Making school meals in Maine healthier using locally harvested fish and vegetables is the goal of a U.S. Department of Agriculture effort to transform school food systems. The federal government is awarding more than seven million dollars to Full Plates Full Potential as part of that effort.
The nonprofit's executive director Justin Strasburger says changing menus can encourage student buy-in.
"These are also opportunities to build habits in kids when they're younger to make things like fish, something that's accessible and not foreign. So there's a lot of work to involve students in taste-testing and the roll out of things," Strasburger said.
Strasburger says each project will include multiple partners, including school systems, farms, processors, and distributors that will collaborate on strategies to make each project a success.
School systems will be also be trained on how to do more cooking from scratch and producers will be get more money for their goods.
The seven projects selected by Full Plates Full Potential to develop:
Auburn Public Schools
School-Based Food Hub
Five Pillars Butchery
Halal Meal Production Lab
Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association
Fisherman Feeding K-12 Mainers
Maine Food Strategy/Maine Food Convergence
Local Food Switchboard
Peak Season
Streamlining Access to Maine Grown K-12 Products
RSU 54/MSAD 54
Somerset County Farm to School Initiative
The Good Crust
Good Grains on the Go