Mostly Local, Always Delicious
school food at WEVS
What WE SERVE…
At West End Village School, we understand the challenges and hassle faced by parents when packing daily lunches for young children. We developed our nutritious and delicious school food program to relieve this task and offer parents a little bit of their precious time back. At WEVS, we serve morning and afternoon snacks, and share a home-cooked meal together for lunch. To us, food is more than simply fuel, and so we enjoy slow-paced meals, savoring this time for daily connection.
Our beloved school chef, Dylan Roberts (Josephine’s husband) - with his many years of experience cooking in restaurants and schools - collaborates with us to design nutritionally-balanced, seasonally-focused daily meals and snacks for the children in our care. And not only does he bake and cook many of our foods from scratch, he even grows an ever expanding selection of our veggies and fruits at the Roberts’ family homestead in Falmouth.
In addition to the food we grow and make, we serve raw fruits and veggies, and other local products found at the many Portland area farmer's markets, farm stands, and grocery markets. In June 2019, we received our very first CSA share from Harvest Tide Organics, a fantastic small farm located in Bowdoinham, ME. Having a CSA means fresh Maine produce and preserved harvest all year round, and a direct line to Maine’s incredible local agriculture system. We love supporting our farmers and sampling so many delicious Maine foods!
What We Make…
Lucky for us, Chef Dylan is not only an excellent cook, he also has a passion for baking! Each week we are treated to a wealth of sweet and savory baked goods that comprise the majority our morning snacks and compliment our daily lunches. Each week’s selections are primarily based on the ingredients that are locally available at any given time either fresh, frozen, or preserved by us or one of Maine’s many local food producers, and complimented by a few favorite staples from away.
Here are a few of our favorite homemade baked goods (as reported by the kids & teachers): wild blueberry muffins, pumpkin-pecan & kale bread, potato dinner rolls, whole wheat sandwich bread, pumpkin oatmeal currant “cookie” bars, chocolate zucchini bread, herbed focaccia, French bread pizzas, carrot currant coconut muffins, sour dough boule bread, chocolate chip zucchini oatmeal breakfast cookies, cinnamon swirl white & wheat bread, banana walnut spinach bread, and sea salty bagels.
Here are few favorite lunch entrees from over the years: parmesan & peas egg noodle salad dressed with walnut oil, triple veggie & tomato soup, black bean & green pepper tomato chili, squash carrot & onion mac and cheese casserole, spinach & artichoke cream cheese dip with sourdough toast points, sweet potato onion & black bean dip with cheesy quesadillas, spaghetti with triple veggie marinara, ploughman’s lunch with humus hard boiled eggs and a local cheese and pickles spread, sweet potato & green pea curry with rice, flakey veggie pot pie, and creamy pumpkin leek soup served with potato dinner rolls.
*Because our school is small, and food is such an elemental component of our program, we adjust our menu seasonally and yearly to accommodate student and teacher food allergies, preferences, and favorites. Every meal is comprised of a a main dish and a variety of side options to ensure that there is always something to please and something to surprise the taste buds of everyone at the table.
