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Auburn School Department expands local sourcing under USDA School Food Systems Innovation Grant
Summary
Staff updated the Auburn School Committee on a USDA-funded School-Based Food Hub project that aims to increase local sourcing for school meals, describing farm partnerships, taste tests, new processing equipment, forward contracting and a summer processing plan.
Lily, project coordinator for the School-Based Food Hub, told the Auburn School Committee on Feb. 5 that the district’s USDA School Food Systems Innovation Grant is supporting a project to increase local food sourcing, support farms and integrate farm foods into school cafeterias.
The update matters because it describes operational changes to school nutrition — shifting procurement toward local farms, installing processing equipment, and planning summer processing to supply meals in the school year.
Lily said the district has “indirectly ordered from 23 different farms within a 50-mile radius” for school year 2025 and has formed about six direct farm relationships within 30 miles. She named partner organizations and…
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