Item Eligibility Criteria

See Eligibility Discussions for a discussion of this list.

VEGETABLES • HERBS • FRUIT • ANIMAL PRODUCTS • PROCESSED ITEMS •  PLANTS & SEEDS 

VEGETABLES

General: VEGETABLES must be grown by the member. Vegetables that are picked, but not grown, by the member are not eligible.

Vegetable crops may be:

• grown from purchased seedlings
• grown from home-grown seedlings
• grown from purchased seeds or plants
• grown from or home-grown seeds or plants

Seeds or seed stock for growing vegetables may be:

• produced in-state or out-of-state
• treated or untreated
• organic or conventional
• hybrid or open-pollinated.

Asian Greens

Asparagus

Beans, Green

Beans, Yellow

Beans, Dry

Beans, Shell

Beans, Soy

Beet Greens

Beets

Burdock Root

Cabbage

Carrots

Corn

Cut Flowers – wild gathered may not be from endangered or rare species.

Cut Flowers – cultivated.

Eggplant

Fennel

Fiddleheads – wild gathered

Garlic

Kale

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Melons

Mushrooms – cultivated

Mushrooms – wild gathered

Onions

Peas

Peppers

Potatoes

Pumpkins

Radishes

Salsify

Spinach

Summer Squash

Tomatoes

Winter Squash

Zucchini

HERBS

General: Fresh herbs must be grown by the member and may be sold loose, bunched or bagged.

Basil

Cilantro

Dill

Oregano

Parsley

Sage

Thyme

Other Herbs – Rosemary, savory, tarragon, …

FRUIT

General: FRUIT must be grown by the member. Fruit that is picked, but not grown, by the member is not eligible, except in the case of wild-gathered fruit.

• Plants that grew the fruit may have been purchased.
• Fruit may be picked with labor that was purchased or bartered.
• Fruit be grown organically or conventionally

1. Apples – wild gathered or cultivated.
2. Blackberries – wild gathered or cultivated.
3. Blueberries – highbush or lowbush, wild gathered or managed.
4. Cherries –
5. Cranberries – wild gathered or cultivated.
6. Grapes – Wild gathered or cultivated
7. Kiwis –
   
8. Peaches –
9. Pears –
10. Plums –
11. Raspberries – wild gathered or cultivated.
12. Rhubarb –
13. Strawberries – wild gathered or cultivated.

ANIMAL PRODUCTS

General: ANIMAL PRODUCTS are divided into two categories, DESTRUCTIVE, which destroys the animal to obtain the product, and NON-DESTRUCTIVE, which does not.

DESTRUCTIVE

1. Beef and Veal
   1. Animals must be owned and managed by the member.
2. Chicken
   1. Animals must be owned and managed by the member.
3. Fish – Shell and Fin
   1. {Suggestion:} Fish may be purchased directly from the person who caught or dug it.
   2. {Suggestion:} Member may catch/dig the fish themselves.
   3. {Suggestion:} Marine farmed fin fish are not allowed.
   4. {Suggestion:} Marine farmed shell fish are allowed.
   5. {Suggestion:} Fresh water farmed fish are allowed.
4. Goat
   1. Animals must be owned and managed by the member.
5. Lamb and Mutton
   1. Animals must be owned and managed by the member.
6. Pelts, sheepskins
   1. Animals must be owned and managed by the member.
7. Pork –
   1. {Hanne:} Animals must be owned and managed for at least 5 months prior to slaughter.
8. Rabbit –
   1. Animals must be owned and managed by the member.
9. Turkey
   1. Animals must be owned and managed by the member.
10. Vension
    1. Animals must be owned and managed by the member.

NON-DESTRUCTIVE

1. Eggs – Chicken, duck, quail, duck
   1. {Suggestion:} The birds that laid the eggs must be owned by the member.
2. Honey
   1. Preferred: The bees that produced the honey are be owned by the member.
   2. Allowed: Bees may be placed off the member’s land, perhaps temporarily.
3. Milk – Cow, Goat, Sheep.
   1. Preferred: The animals that produced the milk are owned by the member.
   2. Allowed: The animals that produced the milk are only managed by the member.
4. Yarns, fleeces
   1. The animals should be managed by the member.
5. Knitted and woven products –
   1. The animals should be managed by the member.
   2. {Caitlin}The yarn should be produced in Maine.

PROCESSED ITEMS

General: Processed items seem to fall into two categories: those whose main ingredient(s) must be produced by the member [example: cider], and those whose main ingredients(s) do not have to produced by the member [example: bread]. We might then ask ourselves whether an item in question is more like bread, or more like cider.

The question becomes “Is the processing alone by the member enough to qualify the item?” For breads and soaps the answer seems to be yes, processing alone is enough. However, cider and teas seem to be examples where we do want the members to be using ingredients they produced themselves.

1. Baked Goods – Pies, breads, cakes, cookies, scones, muffins, etc.
   1. No ingredients need be produced by the member.
   2. No ingredients need be Maine produced.
   3. All items offered for sale must have been baked by the member.
   4. {Question:} “from scratch” vs. “packaged mixes”?
   5. {Caitlin:} Baked goods: definitely “from scratch”, no mixes. Fruit pies really ought to be Maine fruit whenever possible. Perhaps priority given to goods made from Maine grains??? (on future applications)
2. Cider –
   1. Cider must be produced from apples produced by the member.
   2. {Question:} Non-apple additions (pears, raspberries, cranberries) may/may not be purchased.
   3. Cider squeezing and bottling may be purchased.
3. Cheese – hard or soft, from any animal source.
   1. {Suggestion:} Ingredients need not be produced by the member.
   2. Processing of the cheese must have been done by the member.
4. Chicken Salad –
   1. Chicken must have been produced by the member.
   2. All other ingredients may be purchased.
5. Dried Flowers – singly or in bouquets
   1. All dried flowers sold singly must be grown by the member.
   2. {Suggestion:} All agricultural ingredients in bouquets must be grown or harvested by the member.
6. Dried Foods – Dried vegetables, fruits, meats and herbs
   1. {Suggestion:} Ingredients need not be produce by member.
   2. {Suggestion:} Items may be dried outdoors, indoors or in a dehydrator.
   3. {Suggestion:} Items must be dried by the member.
   4. {Caitlin:} I think dried vegetables ought to be grown by the member. Herbs as well, if it’s a mix or a blend that is offered for sale. (As an ingredient in a further processed item, such as herb bread, cheese, or sausage, then purchased is OK.)
7. Jams, jellies, preserves
   1. {Suggestion:} Ingredients need not be produced by member.
8. Maple products
   1. {Suggestion:} The syrup/sugar must have been boiled down by the member.
   2. {Suggestion:} The sap may have been purchased.
   3. {Suggestion:} The maple trees need not be owned by the member.
9. Pickles, relishes, chutneys, beets, dilly beans
   1. {Suggestion:} Ingredients need not be produce by member.
10. Salves
    1. {Suggestion:} No ingredients need be produced by the member.
    2. {Suggestion:} No ingredients need be Maine produced.
    3. {Suggestion:} Item must have been processed by member by combining raw ingredients.
11. Smoked Items (meats, fish, cheeses)
    1. {Suggestion:} Items must be Maine grown, Maine produced or Maine caught.
    2. {Suggestion:} Items need not be produced by member.
12. Soaps
    1. No ingredients need be produced by the member.
    2. No ingredients need be Maine produced.
    3. All items offered for sale must have been produced by the member.
13. Teas
    1. {Suggestion:} Ingredients must have been produced by the member.

PLANTS & SEEDS

General: Like Processed Foods, the eligibility of plants and seeds offered for sale has something to do with the amount of labor the member put into it.

1. Hanging Baskets
   1. Plants may have been purchased at some point – need not have been propagated from seed or cuttings.
   2. Re-potting must have been done between purchase and sale.
2. Houseplants
   1. Plants may have been purchased at some point – need not have been propagated from seed or cuttings.
   2. Re-potting must have been done between purchase and sale.
3. Perennials
   1. Plants may have been purchased at some point – need not have been raised from seed.
   2. Re-potting must have been done between purchase and sale.
   3. Discussion: Pruning, how much value does it add?
4. Seedlings – annuals: flowers, herbs and vegetables
   1. Seedling must have been raised by the member.
   2. Seeds for them may have been purchased.
5. Seeds –
   1. Seeds must have been produced from plants grown by the member.
   2. The extraction of seeds from the plant must have been done by the member.