Portland schools and homes to receive more Maine-grown food

Jan. 21—Could sheep and a shepherd replace lawn mowers in Deering Oaks? Could an urban farm sprout on the peninsula? Could the waiting list for a community garden plot be eliminated? Could hot lunch become cool?

Portland aims to find out.

A task force convened by Mayor Michael Brennan in 2012 is moving forward with a number of initiatives aimed at giving the city’s residents more opportunities to eat local and nutritious food. While the urban farm and flock of sheep are only in the discussion phase, work is underway to make school lunch more popular by cooking with local foods and to increase the number of community garden plots.