Skowhegan Development Group receives $200,000 grant to help Maine Grains and others

Maine Grains at 42 Court St. in Skowhegan in July 2022. Portland Press Herald file

SKOWHEGAN — Skowhegan Economic Development Corp. received a $200,000 grant to support its partnership with Maine Grains, the University of Maine System and Maine Course Sodexo to provide packaged grain meals to schools.

The bags of flour are stacked for shipment in July 2022 at the Maine Grains facility at 42 Court St. in Skowhegan. Portland Press Herald file

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry announced Monday that it has received a grant from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation as part of the 2024 New England Food Vision Prize, providing more than $1.2 million to support local food in local schools.

The effort is a multi-year commitment to help build resilience, connectivity and capacity in New England’s regional food system, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

The University of Maine and Sodexo are seeking healthy, ready-to-eat local grain-based products for their menus, officials said.

The award-funded equipment is expected to enable Maine Grains to turn byproducts from local milling, cheesemaking, seaweed, blueberries and soybeans into high-fiber and high-protein products for sale to schools, the state Department of Agriculture said.

The New England Food Vision Prize provides funds for collaborative projects to address the challenges of sourcing and serving local produce, fish, meat, dairy and grains in New England schools.

The award-winning projects help connect public school districts and higher education institutions with farmers, distributors, fishermen, food hubs and others with the goal of producing at least 30% of the region’s food by 2030. The 2024 awards are expected to support nine projects from five New England states that will reach more than 150,000 students in 2019 schools.

“I am honored to support transformational leaders in their quest to strengthen New England’s food system,” said Andy Kendall, executive director of the Kendall Foundation. “More regional food on campus and neighborhood menus means stronger supply chains, more sustainable producers and distributors, and more informed students who will be tomorrow’s consumers. Congratulations to all prize-winning teams.”

In 2011, the Kendall Foundation launched a grant program for regional food systems. It collaborates with other organizations dedicated to building a healthy, sustainable food system in New England and is committed to supporting innovative approaches that leverage increased awareness and interest in the food system.