Going the Extra Mile for Maine Students
Bangor, March 14, 2024 – March is National Nutrition Month, and Maine has much to celebrate, particularly when it comes to food access for kids. Maine was one of the first states to offer school meals to all students at no charge thanks to a policy that took effect last year. At the same time, Maine schools have significantly increased in the amount of locally grown food served to students. There has been national recognition as well: Regional School Unit 89 in Penobscot County was one of just four school districts in the country to win a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “Innovation in Preparation of School Meals” award earlier this month. USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Stacy Dean met with local food access leaders in Brunswick last week to celebrate these milestones, joined by USDA Rural Development Maine State Director Rhiannon Hampson.
Maine nonprofit Full Plates Full Potential hosted the March 5th meeting at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. Officials from the State of Maine, area school administrators, and representatives of stakeholder groups and nonprofit organizations participated. Former USDA FNS Undersecretary Kevin Concannon, a member of the FPFP Board of Directors, also attended the meeting. Deputy Under Secretary Dean lauded Maine’s 2021 School Meals for All legislation, an initiative championed by Full Plates Full Potential. Maine schools implemented the new policy during the 2022-2023 school year. Results included increased participation in school meals and alleviated stress and expenses for Maine families.
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) funds, sources, and regulates school nutrition programs nationwide. Among other projects, the agency has focused on helping schools to use more local foods to prepare student meals. Doing so encourages children to get excited about more foods and helps local producers find new markets. Maine schools have nearly tripled their use of local foods compared to last year, purchasing from eighty-four Maine farms and distributors. “We are investing extensively in local food procurement and farm-to-school across mission areas at USDA, and that is important to us,” Deputy Under Secretary Dean noted during the meeting.
Thanks to Maine’s Healthy School Meals for All initiative, more students have been participating in school meals. Several school administrators at the meeting mentioned the need to improve their kitchen and dining facilities to meet the increased demand. Director Hampson offered the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program as one possible funding source to help. “Maine USDA Rural Development has worked with several food pantries to make commercial kitchen facilities improvements,” said Director Hampson. “We can also fund projects for schools. As a former school nutrition director myself, I understand how critical it is to have the space and equipment to prepare good meals for kids. Food is foundational to educational success, and USDA Rural Development can help schools expand their capacity. With twenty-nine agencies in the USDA, we often have opportunities to strategically support other mission areas and truly live up to our name as ‘The People’s Department’.”
Offering students free meals and using more local foods means more cooking for school staff. Those gathered at the meeting in Brunswick were excited to hear more about the USDA “Innovation in Preparation of School Meals” award announced for RSU 89 last week. The award recognizes the Stacyville school unit’s work to incorporate more “scratch cooking” into the weekly menu, to engage students in menu choices, and to use more local produce (work made possible with a USDA Healthy Meals Incentive Initiative grant the previous year). Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the award last week, saying, “For many children, school meals are the healthiest, most nutritious meals in their day-to-day lives. At USDA, we are proud to recognize the schools that are going the extra mile in providing nutritious meals for students and helping them reach their fullest potential.”
Last week was also National School Breakfast Week, and Jane McLucas, Director of Child Nutrition for the Maine Department of Education reflected on the Brunswick meeting in that context. “Starting with breakfast in Kittery, and ending with a roundtable in Brunswick, the day highlighted the great work that Child Nutrition professionals are doing in our schools, the great partnerships we have and the support of the legislature in supporting our youngest citizens,” she said. “Maine students are able to access healthy meals that assist them in learning to their highest potential, and we are excited to see where it can take them in the future.”
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Background:
- USDA Rural Development’s Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. For more information about the program, please contact Bob Nadeau, Community Programs Director, USDA Rural Development, at 207-990-9124 or robert.nadeau@usda.gov. Information is also online at https://tinyurl.com/yc7d6nbw.
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Wholesale Markets and Facility Design team provides free technical assistance stakeholders regarding the construction or remodeling of structures related to the national food distribution network. Their services may include site evaluation, space planning, creation of floorplans and elevations, construction cost studies, etc. Schools developing food preparation, storage, and service areas may be eligible. Learn more and find contact information online at ams.usda.gov/services/local-regional/facility-design
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) works to increase food security and reduce hunger in partnership with cooperating organizations by providing children and low-income people access to food, a healthy diet and nutrition education while supporting American agriculture. FNS programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and programming to support school nutrition. FNS works with state and local entities (such as the Maine Department of Education and Full Plates Full Potential) to implement these programs. For an overview see the FNS website at: www.fns.usda.gov/
- Full Plates Full Potential is a Maine nonprofit focused solely on child nutrition programs including school meals and summer meals. They work with partner organizations throughout the state who are committed to anti-hunger efforts. The organization is currently partnering with the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to offer School Food System Innovation Grants of $100K-$1.5M. The grants will be awarded for innovative and collaborative pilot projects that reimagine what the local school food system could look like and have the potential to be sustained and/or scaled. Applications will be accepted through May 1, 2024. Learn more about the grant program online at www.maineschoolmealgrants.org/