Beyond Fish Sticks: Diving Into Seafood in Schools

School lunch menus have long relied on heavily processed options, with fish sticks often being the only seafood offered. Around the country, a growing number of districts are buying sustainable, local seafood, demonstrating that seafood can be a powerful vehicle for reducing ultraprocessed foods on student trays. 

The National School Lunch Program standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) require schools to offer specific weekly amounts of five meal components: fruits, vegetables, grains, fluid milk, and meats/meat alternates. 

Meats/meat alternates are protein-rich foods that include, but are not limited to, chicken, beef, pork, tofu, eggs, legumes, and seafood. Schools can buy fresh and frozen seafood, such as fish fillets, as well as ready-to-cook products like fish cakes. By incorporating seafood into school meals, schools are expanding their healthy protein options and buying local, supporting their regional economies.

Connecting Seafood Vendors and Schools

According to a federal report, seafood accounted for only 1-2% of all animal proteins bought for the National School Lunch Program in fiscal years 2014-2019. Several factors contribute to schools' low seafood purchases. Unless seafood vendors have previously worked with schools, vendors may not understand school nutrition standards, school food budgets, and school food procurement regulations. 

When buying seafood products (and any processed foods) with multiple ingredients, schools need documentation from the vendor outlining how the product complies with USDA meal pattern standards. For example, fish cakes typically contain fish, breadcrumbs, eggs, and seasoning. The documentation (a Child Nutrition Label or Product Formulation Statement) specifies the serving size needed to ensure students receive the required amount of meats/meat alternates. Vendors may need to adjust their product formulations to comply with these standards and develop this documentation before getting their products into schools.

On the other hand, schools may not know how to find sustainable seafood vendors, as there are very few vendors serving K-12 schools. To help address this issue, many local food partners are stepping in to connect fishermen, vendors, and schools. However, the work doesn’t end once these connections are made. After a district purchases a new seafood product, school food professionals require training on the proper methods for storing, handling, cooking, and serving it. This training is especially important since fish is one of the big nine allergens, which can be a barrier to its service in schools. 

Increasing seafood in schools requires partnership-building among vendors, schools, and community partners, so that all entities understand school food nutrition and purchasing regulations, as well as the availability of seafood products. 

Let’s dive in to see how schools and local food partners are working across the country to tackle these challenges and incorporate sustainable seafood on student trays.

Engaging Stakeholders on the West Coast

Transitioning away from ultraprocessed foods requires empowering school food professionals with strategies for purchasing sustainably caught seafood at reasonable prices, as well as the culinary skills to prepare new seafood recipes. 

In California, our operations team has participated in training and tasting events for school districts, hosted by Real Good Fish, a sustainable seafood vendor. At these events, Real Good Fish staff helped schools understand the range of seafood products available, and Chef Ann Foundation staff supported culinary trainings, so school food professionals feel more confident preparing them. Real Food Fish products are available nationwide to schools via GoldStar Foods.

Building Partnerships on the East Coast

In Maine, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute is collaborating with the South Portland School Department and the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association to implement scratch-made seafood recipes in schools and support local economies. As grantees in the Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS) program, these partners are working to expand access to sustainable, local seafood in schools.

Images taken by Stephanie Visciglia of South Portland School Department.

Advocating for National Quality Standards

While individual districts are making strides toward cooking seafood from scratch, systematic change requires broader policy support.

We are collaborating with our partners at ButcherBox to advocate for national quality standards for seafood and meat served in schools through their Raise the Tray campaign. Together, we aim to encourage USDA to establish clear quality standards for school meat and seafood, similar to the standards already in place for whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. 

We believe our children deserve the highest quality protein that supports their health and the health of our planet. Sustainable seafood is the future, and we’re proud of the groundwork our partners have laid and look forward to the work ahead to ensure kids across the nation have healthy meals on their tray every day. By moving away from ultraprocessed options and investing in sustainable seafood, schools can support local fishing economies, expand the culinary skills of their school food workforce, and improve meal quality so students are nourished and ready to learn.

About Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation

The PLANTS program seeks to strengthen relationships between schools and community-based food system stakeholders, as well as expand scratch-cooking in schools to build more sustainable and nourishing school meal programs.

PLANTS is funded by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration, as part of its Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, and is administered by Chef Ann Foundation in partnership with Kitchen Sync Strategies Collaborative and National Farm to School Network.

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