Our mission is to create a sustainable, local food system that enhances the quality and appeal of school meals, fosters partnerships between schools and local farms, and provides economic stability to Maine's agricultural community.
We aim to streamline the procurement, processing, and storage of local foods for use in school meal programs across the Auburn, Lewiston, and Lisbon districts, ensuring that fresh, nutritious Maine-grown foods are accessible to students while supporting local farmers.
This initiative is funded by the USDA School Food System Innovation Grant. The grant supports our goal of increasing the sourcing and use of Maine-grown foods in school meal programs while addressing the logistical barriers related to sourcing, processing, ordering, and storing these foods. The funding will help us strengthen Maine's food supply chain, enhance school meal programs, and foster long-term partnerships between school nutrition programs and local farms, providing sustainable and replicable solutions for other school districts in the state and beyond.
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Our success depends on collaboration with a network of key partners who support our mission. These partners include local farms, community organizations, and educational institutions, each playing a critical role in our project. Our partners include:
Auburn School Department
Lewiston School Department
Lisbon School Department
Healthy Androscoggin
Good Food Council of Lewiston/Auburn
Cultivating Communities
St. Mary’s Nutrition Center
Blackie’s Farm Fresh Produce
These partners contribute through various forms of collaboration, from providing local food supplies to supporting student engagement initiatives and offering expertise in food systems development. Together, we are working to build a scalable and sustainable model for increasing local food sourcing in schools.