An increasing number of Maine schools are sourcing food locally and providing complementary educational activities that teach students about food, farming, and nutrition. This farm to school movement not only ensures our children are receiving healthy meals, it supports our local economy and rich tradition of agriculture.
2019-2020 Farm to School Cookbook
The 2021 Maine Farm to School Cook-off
The Farm to School Cook-off is an annual, statewide culinary competition among school nutrition professionals and students, to promote local foods in school meals. This year’s cook-off is following in the footsteps of schools and going with a hybrid model!
- Round 1- virtual cook-off. Teams will submit videos of their breakfast and lunch meals to be posted on the Child Nutrition website, where voting will take place. The top two teams will advance to round 2.
- Round 2- final cook-off. The top teams will compete in the Child Nutrition Culinary Classroom in Augusta! We will announce the 2021 Farm to School Cook-off champion. Please note all necessary precautions will be taken, including face coverings and social distancing of teams in the culinary classroom.
The challenge ingredients for this year’s cook-off, donated from Maine farms, will be eggs for breakfast and parsnips for lunch. Don’t miss out on this fun opportunity!
2021 Cook-off Team Rules and Guidelines
2021 Farm to School
Cook-off
2020 Farm to School Cook-off
Thank you to RSU 54's Team Sonday for their great recipes and videos!
RSU 54 - Breakfast
Team Sonday from RSU 54 created a delicious and fun breakfast using Maine Grains local oats!
- Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie
- Banana Octopus
- Milk
RSU 54 - Lunch
Team Sonday used the local challenge ingredient (ground beef from Common Hill Farm) to create a tasty lunch!
- Taco Mashup Bowl
- Mexican Fruit Salad
- Salsa & Sour Cream
Farm to School Cookbooks
Click Here for the 2019 Maine Farm to School Cook-Off Cookbook!!
Click Here for the 2018 Maine Farm to School Cook-Off Cookbook!!
Click Here for the 2017 Maine Farm to School Cook-Off Cookbook!!
Click Here for the 2016 Maine Farm to School Cook-Off Cookbook!!
The following resources are provided to help schools in their efforts to increase locally sourced food.
- Benefits of Farm to School
- Checklist for purchasing local (pdf) provided by Iowa State University
- Farm Field Trip Toolkit from Oregon
- Farm to School link to USDA
- Food Safety Checklist
- Getting started with Farm to School
- Maine Agriculture in the Classroom
- Maine Seafood Guide link to Maine Sea Grant
- Pecks to Pounds translation chart (pdf)
- Tracking local purchases tool (xls)
Local Produce Fund
Local Produce Fund was established within the Maine Department of Education. The local produce fund is authorized to receive revenue from public/private sources and the State budget.
Geographic Preference and Buying Local
Geographic Preference Option. When purchasing fresh local foods, school districts must navigate three levels of procurement law – federal, state, and local. Consult FNS memoranda SP18-2011, Procurement Geographic Preference Q&As and SP03-2012, Procurement Geographic Preference Q&As Part II, for common questions on the implementation of the geographic preference option.
School Gardens and Product Usage
Product from school gardens can not be processed and then sold/transferred to the food service program. This includes canning, preserving, etc. Product can be washed, cut and/or frozen. Drying fruit would be considered processing and must be licensed to be done in a commercial kitchen. Home processing of this type is not allowed for School Food Service Department use.
Maine Food Producer Directories
- Crown O' Maine Organic Cooperative Vassalboro, ME
Additional Resources
- Alaska's Guide to Serving Local Fish in School Cafeterias
- Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested Program- Contact the Gulf of Maine Research Institute for more information on sourcing seafood from our region, and for information on suppliers participating in the Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested program.
- Harrison Institute Report on Geographic Preference A primer on purchasing fresh local food for schools
- Healthy Acadia Farm to School serves Hancock and Washington counties with School Supported Agriculture (SSA) , The Apple Project, School Gardens, and more.
- Maine Food Corps Maine's page of the nationwide team of AmeriCorps leaders who connect kids to real food and help them grow up healthy
- Maine Harvest Lunch annual week-long celebration and promotion of local foods, farms and nutrition
- Maine Organic Farmers and Gardner's Association (MOFGA)
- Maine School Garden Network promotes and supports educational gardens for youth in school programs.
- Massachusetts Farm to School Cookbook
- National Farm to School Network
- On the Farm Food Safety Project comprehensive national program that offers fruit and vegetable farmers, food safety professionals, and agricultural extension specialists technical assistance to utilize and teach best practices in food safety.
- USDA Farm to School FAQs
- USDA Farm To School Information
- Vermont Feed recipes available in resources section of their website
- Vermont New School Cuisine Cookbook