Pizza, mac and cheese, sandwiches – all that standard school lunch fare was noticeably absent from trays at Unalaska City High School on Friday. Tenth grader Renzel Hoover:

“Hoover: We’re having salmon and then bread and pudding, vegetables and some beans, and some rice too.
SJ: And do you guys normally have salmon for lunch?
Hoover: No, it’s actually the first time this year we’ve had salmon, so it’s kind of new, but it’s good.”

The salmon is part of a state pilot program that aims to bring more local foods into schools. The Unalaska city school district received a $31,000 grant this year to purchase Alaskan foods for lunch.

Chef Linda Lekanoff bought the sockeye from Aleutian Fresh Seafoods for about $1000.

"This is what we did. We took it out of the package, and we laid it on these sheet pans and basically just baked it for 25 minutes.”

The simple preparation didn’t stop it from being a hit with students.

Student 1:More salmon Linda?
Lekanoff: You bet. I’m so glad you like it.
Student 1: It’s really good. Thank you!
Lekanoff: You’re welcome.More red salmon?
Student 2: Yeah.
Leknaoff: You like it?
Student 2: Can I have one more?
Lekanoff: Should I serve this again you think?
Student 2: Yeah, definitely.

Lekanoff is already cooking up ideas for what local foods to serve next.

“We’re going to be seeing salmon patties, more salmon like we had today, maybe some pollock or cod.”

All the grant money has to be used this school year. Right now the program is only funded through June 2013, but the legislature could appropriate more money for it during the fiscal year 2014 budgeting process.