Chatham schools could serve salmon, venison and seaweed under new wellness policy

The Chatham School District board votes Tuesday on a wellness policy that calls for traditional and locally harvested foods, such as salmon, halibut, venison, seaweed and berries, in school meals.

The district runs Angoon School, Gustavus School, Klukwan School and Tenakee Springs Correspondence. Under the revised policy, the district would use traditional and locally harvested foods in meals, taste tests and nutrition lessons, and take part in Farm to School and Fish to School activities.

Those foods "are part of a healthy diet and of students' cultural identity," the policy says, "and the District will honor them in its nutrition programs and education."

It sets some limits. The district would serve them "to the extent practicable and consistent with food safety requirements and Alaska state regulations," and would accept donated traditional foods only under state food safety rules. Featuring traditional foods on menus is one of the lunchroom promotion techniques schools could choose from. Nutrition lessons could cover the traditional foods of Southeast Alaska and how to safely handle and store harvested fish and game.

The district's current policy, last revised in 2019, already encourages lessons on harvesting and tasting Alaska foods, with guest instruction from a locally endorsed Alaska Native elder or culture bearer. It lets traditional foods skip nutrition requirements only when they're served free for educational purposes. The new version adds a commitment to put them in school meals, citing federal rules that recognize traditional Indigenous foods as allowable in school meals the government reimburses.

The policy also sets rules for the school day. Students would get at least 20 minutes to eat lunch once they're seated, and elementary students at least 20 minutes of recess. Water would be free all day. Food couldn't be used as a reward or taken away as punishment, and no student could be denied a meal or singled out over an unpaid balance.

Superintendent David Langford would lead a wellness committee that meets at least four times a year, with the principals, the food service manager and a parent and tribal member, Kristi Kookesh.

The board will also vote on adult meal prices of $5 for breakfast and $8.65 for lunch, which federal rules require to cover the full cost of the meal. The meeting starts at 6 pm.