April 3, 2024 — About 45,000 New England students have been offered locally sourced seafood as part of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s (GMRI) initiative to increase fish consumption in school lunches. The initiative is called “Sea to School,” and the sustainable seafood team aims to increase the access and amount of seafood in public schools.
As of 2024, GMRI has partnered with nine school districts throughout the area to help introduce seafood to students through education. Money was used from federal and local grants to implement the distribution in K -12 schools. Their goal is to improve access to local seafood and have fish offered more than once a month.
The Sea to School goals are to:
- Increase the amount of local seafood served in schools in New England by partnering with school food service staff and student ambassadors.
- Develop culturally diverse local fish recipes to provide immigrant students and students from diverse backgrounds with familiar flavors and preparations.
- Develop and strengthen education around local seafood in schools throughout New England.
In a WMTW interview, Sophie Scott, the sustainable seafood program manager at GMRI, explained, “Whenever we talk to people about getting more fish in front of kids, the initial reaction is, ‘Oh, kids don’t like seafood. They’re not going to eat it.” However, that has not been what the institute has observed in the four years that this initiative has been in the works.