Get Creative with a Daybreak Box

Who said eating locally in Maine this time of year is a recipe for the doldrums? With Daybreak Growers Alliance, we help connect you to an amazing variety of local and organic foods year round, and the winter is no exception! Sure, you’re going to have to get creative with root vegetables and potatoes, but with over 270 local items listed just this week, there is no shortage of amazing foods to inspire your next meal.

Wild Fruitings Mushrooms

Have you tried Wild Fruitings mushrooms from Augusta? We offer a variety of their fabulous fungi including oyster, lion’s mane, shiitake, and a variety pack (dealer’s choice - you can’t go wrong)!

Sean and Cat of Wild Fruitings carefully grow and forage many kinds of mushrooms, and we are fortunate to have been able to consistently offer them to our customers this winter.

If you’re unsure of what to do with a unique variety, their website is a great resource. You also can’t go wrong with a hot pan, butter, and sea salt!

12oz Mushroom add-on subscriptions are available!

Lions Mane Mushroom Toast

Whether you’ve intentionally added lion’s mane mushroom to your Daybreak Box, or had one in your Farmers’ Choice, you probably thought something like, what on earth do I do with this strange looking thing? Afterall, they look like a cross between a sea creature and a shaggy terrier! We like the ideas and tips in this Running to the Kitchen Blog and enjoy sauteing lion’s mane and serving on a slice of toasted Vesper sourdough.

Ingredients

• 8 oz lion’s mane mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 2 Tbsp butter (Crooked Face or Bissons)
• 2 Tbsp tamari
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• pinch of Maine sea salt
• freshly chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Place butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Once hot, add the sliced mushrooms and cook until browned on both sides. Don't touch the mushrooms as they cook to let them deeply caramelize on each side.
3. Add the tamari and garlic to the pan and cook for an additional minute until the liquid is absorbed by the mushrooms, tossing them in the mixture.
4. Garnish with parsley and serve on a thick slice of toast.

Why Support Daybreak Year Round?

 As we slide into mud season here in Maine on the back of a late March snow storm our collective minds start dreaming about the warmth and abundance of the season to come with every returning song bird and every new blade of green grass poking out of the fields. While we’ve been fortunate to have skilled growers that have provided us with plenty of greenery to compliment winter storage crops through these winter months, a craving for newness is inevitable this time of year and our team works hard at Daybreak to continue to offer new and interesting items in our product mix each week and send along inspirational new recipes and cooking ideas. 

Supporting Maine’s agricultural community and eating locally is a year round commitment and we commend you for eating local through the winter with us and also wanted to take the opportunity to highlight what your year round support means for Daybreak and our farmers.

Supporting Daybreak year round:

• Gives us the ability to be a reliable year-round employer, providing living wages and meaningful work for our team.
• Helps us be a reliable year round buyer to our 70 plus Maine producers, helping even out their annual cash flow and improving their bottom lines.
• Supports collaborative vs competitive relationships between our farmers through Daybreak’s preseason crop planning and setting of equitable purchase prices to our growers. 
• Ensures we can keep our doors open to be able to provide you with the incredible abundance of local products in your Daybreak farmbox the rest of the year. (i.e. eating your winter carrots and potatoes ensures your access to summer strawberries and tomatoes!)
• Allows us to continue our Food Access work year round, getting Daybreak’s food into local soup kitchens and food pantries.

Thank you for the meaningful work you are doing to support Maine’s agricultural community by eating with us year round! 

Alna Store Daybreak Site

The Alna Store in the small, Midcoast town of Alna is a truly special place to pick up your Daybreak Box. Prior to the current owners taking the reins and adding their own culinary flare, the Alna Store was a community hub offering up breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the mostly locals, as it’s off the main drag location made it easy to miss if you didn’t know it was there. But things have changed over the last few years, and with a James Beard nomination for “best new restaurant in the country”, the Alna Store is now on everyone’s radar. Their seasonally-changing menu features food from many of the same producers that fill your Daybreak Box!

Orders must be picked up during the published pick up times.

Don't see a pickup location that works for you? Start a new one!

Contact us if your community is interested in setting up a delivery location. If you are in Central or Southern Maine and near our current delivery route we’ll happily consider it! Learn more.

Eating locally in Maine this time of year means embracing potatoes and carrots, but also trying out some of the pantry and freezer staples that keep your Daybreak box contents interesting and different every week. Here are a couple of tips to make your Daybreak Box ideal for you!

SET YOUR PREFERENCES

In your account select “Item Preferences”, use the slider to rate items we offer in boxes throughout the year, an algorithm builds your box according to your preferences and item availability.

DON'T FORGET TO CUSTOMIZE

Every Daybreak Box can be customized to your liking! Tuesday evening through Thursday at noon of the week prior to delivery you can log in and swap and add items in your box.

Job Opening

Interested in being part of our awesome team? Learn more about this opportunity and reach out with any questions! If you're passionate about being part of a resilient local food system and want to help get more Maine products into your community, we'd love to hear from you!

Food Access

Local food should be accessible to all, and one simple way you can be part of this mission is by opting to donate your farmbox when you put your subscription on hold. The contents of your box, all the Maine-grown and produced items you love, will be donated to a neighbor in need through our partnership with Waldo County Bounty.

We're always here to answer any questions you may have or to assist with online account navigation and subscription adjustments.

Maine Grown Local & Organic Foods Delivered Year Round

www.DaybreakGrowersAlliance.com