School Of Fish: A Co-op Is Serving Up Local Catch For Nauset Students

BREWSTER – Visitors from around the world come to Cape Cod for the fresh seafood, so why don’t local students ever see seafood on the menu at school? 

Brett Tolley, co-founder and general manager of the Chatham Harvesters Cooperative, believes fresh, local fish should be a regular menu option for Cape Cod students. 

As a young kid growing up in a Chatham fishing family, Tolley always questioned the seafood supply chain. Local fishermen would bring in a sea of locally-caught, native fish, only for it to be frozen and sent across the country or internationally. In turn, Cape Cod businesses and restaurants were shipping in frozen seafood from other parts of the country regularly. 

“Ironically, most of the fish caught in Massachusetts is exported overseas,” said Tolley. “That means fewer economic benefits for our region, a larger carbon footprint, and kids missing out on fresh, healthy meals.”

In 2016, Tolley co-founded the Chatham Harvesters Cooperative, the only fisherman-owned and operated co-op in the state, with five other fishermen and their families. Their mission is to catch, cut and pack local seafood from Cape Cod waters and deliver it back into the community. They prioritize sustainable practices, reduce fish waste, focus on locally-abundant fish and promote local economic growth. Today, the co-op includes over 25 fishing families and has a fish share community of over 800. 

Tolley’s approach to local seafood activism didn’t just stop at providing a living wage for fishing families. He made it a priority to get fish into the local schools after learning that his son, a first grader, had never seen fish on the menu. 

The fish-to-school initiative began in May and has been made possible in part by Massachusetts Farm to School, a non-profit organization that provides funding to help schools source local food. 

On Wednesday, May 28 Tolley visited Eddy Elementary School for “Meet Your Fisherman” day. He wandered from table to table during lunches chatting with the students about fish and what it means to eat local. The next day the cafeteria was serving monkfish that fishermen from the co-op caught. 

“Not a single student I spoke with had tried fish in the school…ever,” he said. “And these are fourth and fifth graders. When I asked, ‘Isn't it interesting that we live on the Cape, surrounded by fish, and yet we almost never get to try fish on our school menus? We're not surrounded by cows or chickens, are we? But we see those animals on the menu a lot.’ I could see their wheels turning.”

Tolley also noted that many of the students said they liked to eat fish and had a family member or knew of someone in the fishing industry. In a press release for the fish-to-school program, a student was quoted saying, “We like the fish better than the pizza.” 

While many factors, including misinformation about fish prices, have played a role in the lack of fish on school menus, Tolley said he discovered a more shocking deterrent. 

“Oftentimes school lunch programs don't work with seafood because they're not sure how to cook nor if the kids will enjoy it. That is the biggest barrier we've identified,” he said. “The Nauset schools are demonstrating that these barriers may not be as big as we think. Skate wings, shark bites, dogfish burgers can all be on the menu from boat to dock to a school’s kitchen.”

The reaction to the monkfish from Eddy Elementary students? Resoundingly enthusiastic. 

Tolley said he hopes the program is able to grow into something more. For now, they are working to get local catches in the schools a few times a year. In the future, he hopes to increase the frequency to once a week. 

“This is about more than food,” he said. “It’s about building a sustainable, just and community-rooted food system, one that nourishes kids, supports fishermen and protects the ocean for generations to come.”