Upcoming Events
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Farming for Wholesale: Farm Business Workshop
February 4, 2017 9:00-4:00
Fryeburg Academy
This one-day workshop will examine the wholesaling process from many different angles. Jed Beach, FarmSmart, will lead the workshop focusing on production costing and marketing of wholesale products. Each participating farm is eligible for 18 hours of free additional technical assistance and $500 of seed money to get started.
Fee: $35
FMI & Registration:
HERE
3rd Annual Maine Aquaculture Research, Development, and Education Summit
March 6, 2017
Hutchinson Center, Belfast, ME
Opportunity for anyone involved or interested in aquaculture in Maine to meet, exchange ideas, and explore Maine's aquaculture industry. Research updates, topical roundtables, and networking. Fee: Free FMI & Registration: HERE
2017 Maine Community Food Council Summit
March 8, 2017 8:30-4:30
Hutchinson Center, Belfast, ME
Exploring vital issues for local food councils and how to knit together diverse projects into robust networks to bring our food system back home.
Fee: $20
FMI & Registration:
HERE
Read ME Ag Week
March 20-24, 2017
Recruiting classrooms and readers n
ow. For more information, see article to right.
Maine DOE Farm to School Training
March 22, 2017 8:00-12:30
MaineGeneral Alfond Center for Health Augusta, ME
Fee: $20 to be donated to the Local Produce Fund. Registration and agenda
HERE
Farm to Institution Summit 2017
April 5-7, 2017
Leominster, MA
See feature article to the right about scholarships and more information
Maine School Garden Day
May 6, 2017 8:00-4:00
Falmouth High School
A full day of classes, exhibits, and more! This is a K-12 educator training workshop and all participants will receive certificates for contact hours or CEUs. Fee: $25 After April 30: $35 includes local lunch. Scholarships available.
FMI & Registration:
Coming Soon
Northeast Farm to School Institute
June 27-29, 2017
Shelburne Farms, VT
See more information in article to right.
Applications Due: March 9, 2017
Maine Ag in the Classroom Summer Teachers' Institute
July 31 - August 4, 2017
University of Maine Farmington
University of Maine Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Class Schedule
Master Gardener Volunteers must  successfully complete 40+ hours of training and volunteer 40 hours toward community gardening programs and activities. Many Master Gardener Volunteers choose school garden projects!
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| MFSN Contacts |
| State Coordinator: Renee Page Healthy Communities of the Capital Area rpage@mcd.org 207.588.5020
Aroostook District: John Chartier
Aroostook County Healthy Aroostook
jchartier@mofga.org 207.521.1200
Central District: Kelly LaCasse
Kennebec & Somerset Counties
Healthy Northern Kennebec
Cumberland District: Martha Poliquin
Cumberland County
Falmouth Schools Nutrition Director
Downeast District: Katie Freedman
Hancock & Washington Counties
Healthy Acadia
katie@healthyacadia.org 207.288.5331
MidCoast District: Heather Burt
Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc & Waldo Counties
Penquis District: Bonnie Young
Penobscot & Piscataquis Counties
Western District: Ken Morse
Androscoggin, Franklin, & Oxford Counties
Community Food Strategies
York District: Kristine Jenkins
York County
Partners for a Hunger-Free York County
National Farm to School Network State Lead: Renee Page Healthy Communities of the Capital Area rpage@mcd.org 207.588.5020 USDA Farm to School Northeast Regional Lead: Danielle Fleury danielle.fleury@fns.usda.gov 617.565.1604 Maine Department of Education Child Nutrition Services Farm to School Contact: Stephanie Stambach stephanie.stambach@maine.gov 207.624.6732 |
Links to Useful Resources
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National Farm to School Network
NFSN enables every child to have access to nutritious food while simultaneously benefiting communities and local farmers.
 USDA Farm to School
Resources to support local farm to school programs.
FMI & Resources:
 Maine Ag in the Classroom
MAITC provides information about agricultural concepts to teachers, students, and interested citizens.
Maine School Garden Network
MSGN promotes and supports educational gardens for youth and encourages school programs that teach healthy eating and environmental stewardship.
Maine Food Atlas
Discover local food assets in your community. Find growers, processors, food security organizations, farm to school groups, and more. It is easy to add your own site to the map too.
 Aquaculture Education Network The University of Maine Aquaculture Research Institute hosts an aquaculture education listserv to find and share aquaculture education materials and resources. To join the listserv created by and for educators and organizations from Maine and beyond, send a message to
aq_educators_news-subscribe-request@lists.maine.edu with the word SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
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| Join Our List |
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Happy New Year! Please enjoy these updates from the Maine Farm to School Network and Maine Farm to Institution. Please share this update with others and encourage them subscribe to this newsletter. Also be sure to let us know what's happening in your area related to Farm and Sea to School.
Renee Page,
Maine Farm to School Network Coordinator
Maine Farm to Institution Coordinator
National Farm to School Network Maine State Lead
Contact Information:
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| Maine Farm to Institution is Supporting Attendance at the Farm to Institution Summit! |
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The Second Farm to Institution New England Summit is happening April 5-7, 2017 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Leominster, MA
and
Maine Farm to Institution wants to help Mainers attend!
Join more than 500 people from across New England and beyond working to change the local food system through the power of institutions. The event will convene representatives from institutional facilities, food supply chain partners, farm to institution advocates, and more to maximize collective impact and overcome challenges to buying more local food. The summit will feature programming that focuses on farm to school, farm to campus, and farm to health care, emerging sectors like correctional facilities, as well as cross-sector themes.
If you would like to attend but find the registration fee and transportation a barrier, Maine Farm to Institution wants to help you get there! Through generous support from the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, MEFTI has a limited number of registration scholarships (at the early bird rate - first come, first served) and is organizing carpooling to the event. All MEFTI asks of scholarship recipients in return is that you commit to participate (in person or remotely) in at least one follow-up gathering at a later date where Mainers can debrief, share, and prioritize next steps for farm to institution in Maine.
To learn more about MEFTI scholarships and to request your registration discount code (you need this before you register - do not use the scholarship link on the summit website) contact:
There are also discount lodging rates at the venue for summit participants. Learn more at the Summit website above.
Thank you to Elmina B. Sewall Foundation
for their generous support
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| New Sea to School Tools |
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Classroom and Cafeteria Resources
The Maine Farm to School Network teamed up with Massachusetts Farm to School and New Hampshire Farm to School to create two new Sea to School resources for classrooms and cafeterias. The
Sea to School Guide and
Sea to School: A Lunch Voyage video support use of local seafood in school meals and marine education.
These resources will help schools procure, serve, and promote sustainably harvested Gulf of Maine seafood products. Accompanying classroom resources will help teach students about the seafood industry in the region and build enthusiasm for seafood items in the cafeteria.
The video traces the seafood on a cafeteria tray all the way back to the fisherman who caught it. Great for upper elementary audiences, it addresses many important themes from the history of the fishing industry in New England to the environmental issues behind fishing regulations.
The guide will help seafood buyers develop effective solicitations for local seafood and provides many promotional ideas and tested recipes to make sure students enjoy the new dishes.
This project was made possible with generous support from Newman's Own Foundation and Farm Credit through the National Farm to School Network Innovation Fund.
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| Read ME Ag - Sign up Now! |
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Maine Ag in the Classroom Recruiting Classrooms and Readers
Pre-K through grade 4 classrooms can sign up now to participate in Read ME Ag 2017 during the month of March. Participating classrooms will receive a copy of this year's book,
What's in the Garden? by award-winning children's author, Marianne Berkes, who has spent most of her life as a teacher. The book is illustrated by Chris Arbo. The interactive rhyme and riddle format will lead many discussions of fruits and vegetables grown in our state from apples to pumpkins!
In addition to a copy of the book, each classroom will receive accompanying lesson ideas and information on Maine agriculture through a local volunteer reader.
Learn more how to be a participating classroom or a volunteer reader at
www.maineagintheclassroom.org. First come, first served, while supplies last.
The Read ME Ag program is supported by Maine's Agriculture Specialty License Plate.
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| Recruiting School Teams for 2nd Annual Maine Farm to School Cook-Off |
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Maine Department of Education Hosts Successful Event for the Second Time
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2016 Cook-off Winners
Team Knox: Five Town CSD/MSAD 28 & RSU 13 |
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Maine Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs is hosting its 2nd Annual Farm to School Cook-off and is recruiting school culinary teams now! School teams of two will be tasked with preparing a reimbursable breakfast and lunch utilizing locally sourced ingredients. There are a couple of new twists this year! Teams must also use a challenge ingredient and must incorporate a USDA food into each meal. Please respond ASAP to
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| Northeast Farm to School Institute |
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Applications Open for 2017
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RSU 3 Walker Elementary School 2016 Northeast Farm to School Institute Team |
Applications for the 2017-18 Northeast Farm to School Institute are now being accepted. The Institute is a unique year-long professional learning opportunity for twelve school teams from New England and New York. The year-long Institute kicks off with a Summer Retreat held at Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, VT from June 27-29, 2017.
VT FEED welcomes Farm to School champions - long-time advocates and those looking to begin integrating these programs into their school community - to form a team and apply. Teams should include a diverse mix of classrooms, teachers, parents, school administrators, school nurses, school nutrition staff, school board members, and other community members. Teams are paired with an experienced coach from their state's Farm to School Network for year-long support creating and implementing their action plan.
Learn more from an experienced Northeast Farm to School Institute Veteran! Contact Martha Poliquin, Falmouth Schools Nutrition Director and Maine Farm to School Network Cumberland District Representative, who formed a team and attended the Institute in 2015.
mpoliquin@falmouthschools.org or 207.781.3200
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| Farm to Institution - Focus on Health Care |
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Celebrate Nutrition Month with the Blended Burger
The hamburger is an American tradition but healthcare professionals know that eating too much red meat can have
health consequences. Too much meat can also have negative
impacts on the environment - causing air and water pollution and contributing to climate change. The
James Beard Foundation developed an innovative strategy to reduce consumption of red meat while still enjoying burgers:
the Blended Burger. A blended burger combines mushrooms (or other plant based ingredients) with ground beef (or other ground meat) to reduce the total meat in the burger while improving its flavor.
Health Care Without Harm is bringing this strategy to the health sector as a complement to their Less Meat, Better Meat approach. By serving blended burgers during Nutrition Month (and beyond!) you can address the health risks associated with meat over-consumption and reduce your facility's environmental impact.
~ Submitted by Health Care Without Harm Healthy Food in Health Care
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| Gulf of Maine Research Institute Voices Series |
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Voices of the Gulf of Mane Video Series
The Gulf of Maine is a vital resource for our coa
stal economy, a source of delicious seafood, a place for recreation, and more.
Learn about the Gulf of Maine from the
perspectives of:
- The Lobsterman
- The Restaurant
- The Teacher
- The Charter Boat
- The Weatherman
- The Oyster Farmer
Use
these short videos
to support classroom activities, find new sources of local food, or just to better know your neighbors who harvest your seafood.
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| Maine Farm to Institution (MEFTI) Happenings |
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Maine Farm to Institution Leadership Team Members Emily Kain, MaineHealth and Renee Page, Healthy Communities of the Capital Area at Maine Ag Trades Show
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Maine Farm to Institution
helped support even
ts at the 2017 Maine Ag Trades Show at the Augusta Civic Center January 9-12. On January 9, prior to the full show
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MaineHealth's Emily Kain discusses supplying institutional buyers with Circle B Farms' Sam Blackstone |
opening, the Ma
ine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry, with support from Harvest New England and the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant, hosted the 2nd Annual Specialty Cr
op Producer Buying Opportunities One-on-One Meetings. These One-on-One meetings provide a forum for wholesale specialty crop producers from Maine to meet one-on-one with local wholesale buyers for introductions and future sal
es opportunities. MEFTI was at the event offering technical support and also helped recruit institutional buyers from K-12 schools, colleges, and hospitals.
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Riley Neugebauer (R) from Maine Farm to Institution and Farm to Institution New England and Renee Page (not pictured) from Maine Farm to Institution and Healthy Communities of the Capital Area lead a panel discussion at the 2017 Maine Ag Trades Show with (L to R) Jed Beach from FarmSmart, Trent Emery from Emery Farm, and Jeff Bridges from RSU 38 for beginning farmers looking to enter the institutional market.
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MEFTI Leadership Team Members
Riley Neugebauer, Farm to Institution New England Farm and Sea to Campus Coordinator, and Renee Page, Healthy Communities of the Capital Area, facilitated a session to help new farmers understand what it takes to sell to institutions in the state, including K-12 schools, hospitals, and colleges.
The Maine Farm to School Network
, with support from the Elmin
a
B. S
ewall Found
ation Heal
thy People Healthy Places grant program, formed the Ma
ine Farm to Institution (MEFTI) Lea
dership Team
to identify ways in which Farm to School, Farm to Camp
us, and Farm to Health Care initiatives can better partner and learn from one another to advance farm to institution
across Maine. The 7-member leadership team, listed below, is working to identify priority areas and opportunities for collaboration across sectors to figure out ways to get more fresh, Maine food into institutional food programs.
MEFTI Leadership Team
Ron Adams,
Consultant, Former Portland Public Schools Nutrition Director,
Katie Freedman,
Healthy Acadia Food Programs Director, Maine Farm to School Network Downeast District Representative katie@healthyacadia.org 207.667.7171
Lauren Kaskey, Health Care Without Harm Regional Coordinator lkaskey@hcwh.org 413.218.8085
Ken Morse,
Maine Network of Community Food Councils Coordinator kenmorse@mac.com 207.393.0134
Riley Neugebauer,
Farm to Institution New England Farm and Sea to Campus Project Manager rileyneugebauer@gmail.com 814.282.3039
Renee Page,
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area Assistant Director,
Maine Farm to School Network Coordinator rpage@mcd.org 207.588.5020
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| Policy & Advocacy |
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School Wellness Policies
 School districts across the country are revising local wellness policies to meet new guidelines by the June 30, 2017 deadline. This is the perfect time to incorporate farm to school language and strategies to meet your wellness policy goals! Local procurement for school meals, cafeteria taste tests, agriculture-based classroom education, school gardens and greenhouses are all ways to institutionalize farm to school in your district through the local wellness policy.
Here are some resources to get you started.
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| Employment & Consulting Opportunities |
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FoodCorps, AmeriCorps VISTA, and Food Systems Consultants
AmeriCorps VISTA: Healthy Communities of the Capital Area seeks a full-time
AmeriCorps VISTA member to combat hunger and poverty in Maine by increasing access to USDA federal nutrition programs such as SNAP, School Breakfast, and Summer Meals. The VISTA member will work with community partners to increase access to fresh, local foods.
FMI & Application:
HERE
rpage@mcd.org or 207.588.5020
Harvest of the Month: Maine Farm to Institution seeks an individual to help develop a cross-sector Harvest of the Month program in Maine. There is a lot of interest in developing a Harvest of the Month program in Maine and programs across New England and beyond have proven to be an effective marketing tool for local food procurement by institutions. This short-term (through May 2017) project will result in recommendations and next steps for Harvest of the Month in Maine.
FMI:
HERE
rpage@mcd.org or 207.588.5020
Gleaning & Nutrition Education: Healthy Communities of the Capital Area seeks an individual to deliver nutrition education to adults in a variety of settings (correctional facility, food pantries, social service providers, etc.) as well as recruit farms as gleaning sites.
FMI:
HERE
rpage@mcd.org or 207.588.5020
FoodCorps Service Members: FoodCorps is recruiting talented leaders for a year of paid public service building healthy school food environments in limited-resource communities. Applications open through March 15, 2017 for the 2017-18 service term.
FMI:
foodcorps.org
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| Circle B Farms Request for Information |
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Attention Nutrition Directors! Are you looking for more sources for local foods?
 Circle B Farms in Caribou, ME is requesting information from school nutrition directors on what your local food needs will be for the school year for their planting and delivery planning.
Click
here to download the form.
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| Chop! Chop! Free Video Series |
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| Culinary Skills for Locally Grown Produce in School Meals
Chop! Chop! Hear that sound? It is the sound of school nutrition directors who have a new way to help students eat more locally frown vegetables and grains. This
six-part series of free videos will help school food service staff use more locally-grown fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in school meal programs by introducing new foods, recipes, and culinary skills. These videos, produced by the University of Wisconsin, Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, are approximately 15 minutes long and focus on the following:
- Dark Leafy Greens
- Cabbage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower
- Root Vegetables
- Winter Squash
- Tomatoes and Peppers
- Whole Grain Pizza Dough and Oat Muffins
Each training covers culinary preparation techniques such as hand chopping, pureeing, and freezing, and offers ideas for incorporating local produce into school meals. In addition, the videos feature discussions with farmers and their school partners on the farm and in the school kitchen. Access the videos by clicking
here.
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Maine Farm to School Network
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| ME Public Health Districts |
Farm to School programs work to build and tend school gardens, deliver agriculturally-based nutrition education, and develop local food procurement systems to increase agricultural awareness, improve health, and support the local economy.
The MFSN aims to build communication and coordination infrastructure closer to schools and communities which are the foundation of this very special local foods movement.
The MFSN is organized with a State Coordinator and District Representatives in each of the 8 Public Health Districts in Maine. The Network works to bring more locally sourced foods into schools coupled with experiential agriculture education.
Contact your MFSN Representative (see left) to learn more.
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