Photo Caption: Student Sam Messana from the Kaler Kooks, South Portland team.
Registration is open for the annual Maine Department of Education (DOE), Child Nutrition Farm to School Cook-off!
Held in the Spring of 2022, the cook-off is a statewide culinary competition for teams of school nutrition professionals and students to promote local foods in school meals. This voluntary competition is made available to all school districts in Maine.
The cook-off involves three regional competitions that take place in locations across the state (including Career and Technical Education [CTE] culinary arts centers), and a finals competition in the Maine DOE Child Nutrition Culinary Classroom located in its Augusta offices. All necessary precautions will be taken due to COVID-19, including face coverings and social distancing of teams.
Each team will prepare a breakfast and lunch meal within a specific time frame using at least three ingredients that are grown, raised, caught, or manufactured in the State of Maine and meet National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meal requirements, as well as one US Department of Agriculture (USDA) food. Local buckwheat flour and local beets will be used as “challenge” ingredients in the competition this year. All recipes will later be shared in a Maine farm to school cookbook to be used in future school meals programs.
TIMELINE AT A GLANCE
- January 14, 2022 – Team Registration Due (click here for registration link)
- February 18, 2022 – Recipes Due to Child Nutrition State Office
- March 23, 29 & 31, 2022- Regional Competitions take place!
- March 23: Westbrook Regional Vocational Center
- March 29: Lake Region Vocational Center
- March 31: Augusta (location to be announced in early March)
- April 8, 2022 – Finalists Announced
- April 26, 2022 – Cook-Off Finals at the Child Nutrition DOE Culinary Classroom!
New to the Farm-to-School Cook-off in 2022 is a sample student reflection option to support students making connections that may inform their individual career development.
Interested school districts can find more information and the link to register on the Maine Child Nutrition website. The registration deadline is January 14, 2022. For more information on Maine’s Farm and Sea to School program, visit https://www.maine.gov/doe/farmtoschool.
For questions about the Maine Learning Results Life and Career Ready standards or Extended Learning Opportunities, contact Maine DOE Life and Career Ready Education Specialist, Diana Doiron, at diana.doiron@maine.gov or Rick Wilson, Maine DOE Extended Learning Specialist, at rick.wilson@maine.gov.
For questions about the Farm-to-School Cook-off Competition, contact Maine DOE Child Nutrition Consultant, Stephanie Stambach at stephanie.stambach@maine.gov.