© North Coast Seafoods
Following a successful pilot of the Maine Kelp Programme, North Coast Seafoods has renewed its partnership with Boston Public Schools through 2026. During the next leg of the programme, the seafood producer aims to centre its kelp-based products on school menus.
Highlighting kelp as a crop which is not only beneficial for the environment, but also nutritious, Boston Public Schools will serve its students kelp-based sliders, burgers, and meatballs. These products are touted as unique plant-based products that are delicious, healthy, and effortless to prepare.
The new menu items are designed to be suitable for all, being naturally vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free, with a clean label list of ingredients composed primarily of kelp, green chickpeas, brown rice, and spices.
“As a company with a deeply-anchored legacy of sustainability that calls Boston home, North Coast continuously seeks ways to reduce our environmental impact and support our local economy, striving to play our role as a small part of the solution rather than the problem. We are incredibly proud to supply Boston students, faculty, and staff with a delicious, nutrient-dense, local, and sustainable product that positively impacts our oceans, communities, and environment,” said Andrew Wilkinson, North Coast’s chef director of research and development, in a press release.
Throughout the partnership, North Coast Seafoods will also conduct tastings and demonstrations at schools throughout Boston Public Schools to share the benefits of kelp for the ocean, coastal economy, and the tremendous nutrition profile kelp provides.
The kelp itself will be sourced from the award-winning Atlantic Sea Farms, a mission-driven seaweed farming company growing kelp on a small-scale in the clean cold waters of new England.
“As we work to increase opportunities in regenerative aquaculture, we’re proud to partner with North Coast Seafoods to expand the market for domestically-farmed kelp. We’re thrilled that the Boston Public School system continues to offer this highly nutritious, locally farmed seaweed to students, as it engages young people in their regional food system with a product that supports the health of our oceans and our coastal communities for future generations to come,” said Bri Warner, Atlantic Sea Farms CEO.
