At a Hampden‑Wilbraham Regional School District School Committee meeting, a district staff member outlined how the district uses local suppliers in its school meal program and said a recent federal funding cut reduced, but did not eliminate, local purchases.

The staff member said the district received an $18,810 Northeast Food for Schools grant intended to buy meat, vegetables and dairy produced within 400 miles of the district. The district used that money to increase purchases of milk under its existing contract with HP Hood and to buy occasional produce from Wellspring Harvest, a hydroponic lettuce grower in Indian Orchard. The staff member said Wellspring supplied variable quantities — sometimes 10 cases, sometimes 20 — and that the district picked up deliveries when available.

The presentation described several other local‑sourcing arrangements. AC Produce (Springfield) delivers weekly produce to each school with no minimum order, the Department of Defense (DOD) Fresh program provides weekly fresh fruits and vegetables (the staff member said the district typically uses 15–20 cases of DOD‑supplied sliced apples per week), Rice’s in East Longmeadow supplies surplus apples when available, and the district installed two “tower garden” grow towers that teachers use for classroom taste tests and curriculum activities.

The staff member told the committee that USDA later canceled additional planned funding for the Northeast Food for Schools program after the agency determined the program no longer matched its priorities. The cancellation reduced the district’s ability to buy local product regularly, the staff member said, but the district continues to purchase local milk and to accept local produce when suppliers have surplus.

Committee members praised the district’s efforts and suggested expanding communications to parents and the community, using taste tests to increase student buy‑in and pursuing staff culinary training opportunities. The district representative said the district has applied to a culinary professional development program that could lead to in‑person chef visits to train cafeteria staff.

The staff member also identified two ongoing challenges to expanding local sourcing: (1) delivery logistics — many small farms do not deliver to multiple small school sites — and (2) seasonality — local produce is most abundant in summer when school is typically out of session.

The district said it will continue current partnerships and sought committee support for staff training and community outreach tied to the local‑food work.