Mansfield Public Schools has been awarded a grant through the The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) through the Connecticut Grown for Connecticut Kids Grant (CTG4CTK Grant) in fiscal year 2025. The district was one of 15 applicants awarded the grant.
The CTG4CTK grant focuses on increasing the availability of local foods in child nutrition programs, allowing educators to use hands-on educational techniques to teach students about nutrition and farm-to-school connections, sustaining relationships with local farmers and producers, enriching the educational experience of students, improving the health of children in the state, and enhancing the state's economy.
Read the full press release from the Department of Agriculture here: https://portal.ct.gov/doag/press-room/press-releases/2024/december/ct-doag-announces-$750000-investment
The total grant awarded to Mansfield Schools was $74,740.58.
In Mansfield, the grant project will be used to help
1) Deepen the local food processing skills of our food services staff: Through professional training and equipment upgrades, this project This funding will enable the school food chefs to understand how to process local foods, and safely scratch cook with these ingredients
2) Engage students through an advisory committee: The project will assemble and launch a student advisory committee The committee would help to increase the awareness among kids of the local scratch made foods that are offered in the cafeteria. Student input and deeper connection to the school kitchen will help build interest in the program and lead to a positive impact in meal program participation.
3) Share learning with other districts in Connecticut: Our project will help other districts who are seeking to increase local scratch made foods in their schools through workshops, meetings and presentations of best practices and lessons learned.
The grant was applied for by Food Services Director and Chef Maraiah Popeleski-Tilley who is a leader in transforming practices in school kitchens. She recently completed a Fellowship at the Chef Ann Foundation in California, one of only three professionals from New England. The Foundation's Healthy School Food Pathway Fellowship program helps experienced school food professionals realize their visions for healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable school food — both locally in their home districts and at a national scale. Maraiah believes strongly in No Sad Lunches, and has worked to source local produce and products to include fresh foods in school meals at Mansfield Elementary, Mansfield Middle and E.O. Smith High School. In 2024 she was recognized as a Taste of Mansfield Champion for local food.