Press Releases

Schools win USDA's HealthierUS School Challenge for excellence in nutrition, education, and physical activity

Today Congresswoman Chellie Pingree congratulated 35 Maine schools for winning the USDA's top honor for healthy schools. The honored schools are in the Boothbay, Falmouth, Freeport, Lakes Region, Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook, Yarmouth and North Yarmouth school districts.

"Congratulations to all of these schools. I'm very excited that Maine schools are being recognized for their great work in teaching our kids healthy habits," said Pingree. "Even with all the pressures facing schools today, they have had some substantial successes in tackling problems like childhood obesity by creating healthier environments for their students. In many of the schools I've visited, that means giving students a chance to grow some of what they eat or providing a salad bar in the cafeteria. It's so refreshing to see a student happily gobbling up kale from their plate."

USDA Secretary Kevin Concannon will be in Portland for an event at 3 p.m. today at Hannaford Hall on the USM campus to honor the schools. Concannon, who is a Maine native, and Pingree held a forum at Bonny Eagle High School in 2010 to hear from child advocates, school nutrition directors, and nutritionists on how the government could do a better job of supporting schools who want to serve healthier foods.

In October, Pingree introduced the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act. The legislation, which currently has 60 cosponsors in the House, reforms the Farm Bill to better support local food production and small farms. One of the measures in the bill is to allow schools to use some of the funding they receive for commodities to buy food from local producers.

Let's Go!, a healthy eating and active living program, based at the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center, provided the infrastructure and support needed by the schools to complete the improvements required by the HealthierUS School Challenge.