Local Foods to

Local Schools

Water and Land

boat and tractor

Geographic Preference

Geographic preference does not mean that a decision can be made to purchase locally. there are requirements that must be followed. Geographic preference is a method to evaluate bids/quotes it is not the sole indicator. Schools still must shop for the product based on their requirements and selection process. this does not mean you must take the lowest quote, but the quote that fits the scoring/evaluation method. price may be 50% of determining factor and local purchase may be 50% of the determining factor.

tomato

USDA FAQ about Farm to School

JOIN the Local Food for Local Schools list serve today!

Maine Lunch Harvest Week

September 2011

We are using as many fresh fruits & vegetables that we can get locally and from our supplier, we also have scheduled Maine Baked Potato Bar on Wednesday and Maine grown hamburger patties on Thursday to go with the Maine fruits & vegetables. Barbara (Pemtic School)

RSU 61
Maine Harvest Lunch
Wednesday, September 28
Students who participate in school lunch will be treated to local, fresh foods.
All White Meat Baked Chicken Tenders with Whole Grain Breading
Baked Potato Wedges (Green Thumb Farm, Fryeburg)
Sliced Cucumbers (Carlin Farm, Scarborough)
Crisp Orchard Apple (Pie Tree Orchard, Sweden)
Hood Milk
Student lunch-$2.35 (reduced $.40)

September 26– 29 is MAINE HARVEST WEEK!
PLEASE JOIN US AS WE CELEBRATE MAINE’S HARVEST

THANK YOU TO OUR FARMERS!

Mount Desert Elementary

Our lunch meal is served in a buffet format; please remember that the featured entrée is only an optional component of the meal. A complete and balanced meal can be easily created from the rest of the buffet

Mon         Bountiful Buffet
Featured Entrée – Hamburgers or Cheeseburgers on Whole Grain Buns using
            Maine Raised Beef from Archer Angus Farms or Veggie Burgers with
            Fresh Made Cole Slaw

Tues Bountiful Buffet
Featured Entrée – Our Own Harvest Vegetable Lasagna

Wed Bountiful Buffet
Featured Entrée – Homemade Stuffed Peppers with Fresh Humus and Garden, Fresh Tabouleh Salad

Thurs        Bountiful Buffet
Featured Entree – Our Own Leek Quiche using Farm Fresh Leeks and Mrs.
            Ferm’s Fresh Eggs, Home fries made with Maine Potatoes and Blueberry Crisp for dessert.

Our “Bountiful Buffet” consists of a variety of fruits, veggies, cheeses, salads, nuts, eggs, ham, tuna or turkey, dressings, whole grain and fresh breads and milk. Whenever possible we use locally grown and produced foods.

In Falmouth, we are handing out Sweetser's Orchard apples to all students as they enter the building in the morning. Doing this on Tuesday for elementary and middle school students with help from nurses and phys. ed. teachers; on Wednesday for high school students. We are also having our official harvest lunch on Thursday at all schools. PTO's at elementary and middle school are decorating the cafeterias with hay bales, pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks. 1st graders are husking 516 ears of corn.

Menu:
Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (beef from Archer Angus of Chesterville, ME)
Corn on the Cob (from Spears Farm in Nobleboro)
Fresh Garden Salad (ingredients from Falmouth High School Garden, Idleknot Farm in Falmouth, Little Ridge Farm in Lisbon Falls)
Apples (Sweetser's Orchard, Falmouth High School Orchard)
Whole Wheat Bread (Borealis Breads of Portland - they use Aroostook Wheat in the bread)

Martha Poliquin
Falmouth Schools Food Service Director

MAINE HARVEST LUNCH ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Elementary students in the Portland Public Schools will enjoy Maine-grown foods as part of school lunch during Maine Harvest Lunch week (September 19-23).

The Portland Public Schools has participated in Maine Harvest Lunch since 2008. In the past year, the district has increased the amount of local food incorporated into its school lunch menu with support from the Communities Putting Prevention to Work Obesity Grant. Grant funds have allowed the district to train staff and purchase the equipment necessary to procure and process local produce in season for consumption throughout the school year.

Many Portland schools are participating in Maine Harvest Lunch by growing food in their school gardens. Longfellow and Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) grew potatoes that will be served as part of Maine Harvest Lunch meals across the district. East End Community School is harvesting greens and other produce that will be included in the school’s fruit and vegetable bar.

MENU FEATURES BY DAY FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS:
MONDAY-
Hamburgers supplied by Maine Grind from animals raised in the Dover-Foxcroft area. This is a 100% local beef patty that supports farmers and food production in that area.
Blueberries today are from Wyman’s and are grown in Washington County. They are harvested over the summer, frozen and served for you today!

TUESDAY-
The Beefy Meat Sauce with pasta today is made from local tomatoes, zucchini, shredded carrots and garlic scapes. Scapes are the flower blossom of the garlic plant that we grind up into the sauce instead of using powdered garlic. The local vegetables help reduce the sodium content of the menu. The tossed salad has local greens from Snell Family Farm in York County and Jordan Family farm in Cape Elizabeth.

WEDNESDAY-
Today's menu features Baked Haddock from the icy cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. The haddock was purchased fresh from Cozy Harbor,a local vendor. Many of you tried this last Friday and 70% of the students at East End liked it. It is oven baked with a cracker crumb topping. The red potatoes are diced and roasted. They are from Mars Hill Maine in Aroostock County. The apples are from Ricker Hill Orchards in Cumberland County. Our cucumbers today were purchased locally from the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (NASAP). A program through Cultivating Community and supported by the USDA and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/219765.html

THURSDAY-
Today we have Chili and Cheese made with different dry beans from Exeter, Maine along with garlic scapes, zucchini, tomatoes and peppers from local farms to reduce the sodium. Corn on the cob was shucked as class projects at Longfellow and East End schools earlier this week. It was grown at Belanger’s Farm in Lewiston Maine. The tossed salad has local greens from Snell Family Farm in York County and Jordan Family farm in Cape Elizabeth. The strawberries were harvested in July from Fair Winds Farm in Bowdoin, Maine. We washed and froze them for today’s lunch and smoothies in October.

FRIDAY-
Our local pizza is made on a whole grain crust from Amato’s Bakery in Westbrook. It has a pesto sauce made from fresh garlic, basil and sunflower seeds mixed with regular pizza sauce. We use sunflower seeds instead of walnuts due to allergy issues in the schools. The twice baked potatoes are from farms in the mid-coast of Maine and made in Belfast. The cherry tomatoes are from Jordan Farm in Cape Elizabeth.

At Camden Hills Reg HS: This is our 7th Harvest Week! Menu includes Lobster Macaroni and Cheese, Cajun Maine Shrimp w/ peppers and brown rice, Roast Chicken w/ apples & cream, served w/ fingerling potatoes.
At Camden-Rockport Middle School and Rockport Elementary: Menu includes Beef Chili, double-stuffed Maine potatoes and Corn Fritters. Aldermere Farms (beef) and Coastal Mountain Land Trust (blueberries) are visiting each school this week.

Thanks, Susan

RSU# 20 Harvest lunch happened September 21. All 13 school participated in the program. Attached is our menu. One 4th grade class participated in a poster contest. The winner received a $20 gift certificate to the Belfast farmers Market and to have their picture posted at the market. The Searsport District Middle/High school gave too thumbs up and wanted to know when the next harvest meal would take place.

Our hopes are to continue highlighting local produce on the menu. Our food director Perely Martin has done great job in increasing the fresh fruit and veggie selection in the salad bar.

Lincoln Academy

To celebrate Maine Harvest Lunch Week we will be serving as many choices from Maine and Maine farms as possible.

Monday----cheeseburger cooked outside on the grill( using Yellowfront
90% hamburg), salad(veggies from Maine), Maine macintosh apple.
milk(made in Maine).

Tuesday---BBQ chicken cooked outside on the grill( fresh chicken from
Yellowfront), corn on the cob(Clark's Farm), roll, fruit and Oakhurst
milk.

Wednesday---BBQ chicken sub with BBQ sauce slathered over the top(
roll made in Maine), homemade cole slaw, Maine macintosh apple,
Oakhurst milk.

Thursday---ham and cheese sandwich(bread made in Maine), fruit
cocktail, Maine macintosh apple and Oakhurst milk.

Friday----pizza(dough made in Maine), fresh Maine veggie sticks, fruit
and Oakhurst milk.

Thanks for your part in supporting Maine farms,

Big Dave

lincoln academy

Auburn District

kitchen

Scarborough District

serving line serving window

kitchen line

broccli

USDA Farm to school request for assistance

USDA Site visit info

What districts are doing:

Farm to School

Maine Harvest Lunch

have School Gardens?

tractor tractor tractor tractor tractor tractor tractor

tractor

MAINE HARVEST DAY

Do not forget the purpose of the event:
1. Establish contacts/relationships with Maine producers for future days.
This could be an ongoing partnership with Maine producers. It would provide a good source of food and an outlet for the Maine producer’s product.

2. Make students aware of Maine products on an on going bias
Some students think green beans come from a can. Actual knowledge that product is from a bush, tree or root may not be understood. They may not be aware what is actually produced in Maine. How the food is prepared or eaten is part of the education. Feed the student Maine products, educates the parent about Maine products.

3. Support your community/ local producers.
With all the talk about consolation and schools fearing losing local control, what better way to demonstrate local support and local control of the food service department? Buy locally

Do not forget about the fishing industry and all the products available.

REMEMBER
The cafeteria/ dining room is the biggest classroom in the school!!!

Many resources at the bottom of this page!

What Can I do?

This day can have several parts. It can be as simple or as large as the district desires. Many districts have included teachers, administrators, health coordinators, nurses and local producers. This should be a school event.

A list of some items:

classroom activities Ag in the classroom

students helping to prepare menu items

parent community volunteers included in activities

tractors on display

local farmers acknowledged, honored

field trips prior to day

student taste testing to develop the menu prior to the event

introduce new items for students to taste on the day of event.

garden displays

table tents with facts about Maine products/Farmers

Maine Salad Bar

What kind of Items Can I Use for Maine Harvest Lunch Day

Do not forget land and sea. Here is a partial list of items submitted to us.

Broccoli	Beef
Carrots	Chicken
Corn	Goat
Cucumber	Pork
Lettuce	Turkey
Mushrooms	Eggs
Peas	Cheese
Onions
Peppers	Seafood
Zucchini	Haddock
Potatoes	Sea Lettuce
Spinach	Dulce
Pumpkin	Sea Chips
Squash	Kelp
Tomatoes	Salmon (farm raised))
Apples
Pears	Bagels
Strawberries	Bread
Cranberries	Flour
Cherries
Raspberries	Herbs
Blueberries
	Milk
	Honey
	Maple Products

Why Promote Maine Products

Estimated importing food from out of state typically requires 17 times more petroleum compared to purchasing locally

Product is fresher

better taste

fresh products mean maximum nutrient value

supports local business and taxes

considered an important method to address childhood obesity

education about products

not usually processed therefore no added salt or sugars

where the product was grown is known

advertise local businesses

increases physical activities

Obstacles

Cost: Cost is sometimes an issue, but purchasers must look at the yield of a product. Also the farmer you purchased from is your neighbor who pays taxes and supports your school. The farmer may be able to provide other useful parts to the school.

Transportation: Getting the product to your kitchens has been a problem in the past. Farmers and distributors are aware of this and options have been put in place or being worked on.

What about the classroom and teaching staff?

Maine Agriculture in the Classroom has nice lesson called "Lunchtime Favorites" using a Venn Diagram that can be used for K - 12 with increasing complexity. It traces the source of foods to plant, animal or other (mineral, fungus, fermented products, yeast, etc.) That is available to teachers? Contact:

Willie Sawyer Grenier

Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Assn.
28 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333
(207) 287-5522, Fax 287-7548

maitca@maine.gov

Questions

When did it start?

The Maine Harvest Lunch was resurrected School 2005 as a statewide event. It was dropped in the late 90s when budget cuts eliminated 50% of the state office Child Nutrition staff.

Can a School buy locally and not from a major from a supplier?

YES support your community and feed students good quality products

Can a School use donations from local farmers or others?.

YES and say thank You for the support to the food service program

Where the farms are located?

People are surprised how many small farms are in Maine. Look around, go to farmers market contact dept of agriculture.

Does the farm need to be inspected?

NO Inspection is not required. the school must know where the product came from. Basically use common sense

Can I use the school garden even though it is unattended?

YES commercial fields are not guarded no matter what size. Absolutely use the fresh product from the school gardens

What if I get only 50% of the product I need?

Use what you can where you can.

Will the product is not useable state .

Maybe not small farmers may not have all the machinery needed to prep products. It may take some skill and labor.

The school does not have staff to complete the task.

Many schools recruited volunteers to assist. Get the community involved.

THE THREE

COST: Yes it may cost more. Keep in mind competitively shop when possible Look at yields and quality of fresh product what are you throwing out on product purchased from your supplier and what are you saving on local products. This year you can give geographic preference in your purchasing. Trade off acknowledge producer advertise for them.

DELIVERY: there have been several ideas on this issue. Bottom line; think out of the box, it is a community event. There is always the good old pick it up. Other options include district buses, district mail run, teachers that go between schools and volunteers

QUANTITY: Get what you can use what you have. You could do only one school at a time. Supplement local and other. Plan in advance and get the provider to agree ahead of time.

REMEMBER
THE CAFERTERIA IS THE BIGGEST CLASSROOM!!!!

THE LIFE OF SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE FOOD PRESENTLY

Purchased from distributor at a cost

Prepared by Food Service Staff

Severed by staff to customers

Consumed by customers

Tray waste into trash cans hauled to landfill at a cost

WHAT IF IT WAS

Products grown locally or from our shores

Purchase products locally at a cost. This puts dollars back into the community and shows community support.

Purchased remaining products from distributor at a cost. would;d be less to purchase.

Prepared by Food Service Staff. No change here.

Severed by Food Service staff to customers history tells us sales increase when purchasing locally therefore reducing the cost per meal.

publicize local purchasing. promote the fact buy locally where you know where the product came from.

Consumed by customers Expect an increase in sales.

Food tray waste into compost bucket for farmer or school garden. no cost here but a cost saving less hauled to landfill.

Other items in trash cans hauled to landfill at a cost Now reduced cost because er the weight of compost items has been used for composting.

Compost used in garden that will create more Maine products

OTHER THOUGHTS

Can the compost be a money maker?

What about selling seeds?

Can excess from the school garden go to a school farm stand?

Other Resources:

Resource Guide listing local farmers that will present to or host school groups.

National Farm to School Web Page

Maine Local Food for Local Schools List Serve

YES Maine School Food Service programs can buy local products. This is a great plan to support the local communities. Several Districts are already doing this. some have a garden. there is a lot of confusion on the buying local and using geographic preference. This is not allowed under the current regulations. The Harrison Institute Report does not agree with USDA Food and Nutrition Services interpretation of the regulation. The FNS letter is pretty clear.

Vermont Feed has recipes on their web page. The squash soup is very good.

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardner's Association (MOFGA)

Cheryl Wixson Organic Marketing Consultant of MOFGA, has agreed to work with schools in development of some ideas and recipes.

Farm to School Blog Some Farm to School can be found on this blog. It is not a !00% Farm to school at this time.

Gorham School Department's Maine Harvest Lunch group have posted all of our resources on Maine SFA web page so anyone can use our documents and just do a name change from "Gorham" to their own. more questions contact:

Ronald Adams, SNS
Director, Gorham School Nutrition
President, Maine School Food Service Association
207-222-1375
207-839-4092 fax

Western Mountains Alliance This site has PDF booklet of farm stands in Franklin and Somerset County, information on green house and other interesting information.

Harrison Institute report and USDA with Questions and answers.

This chart needs updating, if your district is not listed correctly please let me know, Walter Beesley

MAINE SCHOOL DISTRICTS PARTICAPTING IN
MAINE HARVST LUNCH
at some degree and sometime

District Name and/or general area	Harvest Lunch	Farm to School	School Gardens
Acton School Department
Airline CSD
Alexander School Department
AOS 93 - Clcss Bristol	YES	YES	YES
Appleton School Department
Arthur R. Gould Sch--Lcydc
Auburn School Department	YES
Augusta Public Schools	no	yes
Baileyville School Department
Bangor School Department	YES	YES
Bar Harbor School Department	YES
Beals School Department
Becket Family Of Services
Biddeford School Department
Blue Hill School Department
Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor CSD	YES	YES
Brewer School Department
Brooklin School Department	YES	YES	YES
Brooksville School Department
Brunswick School Department	YES
Calais School Department	YES
Cape Elizabeth School Department	YES
Castine School Department
Caswell School Department
Cathedral School
Charlotte School Department	YES
Chebeague Island School Department
Community School
Connections For Kids
Connor Consolidated School
Cutler School Department
Dedham School Department
Deer Isle-Stonington Csd
East Machias School Department	YES
East Millinocket School Department
East Range Csd
Easton School Department
Eastport School Department	YES
Edgecomb School Department
Edmunds Consolidated School
Erskine Academy
Falmouth School Department	YES	YES	YES
Fayette School Department
Five Town Csd	YES	YES
Foxcroft Academy
Fryeburg Academy
Georgetown School Department	YES	YES	YES
Good Shepard Parish Schools
Good Will-Hinckley
Gorham School Department
Great Salt Bay Csd	YES
Greenbush School Department
Greenville School Department
Harmony School Department	YES
Hermon School Department
Holy Cross School-S Portland
Holy Savior School
Hope School Department
Indian Island
Indian Township
Islesboro School Department
Jay School Department
Jonesboro School Department
Jonesport School Department
Kids Peace-New England		YES
Kingman School	YES
Kittery School Department	YES	YES
Lee Academy
Lewiston School Department
Lincoln Academy	YES
Lincolnville School Department
Lisbon School Department
Long Island School Department
Machias School Department
Machiasport School Department	YES
Madawaska School Department	yes
Maine Central Institute
Me Educational Ctr For The Deaf & Hard Of Hearing
Me Sch Of Science & Mathematics
Medway School Department
Milford School Department
Millinocket School Department	YES
Moosabec Csd
Mount Desert School Department	YES	YES	YES
Mount Merici School
Mountain View Youth Dev Ctr		YES
MSAD 27
MSAD 46	YES	YES
Msad 76	YES
Mt Desert (High School)
N F I North
New Sweden School Department	YES	YES	YES
Opportunity Training Center
Orrington School Department
Pembroke School Department	YES
Penobscot School Department
Perry School Department
Pleasant Point
Portland Public Schools	YES	YES	YES
Princeton School Department
Rangeley School Department
Robbinston School Department
RSU 01 - Lkrsu	YES	YES	YES
Rsu 02 Kennebec Intra-District
Rsu 03/Msad 03	YES	YES
Rsu 04	YES	YES
Rsu 05 Freeport area	YES
Rsu 06/ Msad 06
Rsu 08/Msad 08
Rsu 09/ Msad 09	YES	YES	NO
Rsu 10 Western Foothills	YES
Rsu 11/Msad 11
Rsu 12 Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit
Rsu 13 Rockland Thomaston area
Rsu 14 Windham Raymond
Rsu 15/Msad 15	YES
Rsu 16 Minot/Mechanic Falls/ Poland
Rsu 17/Msad 17	YES
Rsu 18 oakland china area
Rsu 19 Newport Area, Etna Dixmont	YES
Rsu 20 Belfast - Searsport Areas	YES		YES
Rsu 21 Kennebunk area, A+B30rundel	YES
Rsu 22/Msad 22	YES
Rsu 23 Old Orchard/ Dayton/ Saco
Rsu 24	YES
Rsu 25
Rsu 26 Orono/ Veazie/ Glenburn	YES
Rsu 28/Msad 28	YES	YES	YES
Rsu 29/Msad 29	YES	YES	YES
Rsu 30/Msad 30	YES
Rsu 31/Msad 31	YES	YES
Rsu 32/Msad 32
Rsu 33/Msad 33
Rsu 34 Old Town/ Alton/ Bradley	YES
Rsu 35/Msad 35	YES	YES
Rsu 36/Msad 36
Rsu 37/Msad 37
Rsu 38
Rsu 39	YES
Rsu 40/Msad 40	YES
Rsu 41/Msad 41
Rsu 42/Msad 42	YES	YES
Rsu 44/Msad 44	YES
Rsu 45/Msad 45
Rsu 49/Msad 49
Rsu 51/Msad 51	YES	YES
Rsu 52/Msad 52
Rsu 53/Msad 53	NO
Rsu 54 / Msad 54
Rsu 55/Msad 55	YES	YES	YES
Rsu 57/Msad 57	YES	YES
Rsu 58/Msad 58
Rsu 59/Msad 59	YES	YES
Rsu 60/Msad 60	YES	YES
Rsu 61/Msad 61
Rsu 63/Msad 63
Rsu 64/Msad 64
Rsu 67
Rsu 68/Msad 68
Rsu 70/Msad 70
Rsu 72/Msad 72
Rsu 74/Msad 74	YES
Rsu 75/Msad 75
Rsu 79/Msad 01	YES	YES	YES
Rsu 80/Msad 4
Rsu 82/Msad 12
Rsu 83/Msad 13
Rsu 84 /Msad 14
Rsu 85/Msad 19
Rsu 86/Msad 20	YES
Rsu 87/Msad 23
Rsu 88/Msad 24
Rsu 89/Msad 25
Rumford Group Home
Sanford School Department
Scarborough School Department	YES
Sedgwick School Department
Sinclair School
South Portland School Department	YES
Southern Aroostook Csd
Southport School Department
Southwest Harbor School Department	YES
Spurwink School Inc
St Brigid School
St Thomas School
Surry School Department
Sweetser Children'S Services
Tremont School Department	YES
Trenton School Department	YES
Trinity Catholic Elementary School
Vanceboro School Department
Vassalboro School Department
Washington Academy
Waterville Public Schools
Wells-Ogunquit Csd	YES
Wesley School Department
Westbrook School Department
Whiting School Department
Winslow Schools
Winthrop Public Schools
Woodland School Department	YES	YES	YES
Yarmouth Schools	YES
York School Department	YES	YES
Youth & Family Services
Youth Alternatives

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Child Nutrition Information