AUGUSTA – The Maine Community Foundation has kicked off a major effort to provide greater philanthropic support for local agriculture through a funding commitment of $1 million to support efforts by Maine Farmland Trust to preserve and support working farms in Maine.

In announcing the funding, MaineCF President Henry Schmelzer said, “Local agriculture is a vital part of life in Maine. Our sense of place, our economy and our well being can be tied to local food production.” Schmelzer said the foundation’s commitment to this work reflects its vision of “building sustainable and vibrant communities for all Maine people.”

John Piotti, executive director of Maine Farmland Trust, headquartered in Belfast, hailed the partnership. “Funds provided by MaineCF will enable the trust to expand its efforts to preserve working farms in Maine,” he said.

Piotti said preserving these farms is increasingly important as development pressures continue to threaten Maine’s rural landscape. In the last 10 years alone, 160,000 acres of Maine farmland were converted to residential and commercial use.

“This figure could be as high as 250,000 acres in the decade to come,” Piotti said, adding, “Working with farmers and communities, Maine Farmland Trust hopes to insure that 100,000 of those acres stay in farming.”

MaineCF will work with other funders to increase philanthropic support for agriculture in Maine. “Ultimately we hope to make more resources available to groups concerned with local food,” stated Schmelzer.

The new initiative was announced at a recent forum in Freeport where funders learned about issues effecting local agriculture in Maine. More than 40 individual, public and private philanthropists were represented at the meeting, which was co-sponsored by the Maine Philanthropy Center.

More information about MaineCF’s support of agriculture in Maine can be found at www.mainecf.org.