We’ll also learn more about the ways the Bay State is helping kids get closer to their foodways. It’s Mass. Farm to School Month and despite federal cuts, the state has thrown it’s support into this program that gets the products of local farms into public schools. We speak with special projects manager Abby Getman-Skillicorn and Northampton schools nutrition director Mistelle Hannah about the ways this program is ahead of its class.

Western Mass. school districts receive federal grant funding for healthy meal programs: Northampton Public Schools: $10,232

The public school meals system in the U.S. is complicated, and overseen by the federal government. I commend the Smith College students for trying to understand it and writing their article, “Fare Questions: Local school meals face healthy criticism,” published in the Gazette on March 15. But in an age of rampant misinformation, I want to provide our community with the most accurate information. Unfortunately, some facts were misrepresented and blame was misdirected. The Freshampton School Meals team works tirelessly to improve the school meals program, and we should be working together, as a community, for change.

Learn more about how the NPS School Nutrition Department (Freshampton) is benefitting from The Northeast Food For Schools Federal Grant Program

For our Hunger Awareness Week coverage, we visited JFK Middle School in Northampton to speak with the nutrition director for the district, Mistelle Hannah.

Northampton Public Schools | $9,366 ($36,164 FY24) Northampton, MA

Our team had the chance to visit two schools and to see (and taste!) the impact of Universal School Meals.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – Project Bread, the state’s leading anti-hunger organization, hosted legislators and school officials at JFK Middle School Tuesday.

Dec 26, 2024 — A pilot program to provide food for food-insecure Northampton schoolchildren on weekends

While school was out in July and August, communities across the Commonwealth ensured that children still had access to healthy foods by operating summer meal programs.

The 2022-23 Massachusetts Farm to School Institute included teams from Northampton, Salem, Westport Public Schools, and Worcester Head Start. Here are some reflections from the different Institute teams about their experiences and the many initiatives they were able to implement this year!