MI Farm to School Training Opportunities

Greetings school food service and early child care providers,

 

Are you interested in starting or expanding a farm to school program at your school or early child care program?

 

Through generous funding from the WK Kellogg Foundation, the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems is offering MI Farm to School Training sessions around the state as part of the MI Farm to School Grant Program. To help bring local food into food service programs, this grant program provides farm to school planning and implementation mini-grants to selected school food service professionals at schools/districts AND early child care and education programs with 50% free and reduced rates or greater. Twenty-five MI Farm to School grants were awarded for the 2012/2013 school year, and all grantees will attend the training nearest them. Now we would like to extend the invitation to all Michigan school food service and early child care program providers who are interested beginning or expanding farm to school programs!

 

The MI Farm to School training dates and locations are as follows:

 

·        Tuesday, September 25^th, 12:30 – 4:30 pm

Livingston Educational Service Agency 

McGuffey Room

1425 W Grand River Ave.

Howell, MI 48843

 

·        Wednesday, September 26^th, 12:30 – 4:30pm 

Grayling Charter Township

2090 Viking Way

Grayling, MI 49738

 

·        Friday, September 28^th, 12:30 – 4:30pm 

Kent County Office, Michigan State University Extension

775 Ball Ave NE

Grand Rapids, MI 49503

 

·        Monday, October 1^st, 12:30 – 4:30 pm

MSU Detroit Center

3408 Woodward Ave.

Detroit, MI 48201

 

Training topics will include an overview of Michigan Farm to School, how and where to find and purchase Michigan products, meeting the new school nutrition standards with locally-grown food, farm to school food safety, expanding farm to school programs beyond produce and beyond lunch, and more! Light refreshments will be served at each training.

 

RSVP for any one of these free trainings here - http://tiny.cc/ah7sjw. RSVPs will be accepted on a first come first serve basis as space allows for each training location.

 

We hope to see you in September!

 

Colleen Matts

Farm to Institution Specialist

Center for Regional Food Systems | Michigan State University

480 Wilson Rd | Rm 303 Natural Resources Building | East Lansing, MI 48824

(p) 517.432.0310

www.foodsystems.msu.edu | www.mifarmtoschool.msu.edu