Chellie Pingree visits! Our raised garden beds.

Check out this link to an article on the front page of the food section in the Portland Press Herald!  http://www.pressherald.com/life/kids-and-kale__2011-07-13.html

Youth and Family Outreach has been slowly working toward the goal of making the nutrition program one that is mindful of our community's resources, set in sound nutrition and good to our planet.  With the addition of a new cook in January we are moving more quickly toward these goals and we are very excited with our progress. 

Currently we purchase 50% of our foods locally and come this summer we will be purchasing approximately 75% of our food locally. 

  • Bomb Diggity Bakery Portland, Maine - This bakery provides us with all of our breads and granola bars. Their products are made with whole ingredients that are grown here in Maine.  The bakery is a company of Momentum which is an organization that works with differntly abled adults.
  • Crown O' Maine Portland, Maine - This company sells bulk products that are grown here in Maine. We now purchase all of our flour (for which our cook uses to make homemade pancakes and muffins) and beans locally through this company.
  • Culitvating Community Portland, Maine - This non-profit organization has a farm that is worked by immigrant farmers called Fresh Start.  We will be purchasing all of our produce  wholesale from them throughout the growing season.  The farmer will deliver the goods right to our doorstep.
  • Our cook uses only whole ingredients in the meals she serves.  We provide breakfast, lunch and snack daily.  Some of the meals you may see on the menu are Goulash, daal, polenta, marinated tofu just to name a few.  Our cook has a strong background in nutrition and is careful to be sure the meals are balanced.  Kale is a staple in our meals since it is so nutrient rich. 

We have embedded into our curriculum opportunities for the cook to get into the classrooms and talk about the food she is using.  We feel it is imporant for the children to learn about where their food comes from and how it arrives at their table.  To assist with this we have put in four raised garden beds and the children have planted seedlings of kale, cucumbers and sugar snap peas.