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Law improving Maine's 'right to food' takes effect

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  Published in Food and Wine on Thursday, September 25th 2025 at 9:42 GMT by WGME
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Maine’s “Right to Food” Law Goes Into Effect, Paving the Way for Community Gardens on Public Land

June 30, 2024 – In a historic move that could reshape the way Mainer’s access fresh produce, the state’s newest food‑security legislation has officially entered force. The “Maine Right to Food Act” (Section 10‑8A, RSA) declares a constitutional right to nutritious food for all residents and authorizes municipalities to develop community vegetable gardens on public property. The law, which was signed into law by Governor Janet Mills in late 2023, takes effect today and is the result of a decade‑long advocacy effort by food‑justice activists, local farmers, and public‑health experts.

Why a New Law Was Needed

Maine has long struggled with uneven food access. According to the latest USDA food‑insecurity data, 1 in 5 Maine households—roughly 85,000 people—were food‑insecure at some point during 2022. Rural areas, in particular, are disproportionately affected, with long distances to grocery stores, limited public transportation, and higher rates of unemployment. The COVID‑19 pandemic only magnified these gaps, forcing many low‑income families to rely on emergency food assistance programs.

“Until now, the state had no legal framework to require local governments to address these gaps directly,” said Rep. Maya O’Brien, the law’s principal sponsor in the Maine House. “This legislation gives us a tool to intervene on a community level, especially in places where commercial food outlets simply don’t exist.”

Key Provisions of the Right to Food Act

1. Right to Food as a Constitutional Guarantee
   Section 10‑8A declares that every person in Maine has a constitutional right to access safe, healthy, and culturally appropriate food. While the state can still regulate food safety, it cannot deny basic access.

2. Community Garden Mandate
   Municipalities are required to identify and designate at least one parcel of public land for a community garden, subject to zoning and environmental rules. The law encourages collaboration with local nonprofits, schools, and faith‑based groups to run these gardens.

3. Public‑Property Harvesting Rights
   Residents may harvest edible plants from designated public spaces (e.g., state forests, municipal parks) under a written agreement. This removes the “no gathering” rule that had previously deterred people from foraging for berries or mushrooms.

4. Food Rescue and Redistribution
   The law authorizes municipalities to create food‑rescue programs that collect surplus produce from farms, markets, and grocery stores and redistribute it to food‑bank partners and community gardens.

5. Funding and Oversight
   The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will issue guidelines on how local governments can secure federal and private grants to fund garden construction and maintenance. Municipalities must submit an annual report on the use of public space for food‑security purposes.

How It Will Play Out on the Ground

The state has already rolled out a pilot program in five counties: Penobscot, Hancock, Oxford, Waldo, and Knox. Each pilot site has partnered with local non‑profits to build a “seed‑bank” and a small, community‑managed garden.

• Penobscot County: The city of Bangor is converting an unused municipal parking lot into a 1‑acre community garden. The project is led by the Bangor Food Collective and will provide fresh produce to the local food bank.

• Hancock County: A partnership between the town of Ellsworth and the Ellsworth Community Food Bank will transform a vacant municipal strip into a “mobile garden” that can be relocated to high‑need neighborhoods.

• Knox County: The town of Thomaston has partnered with the local chapter of the Maine Food Bank to create a “rain garden” that captures stormwater and provides irrigation for the garden.

All pilots will be evaluated for impact on food‑insecurity metrics and are expected to produce up to 5,000 pounds of fresh produce annually by 2026.

Voices from the Front Lines

Karen L. Timmons, Director of the Maine Food Bank, said, “This law is a game‑changer. It’s not just about growing tomatoes; it’s about reclaiming our right to food. With community gardens, we can reduce waste, provide nutrition, and bring neighbors together.”

Tommy Rodriguez, a local farmer in Wiscasset, highlighted the food‑rescue provision: “A lot of our surplus goes to the landfill or is sold at a steep discount to large distributors. The law encourages us to redirect that to people who need it right now, rather than letting it go to waste.”

Ms. Elaine Parker, a senior citizen living in rural Maine, shared her perspective: “In my town, the nearest grocery store is 45 miles away. Having a garden where I can grow some herbs and tomatoes has been a blessing for my family.”

Challenges and Next Steps

While the law’s intentions are clear, implementation is not without obstacles. Some municipalities fear liability issues if residents accidentally injure themselves while gardening. There are also concerns about the long‑term funding of garden maintenance, especially in small towns with limited tax bases.

To address these concerns, the DHHS has launched a “Right to Food Implementation Toolkit” that includes best‑practice guidelines for liability waivers, grant writing, and partnership models. The state will also hold quarterly webinars for local officials to share progress and troubleshoot challenges.

The Bigger Picture

The Maine Right to Food Act is part of a broader national movement to enshrine food as a human right. In 2022, a similar bill was signed into law in Oregon, and a number of states are considering comparable measures. For Maine, the immediate focus is on turning public spaces into edible, community‑owned resources.

“Food is not a commodity that should be left to market forces alone,” said Governor Mills in her signing ceremony. “By legislating the right to food, we are taking a decisive step toward ensuring that every Maine resident can thrive.”

As the law takes effect, residents across the state will watch to see how community gardens, public‑land harvesting, and food‑rescue initiatives translate into measurable reductions in food insecurity. Whether the new law will be a quick fix or the start of a sustained transformation remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the conversation about who gets to eat in Maine is now open for all to participate in.