School nutrition teams from across the state are competing in the Maine Department of Education’s 11th annual Farm to School Cook-Off. The fourth and final regional contest was held at Conners Elementary School in Lewiston Wednesday between the Lisbon School Department, RSU 17 and RSU 52. Other contestants participated in Hampden, Presque Isle and Westbrook. Volunteer teams are made up of a school nutrition employee and one other person from that school district, either a student or staff member. Judges for the competition include a student, a school nutrition director and a professional chef. The department’s child nutrition supervisor, Stephanie Stambach, said this is the first time the state has hosted four regional competitions. The winning teams from each event will compete in the state finals in Bangor on April 8. In two timed rounds, the competing teams were asked to prepare a breakfast with wild Maine blueberries donated by Passamaquoddy Wild Blueberry Co. and a lunch with local ground beef donated by Maine Family Farms.”We’ve done local eggs, local yogurt,” Stambach said. “We’ve done fish, so this year we wanted to highlight some other Maine ingredients like wild blueberries, because you can’t get more Maine than that.”The teams in Lewiston made red, white and blue breakfast whoopie pies, yogurt parfaits and blueberry Danishes for the breakfast round. They served the judges sloppy Joes, hamburgers with a blueberry barbecue sauce and beef pot pie for lunch.In addition to incorporating those “challenge ingredients,” the dishes had to meet USDA school meal requirements. One ounce of grain and one cup of fruit are required for breakfast, and lunch must include grain, meat/meat alternative, fruit, vegetable and milk. These are guidelines the teams are used to following in their home cafeterias. Stambach said, “I’d say that’s one thing they’re really great at doing is being creative. It’s a lot of trial and error, trying something, seeing how it works, like maybe try to get some feedback from students.”The contest is an opportunity to not only highlight kitchen talent and local products but also share ideas and find inspiration. “People are happy to share what’s going well,” Stambach said. “There aren’t any secrets in school nutrition, so neighboring districts will share recipes. There’s a lot of resources out there.” Recipes used throughout the competition will be compiled into a cookbook for schools across the state to use.Westbrook School District, RSU 79, RSU 22 and RSU 52 will compete for the title of 2026 Farm to School Cook-Off Champion.
LEWISTON, Maine —
School nutrition teams from across the state are competing in the Maine Department of Education’s 11th annual Farm to School Cook-Off. The fourth and final regional contest was held at Conners Elementary School in Lewiston Wednesday between the Lisbon School Department, RSU 17 and RSU 52.
Other contestants participated in Hampden, Presque Isle and Westbrook. Volunteer teams are made up of a school nutrition employee and one other person from that school district, either a student or staff member. Judges for the competition include a student, a school nutrition director and a professional chef.
The department’s child nutrition supervisor, Stephanie Stambach, said this is the first time the state has hosted four regional competitions. The winning teams from each event will compete in the state finals in Bangor on April 8.
In two timed rounds, the competing teams were asked to prepare a breakfast with wild Maine blueberries donated by Passamaquoddy Wild Blueberry Co. and a lunch with local ground beef donated by Maine Family Farms.
“We’ve done local eggs, local yogurt,” Stambach said. “We’ve done fish, so this year we wanted to highlight some other Maine ingredients like wild blueberries, because you can’t get more Maine than that.”
The teams in Lewiston made red, white and blue breakfast whoopie pies, yogurt parfaits and blueberry Danishes for the breakfast round. They served the judges sloppy Joes, hamburgers with a blueberry barbecue sauce and beef pot pie for lunch.
In addition to incorporating those “challenge ingredients,” the dishes had to meet USDA school meal requirements. One ounce of grain and one cup of fruit are required for breakfast, and lunch must include grain, meat/meat alternative, fruit, vegetable and milk. These are guidelines the teams are used to following in their home cafeterias.
Stambach said, “I’d say that’s one thing they’re really great at doing is being creative. It’s a lot of trial and error, trying something, seeing how it works, like maybe try to get some feedback from students.”
The contest is an opportunity to not only highlight kitchen talent and local products but also share ideas and find inspiration.
“People are happy to share what’s going well,” Stambach said. “There aren’t any secrets in school nutrition, so neighboring districts will share recipes. There’s a lot of resources out there.”
Recipes used throughout the competition will be compiled into a cookbook for schools across the state to use.
Westbrook School District, RSU 79, RSU 22 and RSU 52 will compete for the title of 2026 Farm to School Cook-Off Champion.
