribes in five communities: the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Aroostook Mi'kmaq Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township, the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point and the Penobscot Nation. Services are available to community members living on and off-reservation across the state of Maine. It's a real example of how important the work is and how important it is to provide consistent access to that small part of our culture. — Amelia St. John Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness

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