Maine Department of Education Celebrates National School Lunch Week by Recognizing Child Nutrition Programs

On Wednesday, Oct. 16, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) gathered with other child nutrition leaders at Connors Elementary School in Lewiston to celebrate National School Lunch Week (Oct. 14-18, 2024). Special guest Alberto A. Gonzalez, Jr., Senior Advisor for External Engagement at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service, attended, as did USDA Northeast Regional Office officials and others.

During the event, attendees visited classrooms and the school garden. They also partook in a delicious lunch, served by the Connors Elementary School nutrition team.

Afterwards, nonprofit Full Plates Full Potential recognized a historic $7.4 million USDA School Food System Innovation Grant, which is funding seven projects based in Maine. All of them are designed to strengthen partnerships between school nutrition departments and local food producers.

Wednesday's visit ended with a roundtable discussion with Mr. Gonzalez, Jr., the grantees, local school nutrition directors, and representatives from the Maine DOE.

This grant reconfirms a strong commitment in Maine to provide healthy food to children. Recently, Maine became the second state in the country (of just eight total) to offer meals at no charge to public school students, as part of the state's initiative to end hunger by 2030. That effort has helped to eliminate stigma and increase participation in meal programs statewide.

The Maine DOE is proud of other programs with similar goals that it oversees through the USDA. To celebrate National School Lunch Week, you can read more about the impact of some of those programs below and by clicking here.

National School Lunch Program

The National School Lunch Program provides low-cost or free healthy meals to children. More than 575 schools in Maine participate, providing lunch to our state's 172,624 students. Last year, participating schools statewide provided more than 18,482,570 lunches to pre-K through 12 students. Learn more.

Farm and Sea to School

The Farm and Sea to School Program promotes the use of Maine-grown, raised, and caught ingredients in delivering meals to students throughout the state. In the 2022-2023 school year, 119 school administrative units (SAUs) in Maine used money from the Local Foods Fund and the Federal Local Foods for Schools Program to buy local foods from across all sixteen counties. Some of the top foods purchased included apples, proteins, potatoes, tomatoes, and root vegetables. Learn more.

Culinary Classroom

The Culinary Classroom promotes scratch cooking throughout all Child Nutrition programs. The Maine DOE has a training kitchen located in Augusta and offers culinary training throughout the year. Recorded trainings are also available to Child Nutrition staff. Learn more.

Harvest of the Month

The Maine Harvest of the Month campaign helps to promote the use of seasonally-available, local products in schools, institutions, and communities. Schools pledge to participate by offering the featured food on their school menu twice a month. The Maine DOE provides posters, stickers, recipes, and a newsletter to support the use of these local products. Learn more.