MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • October 15, 2023
In the summer of 2020, Harvesting Good, a fledgling, wholly owned subsidiary of Good Shepherd, had a multimillion-dollar plan to fortify Maine’s agricultural economy. It would help farmers grow more food and establish a midsize processing facility – the only one in New England – to handle their harvests. All profits from the public benefit corporation would support 600 local food pantries served by the nonprofit food bank. Harvesting Good is an extension of the Mainers Feeding Mainers program, which contracts with 95 Maine farms to provide 2 million pounds of fresh produce to food pantries. Harvesting Good’s goal is to break even within five years and eventually generate $20 million to $25 million in sales annually.