Maine
Farm to School News
September 2020
Join Maine Farm to School leaders for a half-day of interactive group work, networking, and virtual activities to define the priorities of the Maine Farm to School Network for the coming years. Open to all Maine farm to school stakeholders; internet connection required.
Survey is open to all Maine Farm to School stakeholders until October 7th - share widely with your colleagues! You can share your perspective on the survey whether or not you can attend the virtual strategic planning event.
Upcoming (Virtual) Events
Join National Farm to School Network for a virtual Movement Meeting featuring Karen Washington, food justice activist, for deep conversation and action-oriented reflection on racial justice in the farm to school movement - open to everyone - no prior knowledge of farm to school needed. Please share widely with your networks! 
October 7-8 in the afternoons
Hosted by NH Farm to School in partnership with the NH DoE Office of Nutrition, there are individual registration links for each session. Join this free professional learning opportunity!
Maine School Garden Network Annual Meeting & virtual tour October 8th of Thomas Grammar School's Common Ground Garden, led by 2020 National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award recipient Lynne Snow and joined by Richard Hodges from ReTreeUs.

Join International Organic Inspectors Association, Ceres Trust, and the National Organic Coalition in their Story/Skillshares series around the broad and intersectional themes of Food, Agriculture, Land, and Racial Justice.
October is National Farm to School Month!
This year is the 10th Anniversary of National Farm to School Month, celebrating and recognizing connections among kids, families, schools, and the people who grow and harvest our food. Find resources to celebrate and promote here. You can also promote on social media #F2SMonth, #farmtoschool, @NationalFarmtoSchoolNetwork. 
New Regional Farm to School Resources
  • Produce preparation and other culinary training videos from the Maine Department of Education's new state-of-the-art kitchen facility.



  • New Get Real Maine website from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry featuring a local farms database.



New National Farm to School Resources





  • The Center for Environmental Farming Systems' Farm to ECE Learning Bursts on Race and Equity for teachers and providers to support having conversations on racial equity and justice through the pedagogy of farm to early childhood education.
Maine Farm to School Success Story:
Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit (RSU 12)

Apples are celebrated full circle at Palermo Consolidated School - from the schools grounds, to the classroom, to the cafeteria. In the words of RSU 12 Nutrition Director & MFSN Leadership Council Member Mike Flynn:

"I arrived at Palermo a few days ago and found extraordinary things happening...superintendent Howie Tuttle made me aware this is a regular day at Palermo Consolidated School...real cool!

Educator Jerod Grenier [photo bottom right] teaches local ingredients with a school yard apple harvest...Meanwhile, kitchen manager Gail Horak [photo bottom left] is cooking Apple Sauce from the students' harvest. She is preparing another tasting for the students...[and] the orchard care taker and custodian Nick Lux Soc [photo bottom center] tells me about his tree care approach. 'Placing tin around the tree will protect the tree from porcupine harvest. Porcupines don't share apples well, they will take them all.' Nick ensures me that the students share the dropped apples with the porcupines.

Certainly a fantastic school, WITH STUDENT APPROVED SNACKS....!" [student tasting apple sauce in photo above]
Farm to School In the News

"The need for more outdoor learning is bringing new schools and classrooms into the world of Farm to School (FTS), which has already established curriculums, lessons, and activities that are ready to be implemented." (Brattleboro Reformer)

As the school year starts in the most of uncertain of times, these food and garden classes enter new virtual territory. (Civil Eats)

The videos are lively and colorful and really make you feel like you’re at the farm. Below each video, there are links to Growing Minds lesson plans for various ages that go into more depth on the topics that are covered in the video. (ASAP Connections)

When it comes to the tireless, thankless job of serving hundreds, if not thousands, of children lunch every day at school — and this year, while not at school — nobody deserves more respect than school cafeteria workers. (The Kitchn)

If there’s one, unifying theme throughout the COVID-19 pandemic—it’s that food and farmworkers are critically important and critically under-supported. (Civil Eats)

Eliminating food insecurity will only be possible if we support all the links in the food supply chain, from our farms to our children’s lunch bags. (Education Drive)
Harvest of the Month Program
October is Maine Apples Month!
September is Maine Tomatoes Month!
Share your Harvest of the Month photos & stories on Instagram @hom.maine #mainehom. Contact Robin Kerber at robin.kerber@maine.gov to learn more about participating in Harvest of the Month
Harvest of the Month Curriculum from Maine Ag in the Classroom
Funding Opportunities

  • The Policy Campaign Grant is designed to support strategic issue advocacy campaigns supporting Voices for Healthy Kids policy priorities with a focus on health equity; Short Form Application Deadline September 30

  • Community Solutions for Health Equity Letter of Interest deadline October 7

  • Cigna Foundation is looking to partner with school systems and surrounding communities to supplement existing health programming. Deadline September 30

  • Funding is available for six priority areas in fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture. Deadlines vary based on program.