Connecting the Cafeteria and the Classroom to Bring the Sea(food) to School
Date: Wednesday, January 15th, 2025 in the Lincoln/Oxford room of the Augusta Civic Center (During Maine Agriculture Trade Show)
Time: 9:00am-11:00am
Two Main Points of the Presentation:
Seafood is our most abundant and healthiest local protein source in New England – and particularly good for kids’ growing bodies and brains – yet very few K-12 schools serve seafood regularly. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute has worked with a variety of districts in Maine and across New England to understand the challenges and opportunities to putting more seafood on cafeteria trays and making it a success – we will share our learnings during this session.
Part of making local seafood a success is buy-in from students and teachers, and we will share the educational work we have done in both the cafeteria and the classroom. We will also share the results of partnering with immigrant community chefs to develop culturally relevant seafood recipes for K-12. These recipes are particularly valuable in districts with significant populations of immigrant students, who often come from parts of the world where people eat seafood much more often than the average American, and they are a great way to connect all students to each other’s cultures and traditions.
Learn more about Kyle:
Kyle Foley is the director of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Sustainable Seafood Program. She leads the program in its strategic efforts to strengthen both the ecological and economic sustainability of the Gulf of Maine seafood industry. Kyle and her team partner with seafood supply chain members, from processors to restaurants, institutions, and major retailers to empower consumers to buy seafood they can feel good about. Kyle has also worked for Farm Aid, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, and RSF Social Finance. She received her M.S. in food and agriculture policy from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
