The Good Crust

The Good Crust offers frozen wholegrain dough products in the form of pre-baked Sicilian style crusts that make delicious pizzas and paninis; 2oz Ready-fill rounds that can be used with both savory and sweet fillings; and 1.5oz whole grain dinner rolls.

The Good Crust (TGC) is the Maine-based supplier of frozen wholegrain dough products made from 100% fresh stone-milled, sustainably grown Maine Grains. In addition to supporting Maine's local grain economy which includes farmers, millers and the land we live on, TGC is committed to workforce development for Mainers with unique needs by offering purposeful, paid training, customized employment opportunities, and an inclusive workplace culture tailored to every team member’s strengths. TGC is transforming school menus with its innovative and easy-to-use product line, and its in-kitchen grain education campaign to sample product to students and kitchen staff through our Student Taste Test program. As a result of this effort, we now work with over 130 schools/school districts in Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The Good Crust was founded in 2020, and specializes in the use of 100% fresh stone-milled grains grown in the Northeast. The Good Crust purchases 50,000 pounds of Maine Grains annually, and employs 21 people in rural Somerset County. In 2024, The Good Crust was awarded a $1.5 million grant from the USDA stewarded by Full Plates Full Potential as partners in a 4-year USDA School Food System Transformation project entitled “Good Grains on the Go.” This is a collaborative pilot project to use convenient hand-held breakfast and lunch foods made with Maine-grown ingredients to inspire processing innovations and supplier collaborations, and transform school nutrition menus back toward local procurement. Never before available to institutions, commercially available foodservice doughs using Maine-grown wheat are now being sold for dinner rolls, pre-stretched pizza and “ready-fill” shells, hamburger, sub roll, and pretzel doughs. The Good Crust is modeling value-added processing of local grains to serve as a scalable and replicable model for short-staffed school nutrition systems seeking healthier ready-to-bake options.