Farm to Institution Event

Please see the attached flyer with information on an upcoming Farm to Institution Event in West Michigan hosted by Metro Health Hospital and the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum.  The event will include speakers from Metro Health's Food Service Department, Key Green Solutions, and Cultivate Michigan.

This is great opportunity to learn more about Farm to Institution work happening in West Michigan!

Apologies for cross postings.

Cheers, 

Garrett

Garrett Ziegler
Extension Educator, Community Food Systems
MSU Extension Greening Michigan Institute
 
MSU Extension at the Downtown Market

109 Logan Ave SW

Suite B102
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Office: 616.608.7436
Cell: 814.777.3562
zieglerg@anr.msu.edu

www.msue.msu.edu

 
Michigan State University Extension programs and
materials are open to all withought regard to race,
color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion,
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orientation, marital status, family status, or veteran status

Seeking Evaluation Services for Michigan Farm to School project

Greetings,

 

We are requesting proposals for the evaluation component of the Michigan Farm to School (MI FtS): Digging In and Taking Root project, a partnership between the Michigan State University (MSU) Center for Regional Food Systems, the MSU Department of Horticulture and the Michigan Farmers Market Association with funding provided by the WK Kellogg Foundation. This four-year project (April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2018) integrates MI FtS and Hoophouses for Health programs in an innovative, coordinated initiative to respond to great opportunities in both food production and institutional markets, including early childcare and education (ECE) programs. Through this project, we will help link vulnerable children from ECE programs through K-12 schools to the Michigan food system, expand good food production and infrastructure, and contribute to a coordinated, statewide effort to ramp up and track local food purchases by institutions to reach the Michigan Good Food Charter (Charter) goal of sourcing 20% of food locally by 2020. See the attached request for proposal for additional details on project activities and evaluation questions, scope of work, deliverables, requirements and preferences of evaluation consultant(s) and available budget.

 

To be considered for this evaluation project, please send by email to Colleen Matts (matts@msu.edu), project director and Farm to Institution Specialist, a detailed proposal including an itemized budget, three references of individuals/organizations with whom you have completed recent evaluation project(s) and at least one evaluation report to serve as a writing and evaluation sample. The deadline to submit proposals for consideration is 8 am on Monday, November 17^th, 2014. Selected candidates/teams will be notified for interviews to be scheduled for early December 2014 in East Lansing to determine final selection.

 

 

Best,

 

Colleen Matts

Farm to Institution Specialist | Michigan Lead for National Farm to School Network

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

 

National Farm to School Month Continues!

Greetings,

We’re now in the middle of National Farm to School Month! For the next two weeks, schools and preschools across the country will celebrate the local food served in their cafeterias, the gardens in their schoolyards and the food and agriculture education happening in their classrooms. Some will engage with farm to school for the first time; others will enjoy the harvest from years of farm to school success. This Farm to School Month, will you help spread the word about the importance of farm to school and the impact it is having in your community? Here’s how you can get involved at the national level through the National Farm to School Network’s efforts:

· Visit the Farm to School Month page to find resources and information.

· #F2SMonth - Use this hashtag in social media posts to share photos and stories about farm to school in your community. 

· @FarmtoSchool - follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and share our messages with your audience.  

· Use the Communications Toolkit to spread the word about your farm to school events and successes. 

· Order promotional materials to wear and share: posters, stickers, aprons and shirts.

· Learn how you can win a drawing for $1,000 for your farm to school/preschool project! 

· Donate to support the National Farm to School Network, the leading nonprofit working to connect and strengthen the farm to school movement. 

Here in Michigan, it’s apple season, and there are number of additional ways to get involved and promote Farm to School Month.

·         Visit Cultivate Michigan where Michigan institutions can sign up to join and download apple purchasing information, institutional recipes and promotion materials.

·         Celebrate Food Day (October 24^th) by joining in on Michigan Apple Crunch! You can learn more and register as a partner or sponsor here.

·         School food service directors, visit the Michigan Apple Crunch Party at the opening reception of the School Nutrition Association of Michigan Conference this Friday in Acme, MI. This shindig is hosted by Michigan Team Nutrition, Michigan Farm to School and Cultivate Michigan, a project of the Michigan Farm to Institution Network. Stop by and get your photo taken crunching into a Michigan apple!

·         Share your story! If you have an apple story to share, email  info@cultivatemichigan.org or post to our Michigan Farm to Institution Network Facebook page.

 

Close out this month of celebration by contributing to the work going forward: attend the Michigan Farm to Institution Network Meet Up and the Michigan Good Food Summit!

-Michigan Farm to Institution Network (MFIN) Meet Up

Help keep the momentum going from the MFIN launch this past spring with the MFIN Meet Up! Join us to learn about stories from the field and updates from the network and Cultivate Michigan, and shape the direction of our shared work in conversations about featured foods for 2015 and regional connections around the state.

Date: Monday, October 27, 2014
Time: 1:15 – 4:15 PM
Location: Lansing Center, Lansing, MI

This afternoon meeting will be facilitated by the MIFFS Facilitation Team. Click here to register online or send questions to info@cultivatemichigan.org. An agenda and more details will be provided to all who register closer to the event.

 

-Michigan Good Food Summit

The third Michigan Good Food Summit will be returning to the Lansing Center on Tuesday, October 28^th, 2014  Hosted by the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, the Summit will build on the momentum and success around the Michigan Good Food Charter. The six-goal charter is roadmap for a food system rooted in local communities and centered on good food, food that is healthy, green, fair and affordable. More than 600 organizations and individuals have signed a resolution of support for the charter.

Registration is $40 including an evening reception and film October 27^th and $30 for October 28^th only.  Registration is now open at:  https://www.regonline.com/2014goodfoodsummit.  You can also find information on lodging, transportation, and exhibitor opportunities at the registration link.

Colleen Matts

Farm to Institution Specialist | Michigan Lead for National Farm to School Network

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

 

Farm to Preschool Day is October 15th

Dear MI Farm to School Supporters! 

This month is Farm to School Month and October15th is Farm to Preschool Day! With the abundance of local harvest that Michigan has to offer, this month is a wonderful time to highlight local foods in education programs. For early childcare and preschool programs there are great opportunities for planning activities with the children or special events around bringing fresh, healthy, and local foods to children 0-6 years old. Some examples could be: taste testing a new local food in your early childcare program, taking a field trip to a local farm, inviting a farmer to talk to the kids, or planning a local harvest meal with children and families. Farm to Preschool Day could also be as simple as trying a Michigan apple and talking to children about where our food comes from. 

Here are some links to information you might find useful for ideas! The Farm to Preschool website has a number of resources and ideas related to Farm to Preschool http://www.farmtopreschool.org . There is information including resources and curriculum in Spanish and English at the Occidental College, Urban Environmental Policy Institute's Farm to Preschool webpage at http://www.oxy.edu/urban-environmental-policy-institute/programs/food/farm-preschool .For those interested in creating edible gardens or having a garden planning day with young children for Farm to Preschool Day, take a look at Life Lab at http://www.lifelab.org and finally you might want to check out a fun and free curriculum offered by the USDA called Grow it, Try it, Like it! at http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/grow-it-try-it-it .

 

Have a great Farm to School Month and Farm to Preschool Day! And remember to keep it local!

Best Wishes, Julia 

Julia Smith, PhD

Farm to School Specialist 

Center for Regional Food Systems

Department of Community Sustainability

Michigan State University

480 Wilson Rd, Rm 309

East Lansing, MI 48824

517-432-4525

Re: Lansing High School Needs YOU

Jekeia,

I put out a note to Amanda Segar with MIFMA and she is forwarding it on the list serve.

I don’t know if the school has the recipes from the National Dairy Council but they may be helpful. Here is the link. http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/ChildNutrition/Pages/NutritionBreakfast.aspx

A couple of other ideas; make table tents with health and nutrition information for them to read when they arrive. The messages could be ones that help inspire them, such as what breakfast does for the brain or what exercise and the brain. I would be glad to help with this if you think it would be helpful.

One last idea that isn’t food related but was done in Kalamazoo, is to purchase alarm clocks for students. If we could get a local foundation to support the idea, maybe the students could receive it for attending breakfast.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

 

Lori Yelton

Lori Yelton, MS RDN Nutritionist

Food & Dairy Division

Michigan Department of Agriculture

   and Rural Development

P.O. Box 30017

Lansing, MI  48909

yeltonl@michigan.gov

517-420-3249

 

 

From: Murphy, Jekeia [mailto:stilljek@ANR.MSU.EDU]
Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2014 12:16 AM
To: MIFARMTOSCHOOL@LIST.MSU.EDU
Subject: Lansing High School Needs YOU

 

Fellow Farm to School Supporters:

As apart of Eastern High School staff and Positive Behavior Interventions & Support team, I am in search of positive ways to help encourage students at Eastern High School in Lansing Michigan to get to school on time and prepared for class each day! 

 

We've recently begun providing (a warmly received) fresh fruit and veggie snack during sixth hour of our new extended day program AND a universal dinner service to all students each afternoon from 3:45-4:30pm. These programs have heightened students interest in GOOD food! To support our students at the start of the day, we are in search of donations and/or highly competitively priced local foods to offer at the start of each school day. 

 

We PREFER fresh, whole food that is easily distributed. No need to wash or process, our school food staff is willing to wash and process with other daily prep! Any amount helps! To contribute, suggest or simply encourage our efforts Please contact Jekeia Murphy at Jekeia.murphy@lansingschools.net or (517)755-4262. 

 

Warmly,

Jekeia Murphy

 

Eastern Magnet High School

 

On Oct 2, 2014, at 11:21 AM, "Matts, Colleen" <matts@ANR.MSU.EDU> wrote:

 

Lansing High School Needs YOU

Fellow Farm to School Supporters:

As apart of Eastern High School staff and Positive Behavior Interventions & Support team, I am in search of positive ways to help encourage students at Eastern High School in Lansing Michigan to get to school on time and prepared for class each day! 

We've recently begun providing (a warmly received) fresh fruit and veggie snack during sixth hour of our new extended day program AND a universal dinner service to all students each afternoon from 3:45-4:30pm. These programs have heightened students interest in GOOD food! To support our students at the start of the day, we are in search of donations and/or highly competitively priced local foods to offer at the start of each school day. 

We PREFER fresh, whole food that is easily distributed. No need to wash or process, our school food staff is willing to wash and process with other daily prep! Any amount helps! To contribute, suggest or simply encourage our efforts Please contact Jekeia Murphy at Jekeia.murphy@lansingschools.net or (517)755-4262. 

Warmly,

Jekeia Murphy

Eastern Magnet High School

On Oct 2, 2014, at 11:21 AM, "Matts, Colleen" <matts@ANR.MSU.EDU> wrote:

FW: Good Food Charter Shared Measurement Project - teleconferences on October 3 and October 8 - PLEASE RSVP

Greetings,

Please see info below about a new endeavor focusing on shared measurement for the Michigan Good Food Charter’s goals and ways to join in on the conversation to shape the direction of this work!

 

Best,

 

Colleen Matts

Farm to Institution Specialist | Michigan Lead for National Farm to School Network

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

 

 

From: Pirog, Richard [mailto:rspirog@MSU.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2014 11:01 AM
To: MIFOODHUB@LIST.MSU.EDU
Subject: REMINDER - Good Food Charter Shared Measurement Project - teleconferences on October 3 and October 8 - PLEASE RSVP
Importance: High

 

Dear colleagues:

We are pleased to announce the launch of a statewide Michigan Good Food Charter Shared Measurement Project.  This is a highly collaborative project coordinated by the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems and the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition which is a non-profit nutrition research center located in Omaha (but also works nationally), in which we hope a number of Michigan-based organizations doing work related to the Good Food Charter will participate. The goal of this effort is to identify, prioritize and agree on a set of shared metrics to be gathered throughout the state to provide a more complete understanding of the impacts of the good food work conducted across Michigan.  We intend that these metrics will be useful in creating a comprehensive picture of food systems work to help build an even more compelling case for food systems change in Michigan!  

Over the next 15 months, participant organizations in this process will identify, prioritize, and agree upon good food indicators and appropriate mechanisms for collecting (at least some of the) data in work relating to the goals of the Michigan Good Food Charter. We will utilize the Collective Impact framework of public-private partnerships to guide the process, and intend to develop a shared measurement system in which the data collected can be more easily additive across projects, organizations, and the entire state of Michigan. 

 

We are offering two introductory teleconferences regarding this unique project PRIOR to the Michigan Good Food Summit on October 28th, as well as a session at the summit.   These introductory Shared Measurement Project teleconference(s) will take place two times:

 

Friday, October 3 - from 10 am to 11:30 am EDT

AND

Wednesday, October 8 - from 9:30 to 11:00 am EDT

These two teleconferences will be identical in content; we are offering two sessions to increase your likelihood of participating. You need only participate in one session!  So that we will have an idea how many people and who will be one each call, please RSVP to me by e-mail ahead of the call if you plan to participate.

To logon to the teleconference, please use the following number and access code:

760-569-0111

access code 241655#

During this call we will introduce you to the Shared Measurement Project and provide you an outline of how you and your organization or project could potentially participate.  If you cannot make either of these two teleconferences, there will be a follow-up session at the October 28th Good Food Summit that you can attend.  If none of those are options for you and you still have an interest in this project, please contact me by October 3.

 

We hope you can join us on October 3 or 8^th!

 

 

 

Rich Pirog, Senior Associate Director

MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

480 Wilson Road, Room 302

East Lansing, MI 48824

Office: 517-353-0694

Cell: 515-231-7556

E-mail: rspirog@msu.edu

foodsystems.msu.edu

 

 

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