Grounding School Food Service in Culture and Place: A Rooted in Community Case Study

Introduction

In August 2024, Westbrook, Maine school district reimagined their back-to-school food service orientation. Rather than gathering in school cafeterias for compliance training and paperwork, the food service teams spent a day in the community—on a working farm (Jordan’s Farm) and in a shared commercial processing kitchen (Fork Food Lab). This immersive experience was designed to connect school food workers more deeply with local farms, culturally relevant recipes, and the people behind the food they serve. 

The day included a farm tour, collaborative cooking, a shared local lunch, and hands-on training in preparing Halal meals. The goal: to inspire staff, build community, and strengthen their ability to serve nourishing meals that reflect the cultures and needs of the diverse students in their care. 

South Portland district staff also participated in a farm tour and will be expanding their back to school orientation this year to include the shared kitchen as well. 

Background: A Shifting Food and Cultural Landscape

Local food in Portland-area schools has gained significant momentum in recent years, with growing community and institutional interest in sourcing locally and seasonally. In addition, Maine was one of the first states to guarantee equal access to school meals for all students with the signing of the School Meals for All bill in 2021. According to Full Plates Full Potential, 5 million more meals were served during the 2022-2023 school year after shifting to universal free meals. One in 6 Maine students face food insecurity which contributes to hunger, underperformance, and long-term inequities in student wellness. Universal school meals is a key strategy in combatting food insecurity.

At the same time, demographic shifts in Portland, South Portland, and Westbrook—particularly the growth of the Muslim population—are reshaping what “equitable access to school meals” means. According to the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, 87% of White and Asian Muslim Americans answered that they keep halal (“all” and “mostly” combined). For Arab Muslims, this percentage was 81%, and for Black Muslims, 80%. Yet few meal programs offer Halal-certified options making it so that for many Muslim students in Maine—especially those from low-income, immigrant, or refugee households—the absence of Halal school meals means that free school lunch is not actually accessible.  

A Full Day Rooted in Place, Purpose, and Partnership

The training was split between Jordan’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth and Fork Food Lab in South Portland. Farm owner Penny Jordan is also the founder of Farms for Food Equity, one of the original partners in the Maine Immigrant Green Collaborative. Food service staff from Westbrook schools spent the day connecting with the origins of the food they serve and gaining skills and knowledge that align with the cultural and nutritional needs of their students. Equally critical was the leadership of their Nutrition Director, Mary Emerson. By prioritizing this kind of immersive, equity-centered training over more traditional orientations, Mary signaled that professional development should be inspiring, not just informational; cultural relevance is a core value, not an afterthought; and local food systems are worth investing in, and school food workers are key partners in that work. South Portland district staff also visited Snell Family Farm and will be adding the shared kitchen tour into their orientation this year. 

"It was so neat to see the whole operation from literally the field to the table. I personally felt an increased sense of pride in knowing that the ethnic greens we serve to our students were grown at Jordan Farm where they are dedicated to growing delicious, quality produce utilizing the highest sanitation standards in the industry.” 

- Mary Emerson, School Nutrition Director, Westbrook School District 

Morning at Jordan’s Farm

• Farm Tour & Harvest Walk: Staff explored where their produce comes from, learned about local food production, and harvested ingredients for lunch. The tour was led by Doug Clopp of Maine Farm and Sea Cooperative.
• Food Safety in Context: Ron Adams of the Maine Farm and Sea Cooperative led an on-farm session on farm food safety practices, followed by discussion of school kitchen standard operating procedures.
• Meet the Farmers: Staff heard directly from farm owners about growing practices, seasonal produce, and the importance of community-based agriculture.
• Menu Diversity Conversation: A dialogue on culturally relevant meals and incorporating local ingredients.

Afternoon at Fork Food Lab

• Cooking Demonstration: Staff prepared and sampled Chicken & Kale Stew on Rice with cherry tomatoes—using a recipe from Khadija Ahmed, a local community member and Head Chef and Program Lead of the Halal School Meals Network.
• Shared Lunch: The meal served as a moment of nourishment, relationship-building, and reflection.
• Tour of Fork Food Lab: Staff got to see how this local kitchen incubator supports diverse food entrepreneurs and learned how processing equipment can create efficiencies for institutional scratch cooking.
• Halal Meals Training: Staff received a primer from Khadija Ahmed on what Halal means, how it’s certified, and why it matters—especially for food-insecure Muslim students.

"Having an experience like the one we had at Fork Food Lab makes the staff more comfortable with this program. It creates a strong relationship with the nutrition staff, and allows them to feel confident in this work. When they meet you in person and see what we're talking about is simple food, it's no longer "oh my God, what is Halal?" 

- Khadija Ahmed, Head Chef and Program Lead of the Halal School Meals Network.

Why It Mattered

Participants reported leaving the training energized, informed, and more connected to each other and the mission of serving equitable, nourishing meals. 

Key Impacts:

• Grounding "Local" in Experience: Visiting the farm made local food tangible. Staff better understood where their ingredients come from and who grows them.

“It was a great day! The experience at the farm was excellent. The importance of buying local food was made very clear that day to all of us. Then to move onto Fork Food Labs to sample what we harvested was a good end to the day. To see it from start to finish was invaluable.”

- Kelly Bourgeois, Administrative Assistance, Westbrook School Nutrition

• Bringing Culture into the Kitchen: Learning from Khadija’s cooking and Halal guidelines deepened staff knowledge of culturally responsive practices.
• Professional Development: Staff earned continuing education credit, validating the day as both experiential and instructional.
• Team Cohesion: The shared experience fostered trust, creativity, and a collective sense of purpose heading into the new school year.
• Student Impact: Staff felt more equipped to prepare meals that are inclusive, delicious, and welcoming for all students—especially those whose dietary needs have historically been overlooked.

How to Replicate in Your Community

This model of immersive training can be adapted to different regions and populations by:

1. Partnering Locally: Build coalitions that include farms, culturally rooted chefs, local nonprofits, and food service managers.
2. Centering Culture and Inclusion: Include community members in the planning and execution of cooking demos or storytelling.
3. Making it Hands-On: Let staff touch, taste, and prepare the food they’ll serve. This deepens buy-in and skill development.
4. Offering Credit: Frame the day as a professional development opportunity to support participation and legitimacy.
5. Sustaining the Work: Use the experience to launch or strengthen ongoing initiatives like Halal certification, local procurement, or recipe testing.

Conclusion

The August 2024 training and farm tour marked a powerful shift in how Westbrook school district approaches food service orientation. By rooting the day in culture, community, and real food, Westbrook schools are not only feeding students—they are nourishing belonging, dignity, and health. As more districts explore creative pathways toward food justice, this model offers a replicable blueprint grounded in relationships and joy.

Key Partners

Westbrook School Nutrition Program strives to foster positive relationships between students and the food they eat by utilizing Farm and Sea to School programs and a belief that food empowers students to develop personal connections with community, culture, and sustainability. Westbrook School Nutrition partners closely with community organizations to implement more culturally relevant and locally produced meals. 
Role at event: Advocated and organized the whole program and varying partners, led compliance training, connected the varying experiences to the cafeteria.

Halal School Meals Network launched the nation’s first third-party certified Halal school meals program in Maine, in collaboration with IFANCA, Food For All Services, Portland-area school districts, Cumberland County Food Security Council, and the Foundation for Portland Public Schools. Read more about the Halal School Meals Network. 
Role at event: Led training on Halal meals in schools

Maine Farm and Sea Cooperative brings deep expertise in local food systems, institutional procurement, and training. 
Role at event: Led the farm tour, food safety demo, and cooking demo; helped connect key voices from farm.

Fork Food Lab is a culinary incubator providing space and support for recipe development, processing, and training.
Role at event: Hosted afternoon portion of training, lunch, and led tour of facility.

Jordan’s Farm is a local farm and trusted supplier of produce for school meals.
Role at event: Hosted morning portion of the training, invited food service staff to tour and harvest local produce

Cumberland County Food Security Council works to ensure equitable access to healthy food for all. Their focus on child nutrition and school food transformation makes them key partners in the Portland area farm to school movement. 
Role at event: Logistics support and co-facilitation of the Halal meals training

This case study is part of the Rooted in Community Project led by FINE, which centers and explores community-led farm to institution work in New England. Cumberland County Food Security Council is a partner on this project.

Funding for Rooted in Community was made possible by a Regional Food System Partnership grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.