2023 MAAF Ag Challenge Award Contest

2023 Maine on My Plate

Thank you to all who participated in our recent 2023 Ag Education Challenge. Maine On My Plate offered many opportunities to introduce our fair goers to the connections between the food we grow and the tasty meals that we produce using these foods.

Our contest judges, representing the Kennebec Valley Community College Culinary Arts program, Allagash Brewing Company and the Maine Dairy Promotion Board and the Maine Dairy and Nutrition Council, were honored to be asked to review and score the applications.

Cumberland Fair - Large Fair

Cumberland Fair received the award for “agricultural experience for ALL fairgoers at a fair operating for five concurrent days or more”. There were three major areas of their fair that focused on Maine On My Plate. The Maple Sugar House, the Farm Museum and the most extensive area of display could be found in the Exhibition Hall. Visitors to the Exhibition Hall were greeted with a large banner boldly displaying MAINE ON MY PLATE. Throughout the hall, visitors could find Maine cookbooks, State of Maine license plates, cooking demonstrations, student scavenger hunts, photographs of Maine foods and much much more. Many local businesses sponsored the hall activities, and two home school groups did cooking demonstrations in our kitchen using local products and recipes that highlighted Maine foods. Local orchards created colorful displays of fresh Maine produce.

The biggest challenge for this team was to measure how much education was occurring. “We know that our work was enjoyed by the fair visitors, as they stopped by frequently to offer positive comments and share their search for more Maine On My Plate logo signs “.

The Cumberland Fair team of Carolyn Small and Lynn Copp spearheaded the program, and their whole staff used the theme as an exciting way to breathe new life into their hall. Everyone involved enjoyed being a part of the planning and preparations.

Litchfield Fair - Children's Programs

Scoring highest for children’s programs was Litchfield Fair. Agricultural experiences designed for children and offered by a fair operating four concurrent days or less, Litchfield Fair looked at how they could encourage fairgoers to recognize the connection between agriculture and the foods produced in Maine.

Having spent time at an IAFE annual convention and observing many new ways to educate their fairgoers, the team at Litchfield set to work offering hands on opportunities for children, and their families, to teach themselves about Maine agriculture. Representatives from Wheeler’s Wee Farm, the 4-H building, the exhibition hall and the Pumpkin Contest worked tirelessly to offer their fairgoers a combination of diverse, colorful and fun activities.

Wheeler’s Wee Farm greets the fair folks as they pass through the ticket gate.. This program, made possible through the financial generosity of longtime dairy farmer Alice Wheeler, introduces children of all ages to a diverse sampling of Maine agriculture. Entering through an apple orchard, the path leads to a hen house, lobster boat, garden plot, milk cow and much more. Everyone finishes at the General Store, where their produce is exchanged for a healthy snack. Many of these snacks are donated by local companies/businesses.

Nearby, a model of the USDA’s My Plate guide to healthy eating. Divided into 5 sections of foods, children are encouraged to create a healthy meal plate.
Adults noticed brightly colored, decorated mailboxes as they walk around the fairgrounds.

Tucked inside were recipes from local fair families sharing information about how to connect the recipe and local agricultural products.

The Exhibition Hall was full of examples of many Maine foods - potatoes, beans, lobster, apples, blueberries, grains and much more.

The Giant Pumpkin contest educated folks on growing pumpkins and cooking with pumpkins. Seeds were distributed to families who were then encouraged to grow pumpkins for the 2024 fair competition.

Finally, the 4-H building explained the use and importance of many antique tools used in food preparation.

How delighted the planning team was to find positive notes tucked inside the mailboxes regarding their displays. Overall, “the planning, preparation and completion of this project has provided many new ideas for the upcoming year.”