FARMINGTON – Fresh eggs, cookies and meat are among locally grown or produced foods available in western Maine.

Area farmers and small bakeries are listed in a local foods and farm directory for Franklin County titled “Mabel’s Book.” Another directory has been created for Somerset County and one for Oxford County is planned, said Kathleen Beauregard of the Western Mountains Alliance.

The booklets were created originally in 2001-02, she said, and are updated annually. Information for this year’s edition is being collected. Any farmer who is not listed may contact the alliance at 778-3885 before March 20 or complete the survey found on the WMA’s Web site, www.westernmountainsalliance.org

Those already listed will be included, she said, but are asked to call and check in or provide any updated information about their farms, she said.

The project is part of the alliance’s “Eat Smart, Eat Local” plan to build a local farming economy in Western Maine.

In recent years, more farms have wanted to be listed and are actively pursuing marketing venues like this one, she said. Last year, the alliance screened farmers to find those interested in expanding their markets to include selling to local schools and restaurants, she said. There was interest but not as much success at making connections.

“There’s a growing interest and we’re trying to nudge farms to produce more and make it more accessible to contribute to their business sustainability,” Beauregard said.

Sources for fresh breads, cheeses, eggs, fruits and berries, meats, milk, vegetables and seedlings are listed. Local small bakeries, farm tours, pick-your-own, farmers’ markets and local food banks are included, she said.

Initially, directory founders saw the booklet as a way to promote good nutrition and help people feed themselves, she said, so they included the food banks.

Markets who sell locally grown or raised food are also included in the directory. Approximately 3,000 were printed last year, she said, and distributed to libraries, stores and markets and a couple are sent to each farmer to help get the word out into the community. The directory information is also available online at the alliance Web site.