Last spring, a scene was playing out in the Yarmouth Elementary School cafeteria that may have taken a lot of parents by surprise.

Kids in the notoriously picky ages of between 7 and 10 were clamoring for cups of miso soup, made with Heiwa Tofu in Rockport, and cucumber seaweed salad made from Atlantic wakame seaweed by Maine Coast Sea Vegetables in Hancock. There were more takers, in fact, then there were for the next day’s pizza.

Their appetite was stoked in part by author Holly Thompson, who had visited the prior week to talk about her book “The Wakame Gatherers,” which tells the story of a girl in Japan who goes seaweed gathering with her Japanese and American grandmothers.

Her visit, and the taste test that followed, was part of a statewide effort by school districts to introduce kids to new foods while increasing the purchase of local foods. This effort is supported by the state’s Local Food Fund, which provides districts $1 for every $3 spent on local produce, dairy, protein and minimally processed food bought directly from local purveyors, plus a new Federal Local Food for Schools program and the Maine Fish in Maine Schools program, which provides free fish for districts via the Fishermen Feeding Mainers initiative.

Thanks to these sources of support, I was able to spend close to $20,000 on local foods this past year. This meant kids got to enjoy local eggs in their breakfast sandwiches, cheddar cheese curds from local dairy purveyors in our rendition of poutine, some truly delicious locally raised chicken in our biryani recipe, Maine marinara sauce on their pasta, and local produce galore for our salad bars.

I’ve been in school nutrition for 17 years now, and we never could have dreamed that we would have this much support for purchasing local food, and at a time when school meals are free for all students.

This is an exciting time and an extremely challenging one. Like nutrition programs across the nation, we struggle to hire staff. Yes, the work can be physically demanding, but those who try it are often surprised by how deeply rewarding the work is.

It’s very easy to see how much the hundreds of kids who go through our lines depend on our meals to provide them with the nutrition they need to learn. We all know that the success of a child’s future is as rooted in a healthy meal as it is in a good education. And it is so meaningful to know that we’re playing such an important role in providing those meals, particularly for kids who are at risk. We strive to provide a level of quality that is exceptional, in terms of the menu options we offer, how well cooked they are, and the quality of our ingredients.

Yes, there seems to be an endless supply of challenges, but we have faced them well. Each and every school day our kids get the meals they need.

I invite everyone and anyone to give it a try. There are an abundance of part-time opportunities that give you an opportunity to see if it’s for you, while also providing the flexibility you need to balance other work, family and life responsibilities. It’s never been a more exciting time, and the need has never been greater.