Author: Legal Services Food Hub

Background: Kelly and her husband, Anil, founded Pumpkin Vine Family Farm in Somerville, ME in 2008, keeping six-generation farmland in production and building a beloved resource for their community. The farm produces milk and cheese from its purebred goats and cows, as well as pastured pork, hay, garlic, and daffodils, and hopes to begin an apprenticeship program to help educate a new generation of farmers. The family also hosts three weeks of farm camp each summer, inviting children ages 4–10 to come and learn about plants and animals while helping with farm chores and other related activities.

Legal Need 1: Kelly and Anil are planning to hire employees and contacted the Legal Food Hub for help in reviewing their personnel policy and employment application and to ensure that they are in compliance with other employment-related requirements.

The Relationship: The Legal Food Hub connected Kelly and Anil with Rudman Winchell’s Anne-Marie Storey, who specializes in employment and human resources law. With her extensive experience in small businesses’ hiring and labor issues, Pumpkin Vine Family Farm now ready to hire their first employee.

Legal Need 2: Kelly’s husband, Anil, was the sole proprietor of Pumpkin Vine Family Farm, and the two sought legal assistance in forming an LLC together. They also needed legal review of the camp registration form and medical treatment authorization forms to ensure that they and their campers were fully protected.

The Relationship: The Legal Food Hub connected Kelly and Anil with Beth Boepple at BCM Environmental Land Law, who assisted them with forming an LLC and ensured that their forms were comprehensive and protective.

About: Myranda has been experimenting with and making her own almond milk for over 15 years, constantly tweaking her recipes and testing them on willing friends. Now, Myranda is slated to begin producing her sprouted almond milks at Fork Food Lab in Portland, ME, with the goal of providing the state of Maine with the highest-quality almond milk. In addition to her organic almonds, she will use locally-grown strawberries and blueberries in her flavored almond milks and plans to later produce milk from local grains, as well.

Legal Need: Myranda contacted the Legal Food Hub for assistance with forming a single member LLC and trademarking her business name, The Whole Almond.

The Relationship: Legal Food Hub connected Myranda with Andrew Kraus at Opticliff Law. Andrew specializes in trademark law and startup business strategy, and with his help, Myranda is off on strong legal footing.

Background: In 2008, with no suitable traditional farmland available and inspired by WWII victory gardens, Kate Canney started farming in eleven private backyards in Needham, MA. She later leased five acres, which allowed her to greatly expand production, and The Neighborhood Farm now sells its produce at farmers’ markets, through a CSA, and to restaurants in the greater Boston area. With the farm’s increasing success, Boston.com highlighted the farm’s early years, and FarmAid named Kate a Farmer Hero in 2013. Now, after several seasons of searching, Kate is moving her entire operation to a single location and plans to expand her production while remaining deeply embedded in her local community.

Legal Need: Kate sought legal assistance through the Legal Food Hub to review the lease with Mainstone Farm in Wayland, where The Neighborhood Farm will be relocating. She also sought advice about and assistance with transitioning the business from a general partnership to an LLC with her wife, Jude.

The Relationship: Legal Food Hub matched Kate with Archstone Law Group’s Lori Yarvis, who is deeply experienced in providing general counsel services to startup businesses and food industry companies. With Lori’s help, the new iteration of The Neighborhood Farm is off to a great start with a written lease and business entity.

Background: Irene Beauregard and her business partner, Kathan Teepe, have been planning to start a farm for the past two years.  They plan to farm using organic practices, growing vegetables and flowers.  They are still in the beginning stages of starting their own farm business, and while they had spent time on important steps such as developing their business plan and actively seeking out farmland for lease, they had yet to make one of the most important decisions of all: creating a business entity and formalizing their own partnership agreement.

Legal Need: Irene and Kathan were in need of legal assistance to 1) create a partnership agreement between the two of them, and 2) advise them on what type of business structure they should choose, and then help with formation of that entity.

The Relationship: Legal Food Hub matched Irene and Kathan with Everett Petronio at Kalander & Shaw.  Everett brought a wealth of knowledge through his work helping small and start-up businesses, and given his extensive experience mentoring entrepreneurs, he was a perfect fit to help these young farmers start their business.  He guided Irene and Kathan through the incorporation process, making Sweet Pea Farm, LLC, a reality.

Background: Stuart White began raising pigs in 1974 at White’s Farm in Winterport, Maine. At a time when most people didn’t give much thought to where their food came from, Stuart’s pigs were eating a grain-free diet of roots, native plants and other forage and were raised without antibiotics or growth hormones.  As interest in healthier, local food grew, Stuart began raising pigs for his friends and an ever-expanding community of health conscious eaters.  At present, 300 pigs roam freely on 90 acres of farmland where they continue to eat a natural and additive free diet.  Stuart sells whole and half pigs as well as additional value-added products such as sausages directly to consumers.

Legal Issue:  Stuart and his partner Yasmin Kun contacted the Hub to seek assistance in forming an LLC for White’s Farm.

The Relationship:  The Legal Food Hub matched Stuart and Yasmin with attorney Paige Streeter at Libby O’Brien Kingsley & Campion.  White’s Farm is now an LLC and customers who appreciate the tremendous work and commitment that Stuart puts into raising pigs can continue to enjoy the products they love.

Background:  Michael Hayden has been farming in coastal Maine for almost five years.  Michael raises vegetables, including carrots, onions and garlic at Folklore Farm in Cherryfield, Maine. The bulk of what Michael grows goes to local schools and provides fresh, nutritious local produce to school lunch programs.  In addition, Michael has contracts with the Maine Sea Coast Mission to grow food for its “backpack program”, allowing children from food-insecure families to bring fresh produce home.  Michael’s commitment to this effort has been detailed in The Portland Press Herald.

Legal Need:  Michael currently has a “loose lease” with his landlord.  They have decided to move forward with a formal lease-to-own arrangement.  Michael contacted the Hub seeking assistance in drafting the appropriate legal documents.

The Relationship:  Legal Food Hub matched Michael with Peg Smith at Pierce Atwood.  They are currently working toward helping him achieve his dream of owning his own farm.

Background:  Saintly Cider is a hard cider company owned and operated by Caleb Noble in Rowley, Massachusetts. Caleb fell in love with hard cider while attending college in Vermont and after graduation he began brewing his own. Two years and 47 batches later, Caleb perfected his champagne-style hard cider recipe and founded Saintly Cider to bring this delicious drink to the masses.

Legal Need:  Caleb contacted the Legal Food Hub for legal assistance with two contracts. First, Caleb needed an attorney to review and negotiate a contract with a nearby brewery, which would allow Saintly Cider to use the brewery’s equipment and manpower to produce its cider. Second, Caleb needed an attorney to review and negotiate a contract with a distributor.

Relationship:  The Legal Food Hub matched Caleb with an attorney at WilmerHale and they are currently working together to make sure Saintly Cider’s first large-batch production goes off without a hitch.

Background:  Delice is a French bakery known for madeleines as well as pastries, cookies, and special occasion cakes. Blondine Jean Charles is the sole owner of Delice and operates her business out of CommonWealth Kitchen, a community kitchen in Dorchester. Blondine’s baked goods are so delicious that they are sold at local Whole Foods Markets.

Legal Need:  Blondine planned to expand her specialty baking business by leasing her own space where she could bake and sell her goods directly to customers.  Blondine contacted the Legal Food Hub for advice on entity formation and, specifically, whether she should establish an LLC prior to entering into a commercial lease.

Relationship:  The Legal Food Hub matched Blondine with the Harvard Law School Transactional Law Clinic, which assisted her with forming an LLC and advised her on entering into a commercial lease agreement.

Background:  Round The Bend Farm is a nonprofit, working farm in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, devoted to a collective vision of “a community of growers, educators and ‘agripreneurs’, who support themselves through food and farming businesses and nurture the public with real food and place-based education.” Geoff Kinder is a co-founder and farmer at Round The Bend Farm; he also sustainably raises heritage breed pigs, cows, and sheep on the farm’s property. Through his active management of grazing, the animals help to maintain optimum soil conditions by rooting the soil and consuming invasive species, thereby contributing to the well-being of the farm and neighboring lands. Geoff sells his pasture-raised, GMO-free pork and grass-fed beef and lamb directly to consumers through an increasingly popular Community Supported Agriculture program.

Legal Need:  Geoff contacted the Legal Food Hub for assistance in forming an LLC separate from Round The Bend Farm.

Relationship: The Legal Food Hub was able to match Geoff with an attorney at Beveridge and Diamond to assist him with equity formation for his farm business.

Background: A group of five friends cooperatively run the Streamside Farm located in Brooks, Maine, where the young farmers grow fresh, pesticide-free produce on about one acre of leased farmland. The produce has been growing in leaps and bounds – the energetic crew plans to double their acreage for the next growing season.

Legal Need: The farmers decided to form an LLC for their farm operation. They came to the Legal Food Hub for assistance with drafting the certificate of formation and operating agreement.

The Relationship: The Legal Food Hub matched Streamside Farm with attorney William Logan from Soule, Soule & Logan. Bill has provided critical expertise to help Streamside Farm become an LLC.

Background: Tucked away in the picturesque seaside town of Belfast, Maine, is a small business with a big idea. While teaching high school physics and chemistry, Jeff Wolowitz noticed a high demand for locally grown tofu. Struck by this need, he launched a journey to produce certified organic tofu and soymilk from New England-grown soybeans. Thus was born Heiwa Tofu. Jeff and his family are committed to eating local, organic, seasonal food, so when it came to his products at Heiwa Tofu, he encouraged the same values. All ingredients are organic and sustainably grown. With a small staff of two part-timers, this modest but growing operation sells mostly to restaurants and retailers.

Legal Need: Heiwa Tofu outgrew its processing facility, so Jeff needed a new space to expand his business. Jeff found a suitable facility and reached out to the Legal Food Hub for legal assistance with purchasing the property and setting up an LLC to hold the real estate. Jeff also needed advice regarding an environmental inspection.

The Relationship: The Legal Food Hub matched Heiwa Tofu with an attorney at Robinson, Kriger & McCallum. Jeff was thrilled to be connected with a skilled attorney to answer his questions and address Heiwa Tofu’s essential legal matters.  Jeff is “very grateful” for the pro bono legal services that helped nurture his small business at a critical juncture.

Background: Halcyon Farm is a small-scale, intensive annual vegetable farm on Cape Cod owned and operated by Lucas Dinwiddie. For the past six years, Lucas has cultivated organic produce for direct-to-consumer sale on only one acre of land located on a busy highway in a residential neighborhood.

Legal Need: A housing development abuts Halcyon Farm. The development association is very supportive of the farm and agreed to lease a 1/5-acre parcel so that Lucas could expand his production. Halcyon Farm reached out to the Legal Food Hub for legal assistance in drafting this lease.

Relationship: The Legal Food Hub matched Halcyon Farm with Richard Stang, an attorney in Westport. Throughout the lease process, Lucas was thrilled to work with an attorney who was “extremely personable and helpful with getting this rolling.” In Lucas’s words, the lease process was “a pretty seamless experience” and he “couldn’t be more pleased with our work thus far.”