A newly launched multi-tribal initiative, funded by a $348,000 federal grant, is designed to strengthen local food systems, expand access to Indigenous foods and deepen agricultural education for Wabanaki youth.
Maine’s Boys & Girls Clubs of Border Towns, a multi-site child nutrition program provider in Aroostook, Penobscot and Washington counties, was awarded last week a 2026 USDA Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant for the Wabanaki Tribal Farm to School Initiative.
These USDA grants, ranging from $100,000 to $500,000, will fund 50 innovative farm to school projects around the country, including the Wabanaki initiative and $465,270 to the Healthy Communities of the Capital Area in Hallowell. This is the first time the Wabanaki program has received this grant.
“To be awarded one of two in Maine was truly an honor,” said Jon Solomon, executive director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Border Towns. “It was a goal to expand what we could do and find ways to support our four sites and our community.”
Last month, a report by the Center for American Progress, a non-partisan policy institute in Washington, D.C., said millions will lose access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds under the Trump administration’s latest round of cuts. But the Farm to School Grant Program connects farmers to children by incorporating local foods into school meals, summer meals and child care settings, according to the USDA.
Locally, the farm to school programs bridge that gap for families and kids while supporting local farmers, according to Solomon.
The Hallowell program is a two-year initiative led by Healthy Communities of the Capital Area to expand statewide capacity for bringing more Maine-grown and minimally processed foods into child nutrition programs, while improving the market infrastructure that supports Maine’s farmers, fishers and food businesses.
This project will expand schools’ access to locally sourced beef, pork and poultry by strengthening every link in the farm to school supply chain — from producers and processors to school nutrition staff and classrooms.
The one-of-its-kind Wabanaki initiative connects tribal farmers, gatherers and food producers directly to youth meals through the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program. A portion of the grant money will be used for teaching and hosting events at summer camp as well as updating some kitchen appliances at some clubs and hiring a part-time cook, Solomon said.
“This work positions Boys & Girls Clubs of Bordertowns as a central hub for youth development, nutrition and cultural connection across Wabanaki communities and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead,” he said.
With no-cost youth food programs at their four locations — Maliseets in Houlton, Mi’kmaq in Presque Isle, Sipayik in Perry and Penobscot Nation on Indian Island — the clubs provide more than 300 native and non-native kids with snacks and dinner every day during the school year, along with breakfast, lunch and snacks in the summer.
An important part of the new food program is to teach the youth native traditions and include them throughout the food cycle, from planting to harvesting and food preparation.
“We are going to be working with our agriculture programs at each of our local tribal communities,” Solomon said. “We will be working with tribal medicines and foods of the native culture.”
