School Based Food Hub

One of seven projects in Maine selected for the USDA’s School Food System Innovation Grant, this initiative focuses on establishing a regional food hub in the Lewiston-Auburn-Lisbon area, connecting local farms to schools and improving access to fresh, Maine-grown foods in student meals cooked in school cafeterias.

Not only do they want a local food system that enhances the quality and appeal of school meals, they also want to foster partnerships between schools and local farms plus provide economic stability to Maine’s agricultural community. They also hope to inspire replicable solutions for other school districts in the state and beyond.

Success depends on collaboration with a network of key partners who support their mission including local farms, community organizations, and educational institutions, who each play a critical role in the project. The School Based Food Hub partners include:

Sample projects include monthly Taste Tests (such as apple, broccoli and tomatoes) as well as participating in local events such as Taste the Harvest in downtown Lewiston and a Farmers Market at Park Avenue Elementary School.

Team members include Food Corps Service Members stationed at Lisbon, Lewiston and Auburn School Districts. Staff and partners continue their education by attending events and programs such as Maine School Nutrition Conference, Scratchworks 2025 hosted by the Chef Ann Foundation and Maine Farm to Institution Summit.

The 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, they are working to build a scalable and sustainable model for increasing local food sourcing in schools.

The School-Based Food Hub is currently collaborating with Edward Little High School on the launch of their new greenhouse. As part of this work, they are collecting data and documenting processes for the SBFH Toolkit, specifically a section focused on Farm-to-School Greenhouse Models. This collaboration is helping them explore sustainable greenhouse practices that involve and support school nutrition programs.