Bryce Longfellow casts into the Kennebec River in Hallowell from a log on July 13. Longfellow caught and released a small mouth bass while fishing with his father, Bill, at sunset. Andy Molloy / Kennebec Journal

Full Plates Full Potential, a Brunswick-based nonprofit, plans to use $7.4 million in federal grant funding to bring local seafood to school meal programs, improving nutrition access.

The group plans to distribute funds to seven organizations across the state, including the Maine Coast Fisherman’s Association, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.

While the four-year pilot program, which begins in September, aims to improve food access and the quality of school meals, it can also expand to other areas. MCFA Director of Strategic Initiatives Susan Olcott said the $608,606 Brunswick received will add new, multicultural options to the lunch line, strengthening a more resilient food system for local producers.

With two teens at Brunswick Junior High, Olcott gets to personally and professionally experience the rollout’s impact.

“It’s nothing like my cafeteria as a kid,” she said. “It’s been great to see how willing schools are to make this shift for the better.” 

What to expect

This isn’t the first time Full Plates Full Potential and MCFA teamed up — both, according to Olcott, have contributed to each other’s success. She said Full Plates has included the fisheries organization in food discussions, a space that, upon entering, has shaped the Fishermen Feeding Mainers program.

Last year, before the request for proposal was announced, the nonprofit nudged MCFA to stay tuned. 

“They asked what we were looking for and helped us shape the grant to fit our mission,” said Olcott, who noted that at the time, MCFA had also received substantial monetary support from the Kendall Foundation New England Food Prize. “The USDA funding will allow us to continue developing a fish cake for K-12 schools and, down the line, build a suite of value-added seafood products tailor-made for school budgets and kids’ taste preferences.” 

Olcott said Brunswick Junior High has been the focus of the rollout of the pilot program due to its past experiments with the new Gulf of Maine Research Institute curriculum and seafood sampling. That said, MCFA has been coordinating with Scott Smith, director of food services, to ensure that all district schools that want to participate can do so. 

MCFA works with two other districts: South Portland and Whitefield. This year, the South Portland summer lunch program has been sampling the new fish cake to prepare it for rollout in Brunswick lunch lines in September. 

“We’re thrilled to continue to partner with MCFA and support Fishermen Feeding Mainers with these federal funds,” said Full Plates Executive Director Justin Strasburger. “We look forward to the new and creative ways this project will get more healthy Maine seafood into local schools.”

A learning experience for all

Brunswick Junior High sampled baked haddock in June 2024. School Nutrition Director Barbara Austin said 75% of students chose to try the haddock, 20% more than usual. Brunswick Junior High School photo

MCFA has three grants under its belt: the Kendell Foundation New England Food Prize, the Full Plates Full Potential USDA subgrant and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute Chef Ann Foundation Partnerships for Local Agriculture and Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS) grant.

According to Olcott, the PLANTS grant aims to advance equity-driven approaches to transforming school food supply chains. MCFA plans to commit to funding multicultural recipe development. 

“Kids from the Republic of Congo grow up eating […] fish,” Olcott said. “The Halal diet incorporates a lot of seafood. And yet, many kids grow up in Maine without trying local fish. This is a great chance for students and families to learn about other cultures and enjoy what’s at their disposal in a tasty, healthy way.” 

The PLANTS grant requires community events for education and outreach. MCFA has four community events planned for the coming years, during which the public can sample seafood recipes developed for the school lunch program. 

“The USDA grant is the biggest umbrella,” Olcott said. “As a four-year grant, it provides the longest, most sustained support needed to accomplish our vision.” 

Seafood innovation

Olcott praised MCFA’s business partners: Hurricane’s Soup & Chowder (supplier of monkfish stew), Graffam Brothers (supplier of fish cake), and local seafood processors Nova Seafood and Free Range Fish & Lobster. 

“You can think of the stew and fish cakes as stepping stones to other products we’re interested in,” Olcott said. 

Purportedly, MCFA has discussed options like monkfish curry and white fish pot pie with Hurricane’s Soup & Chowder; similarly, they’ve sent the Graffam Brothers fish cake mix to schools so cafeterias can experiment with the recipe. 

The organization is also looking to partner with a business that specializes in pie crust to develop empanadas or rotating hand pies that can rotate depending on the market and local catch. 

“Years ago, MCFA approached us looking to create a monkfish stew,” said Kirsten Shovilin, owner of Hurricane’s Soup. “The goal was to raise awareness of underutilized local fish species. Our journey together has been incredible; MCFA’s commitment to sustainable fishing and the local food system aligns with our mission. We look forward to how this USDA grant will enable us to develop new products.” 

MCFA has also sparked initial conversations with Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program, hoping to forge collaboration and introduce new Mainers to local seafood. 

“I’m so thrilled about the direction of this project,” Olcott said. “It’s really fun to get to see how introducing seafood to our youth spreads up the generations.”