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RSU 14 nutrition director warns federal cuts could shrink local foods on student trays
Summary
Jeannie Riley, RSU 14 director of school nutrition, told the board the district depends on grant and federal reimbursements to serve local chicken, yogurt and produce; a cut to Maine’s local-foods funding and proposed federal changes to community eligibility could reduce meal quality or require local subsidy.
Jeannie Riley, RSU 14 director of school nutrition, told the Windham-Raymond school board on March 12 that the district’s ability to serve local foods — yogurt, chicken, cheese and produce sourced from nearby farms — depends on state and federal reimbursements that have recently been cut. “That fund, at this point, is gone,” Riley said, describing a drop from about $16,079 in local-food reimbursement last year to roughly $3,300 this year after statewide redistribution.
The issue matters because RSU 14 operates school meals as an enterprise account that must cover staffing, food and supplies from meal revenue and reimbursements. Riley said the federal reimbursement rate of roughly $4.50 per meal must…
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