Posts by Susan Brown

New England Food System Planners Partnership The IRSSC will be supporting The New England Food System Planners Partnership, which is comprised of about six statewide organizations. These include Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund/Vermont Farm to Plate, Maine Food Strategy, New Hampshire Food Alliance, Massachusetts Food System Collaborative, Connecticut Food System Alliance, and Rhode Island Food Policy…

The IRSSC and ReTreeUS are grateful for the support that the PepsiCo Corp is providing. This promotional opportunity is being offered only to Maine independent grocery stores. This year (2023) participating stores are donating $200 each. Independent retail supermarkets and the wholesalers that supply them play a vital role in the communities they serve, and…

  ©Independent Retailers Shared Services Cooperative Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels

Independent Retailer Shared Services Cooperative continued to work with various food businesses (often 7 days a week) to navigate many challenges with respect to food security. We measure our joint successes and collaborations by the number of jobs supported and employees impacted by our work, and increased incomes / decreased expenses / strategic long-term investments…

The Independent Retailers Shared Services Cooperative (IRSSC) created our BUY-LOCAL Loyalty Program to help lower costs for consumers while also ensuring farmers are paid fairly for their hard work. The IRSSC created this program in response to the worldwide challenges created by Covid and reduced crop production. © The Independent Retailers Shared Services Cooperative founded…

United Charitable has been awarded a 2021 USDA Farm to School Turnkey Grant through its fiscally sponsored program, ReTreeUS. This grant will enable ReTreeUS to support 10 schools throughout the state of Maine with ReTreeUS’ Back to School Garden program. This program solves major issues confronting school gardens, especially summer maintenance, while generating abundant harvests…

The IRSSC has been providing technical assistance to a group of farmers in Maine for over 32 months at no charge; the IRSSC has invested well over 475 hours into researching and mentoring our clients. Additionally we were successful in securing a large grant from a private donor to support the project. Our clients are…

The IGC of Maine have a new video on TV and YouTube. You can watch it here, too. The organization is pleased to announce that they have a new web site as well: https://igcofmaine.com . IRSSC congratulates them on their efforts to increase awareness of local garden centers and urging customers to support independent businesses.…

Promoting healthy gardening and landscaping practices to the consumers in Maine, while introducing the fall planting concept (especially for these difficult times following the Covid-19 pandemic). The Maine Landscape and Nursery Association (MELNA) will expand the market of horticulture specialty crops in Maine by increasing summer and fall sales by continuing to work with the…

In the midst of a global pandemic, the unsung heroes are grocery stores, suppliers, and foodbank workers too… They are on the front lines during the COVID-19 outbreak, making sure people have access to food and other products, sanitizing stores and warehouses around the clock. It’s hard work that should never go unnoticed! Employees at…