UNITY — The Town of Unity has been selected as one of 26 communities from around the country to participate in a federal initiative called Local Foods, Local Places. The town will receive expert technical advice to help develop and highlight the local agricultural economy.

According to a White House news release: “The Local Foods, Local Places efforts are as varied as the communities themselves. For instance, Wheeling, West Virginia (pop. 28,000), is planning on revitalizing a historic and underused ceremonial vineyard into a productive public asset showcasing local products. Unity, Maine (pop. 1,800), will receive technical assistance to create a more connected, walkable community; better market the community’s agricultural character; and create a local food system for the town and surrounding region. In Itta Bena, Mississippi (pop. 2,000), Local Foods, Local Places technical assistance teams will work with neighborhood partners to create a permanent grocery store and lasting local food network, while Ajo, Arizona (pop. 3,700) will receive technical assistance to develop and implement an action plan promoting local foods and entrepreneurship in order to create an economically vibrant community.”

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, a member of the House Agriculture Appropriations Committee, said bringing federal resources to a small town like Unity can go a long way toward growing the local economy, according to a news release.

"Unity and the communities in that area understand how valuable agriculture is to their economy and how local farms can be a good source of food and income," Pingree said, in a news release. "They've done a lot of work to create a development plan that takes advantage of these resources, but with expert technical assistance they can really take these plans to the next level."

The federal designation means the community will get free technical assistance "to create a more connected, walkable community; better market the community's agricultural character; and create a local food system for the town and surrounding region," according to the Obama Administration. Read the White House press release here.

Local Foods, Local Places is a partnership of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), the Delta Regional Authority (DRA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The initiative draws on the Administration’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities, USDA’s Seven Strategies for Economic Development, and other place-based strategies to address regional challenges.

In its application, the Town of Unity wrote that "despite recent efforts the Town has made, this small community can only go so far without expert assistance. The ideas are there; the expertise to create the action plans to implement those ideas is not."

Read Unity’s application in the attached PDF.