Sen. Vitelli tours Bath Middle School for School Meals Celebration Week

BATH— Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, toured Bath Middle School on Friday, Nov. 18 for School Meals Celebration Week.

“When kids have access to healthy, filling meals, they have the energy they need to learn, grow, play and reach their full potential. It was inspiring to visit Bath Middle School and see all the incredible work their staff put into meeting the nutritional needs of each student,” said Sen. Vitelli. “In the Legislature, I was proud to sponsor bills to create and then expand the Local Foods Fund, and I was just as proud when we made free universal school meals a reality in Maine. Seeing and hearing first-hand the impact these laws are already having was a gratifying experience. Thank you to all the staff, educators and students who welcomed me!”

During her visit to Bath Middle School, Sen. Vitelli learned that RSU 1 is looking for more ways to connect with local farms and serve locally grown and produced food. Additionally, more students than ever are taking advantage of free school breakfast, ensuring they get a healthy start to the day and that busy families have one less thing to worry about in the morning.

Last year, the Maine Legislature funded an expansion of the state’s school meals program, to ensure all Maine public school students have access to free school meals, regardless of their family’s income. Maine is only the second state in the country to offer universal free school meals. Additionally, Sen. Vitelli sponsored and championed a bill to expand the Local Foods Fund, which provides reimbursements to help schools buy produce, dairy and protein from local growers and producers. The bill, now law, increased the cap on reimbursement from the Department of Education to encourage more local purchasing using existing funds. It would also expand the program to support the purchase of local foods including produce, meat, fish, tofu, eggs, and value-added dairy products like yogurt.