WHEREAS, Farm and Sea to School programs enrich the connection communities have with their local food producers by bringing fresh, locally produced and harvested food into schools throughout Maine; and

WHEREAS, Farm and Sea to School programs benefit both our students and food producers by increasing fresh, whole food consumption and improving health outcomes while also increasing revenue and customer base for Maine food producers; and

WHEREAS, more than 30,000 Maine people are employed in agriculture and fisheries, and it is crucial that we continue to support these vital heritage industries; and

WHEREAS, in school year 2023-24, 119 of Maine's 215 school food authorities purchased $968,163 of Maine-produced food with the help of Maine’s Local Foods Fund, leveraging over $300,000 in matching state dollars; and

WHEREAS, Maine was one of the first states in the nation to implement Farm and Sea to School programs and continues to be a leader in the national movement; and

WHEREAS, Maine’s constitution recognizes the right to food, and Farm and Sea to School programs ensure access to fresh, healthy food in our schools; and 

WHEREAS, in 2025, Maine’s Year of Youth in Agriculture, it is important that we continue building the understanding and connection between Maine children and the source of their food, so that we may encourage and support the next generation who will feed our state;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim October 2025 as

Maine Farm & Sea to School Month

and I encourage schools, food producers, community groups, and others to help support the purchase and sale of locally harvested and produced Maine food products.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this eleventh day of September Two Thousand Twenty-Five