07/25/2025
Last week, Portland Public Schools sent a team of farm to school champions to Maine Farm and Sea to School Institute Academy. The team was able to discuss values, generate ideas. and make plans on how to implement farm to school in the cafeteria, classroom, and community.
Two of staff members from Food Service were able to join the team - Jen Montague (Nutrition Director) and Tyler Guerin (District Chef). The team also included Kristin Leffler, Jane Evans, and Tracey Menard from Deering High School, Cameron Garfield from Lincoln Middle School, Luke Truman from Longfellow Elementary PTO, Jamie Picardy from USM, Martha Leonard from Maiz, Zoe Grodsky from Cumberland County Food Security Council, and Sam Dolan from FoodCorps.
The team will continue to meet regularly throughout the school year and collaborate on farm to school projects. As a part of the Institute, they came up with the following values statement to guide their work throughout the year: “We believe in an interconnected regional and just food system that centers respect and connection to the land and water through education. We strive to empower individuals to understand, access, and produce nourishing and culturally relevant food within the school and larger community. “
They also got the chance to hear talks and panels from Maine Ag in the Classroom, ReTreeUS, Maine School Garden Network, Maine Youth Action Network, UMaine Extension, Brianne Lolar, GMRI, Maine DOE, and Full Plates Full Potential.
