Portland Public Schools (PPS) Food Services Department is a leader in
using local food in school meal programs. During the 2013-2014 school
year Portland served over 128,000 pounds of local fruits, vegetables and
proteins. This school year, PPS Food Services Department has committed
to increasing local foods with the goal of serving 225,000 pounds of
local fruits, vegetables and proteins in the school meal programs.
In
order to meet this ambitious goal PPS has implemented Farm Fresh
Friday. Farm Fresh Fridays the school lunch menu will feature a local
entrée and local fruits and vegetables. The district also serves local
milk every day. “Farm Fresh Friday is a great way to offer nutritious
meals to our students that will support learning while also supporting
local agriculture and the economy,” said Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk.
Farm Fresh Fridays began on September 5th and will continue every Friday throughout the school year.
PPS
will also participate in Maine Harvest Lunch Week September 22 to
September 26. Maine Harvest Lunch Week is an annual event where schools
all over Maine feature local foods in their school meal programs.
Portland has participated in Maine Harvest Lunch Week for almost ten
years. This year’s Harvest Lunch Week menu will feature foods from
local farms and producers including Maine-ly Poultry, Maine Family
Farms, Spear Farm, Jordan’s Farm, Snell Family Farm, and Oakhurst
Dairy. Students will be able to participate in the preparation of
Harvest Lunch by shucking corn in their schools in the beginning of the
week.
“Local food is fresher food and fresher food is healthier
food,” said PPS Food Services Director, Ron Adams, “We encourage all PPS
students and families to join us for lunch Maine Harvest Lunch Week and
Farm Fresh Fridays.”
Contact:
Israel Buffardi, FoodCorps Service Member
Portland Public Schools
Food Services Department
(207) 874-8231
israel.buffardi@foodcorps.org