Rebar cited in BDN article on Caribou farm chosen to grow food for UMS campuses
The Bangor Daily News reported a major University of Maine System food service provider is partnering with Circle B Farms of Caribou to bring more locally grown food to campuses in Fort Kent, Presque Isle, Machias and Orono. Sodexo, the French food service giant that holds a $12 million per year contract with the system, has hired Circle B Farms as its northern Maine food aggregator, as part of an effort to source 20 percent of all UMS food locally by 2020, according to the article. The role of food aggregator was created earlier this spring as a way to address a number of challenges Sodexo faced in sourcing local food, including a requirement for $9 million in liability insurance, the article states. Premiums for that kind of insurance would be too costly for small farmers, while Circle B can meet the requirement with its year-round sales, according to John Rebar, executive director of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.