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Monday, December 22, 2014

MAEAP & Your School Garden! So simple a kindergarten can do it!

Attached is information about connecting your school garden with the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP). Wondering why to pursue MAEAP verification for your school garden? Here are just a few of the benefits for Michigan schools:
  • Educate the next generation of Michigan air, water, and soil stewards.
  • Enhance academic learning in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) content areas though real world applications.
  • Support school gardens in improving management of natural resources and protecting the environment with proven scientific standards.
  • Teach natural resource stewardship principles as part of a project based learning unit.
  • Students learn to identify and prevent environmental risks and work to comply with state and federal environmental regulations.
  • Fosters a connection between schools and local and state resource agencies.
  • Receive a MAEAP sign after completing MAEAP verification, signifying to the community that MAEAP partners recognize the school garden is environmentally assured.
"Our students helped take the sample for the soil test and will be learning record keeping by using our new irrigation log" said teacher Matt Collins of Ojibwe Charter School whose Kindergarten Garden became MAEAP verified this week. The school is also excited to use MAEAP as a way to promote to the community that they are using environmental best practices.


(Ojibwe Charter School Kindergarten teacher Matt Collins and MAEAP verifier Erin Satchell working together to promote environmental stewardship in the garden)

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Fwd: FW: 2015 All About Food: From Farm to Fork Conference Registration

Greetings:

 

Please see below for the  2015 All About Food: From Farm to Fork conference registration announcement.

 

Hope you have safe and joyful holidays!

 

-Apologies for any cross-postings-

 

Kaitlin Koch

Michigan State University Extension Educator

Community Food Systems

21885 Dunham, Suite 12

Clinton Township, MI 48036

Work: 586-469-6088

Cell: 313-695-7746

kochkait@msu.edu 



Subject: Fwd: 2015 All About Food: From Farm to Fork Conference Registration

 

 

Hello all,

 

The Macomb Food Collaborative is thrilled to announce that registration for the 2015 All About Food: From Farm to Fork Conference is now open!

 

All About Food: From Farm to Fork Conference

February 10, 2015, Tuesday

8:00 – 3:30

Macomb County ISD

44001 Garfield

Clinton Twp, MI 48038

 

Early Bird Registration by Dec 31, 2014 - $15

Regular Registration Jan 1 - 31, 2015 - $20

Walk-ins (limited number available) - $25

 

Online registration and payment available.  Please note that online registration includes credit card processing fees.

http://www.macombfood.org/

 

Registration brochure is attached with more information.  For your convenience, the registration portion of the form is also attached

 

Keynote address is by Dan Carmody, President, Eastern Market Corporation.

 

A wide variety of workshops are available to choose from.  Everything from Community Food Systems, Food Hubs, MAEAP, GE/GMO, Gardening, Composting to Food Allergens, Food Preservation, Goats, School Gardens, Michigan Wine Industry and more!

 

Lunch is included.

 

CEU's are available.

 

Please distribute widely amongst your networks.

 

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Jean Persely

Macomb Food Collaborative

Conference Chair



 

 



--
kaitlin

 

Monday, December 8, 2014

Re: USDA Selects States for Participation in the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables



















Thank you MDE!






On Dec 8, 2014, at 3:01 PM, Matts, Colleen <matts@ANR.MSU.EDU> wrote:

Check it out! Thanks to the leadership of staff from the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan is one of eight states selected by the USDA to participate in a pilot for unprocessed fruits and vegetables for schools. See the USDA press release below, and we'll share more as we learn more!
 
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
 
 
From: USDA Food and Nutrition Service [mailto:usda.fns@service.govdelivery.com] 
Sent: Monday, December 08, 2014 11:25 AM
To: Matts, Colleen
Subject: USDA Selects States for Participation in the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables
 

USDA News Release

 

USDA Selects States for Participation in the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables

 

Pilot will support schools' efforts to procure more fruits and vegetables; Offers new opportunity that supports local producers and local economies

 

WASHINGTON, December 8, 2014 – Today USDA announced the selection of eight states to participate in the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables, as directed by the Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the Farm Bill. Under the pilot, California, Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin will be able to increase their purchases of locally-grown fruits and vegetables for their school meal programs.

USDA Foods – provided by the USDA to schools – make up about 20 percent of the foods served in schools. States use their USDA Foods allocation to select items from a list of 180 products including fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, poultry, rice, low fat cheese, beans, pasta, flour and other whole grain products. This pilot program will allow the selected states to use some of their USDA Foods allocation to purchase unprocessed fruits and vegetables directly, instead of going through the USDA Foods program.

"Providing pilot states with more flexibility in the use of their USDA Foods' dollars offers states another opportunity to provide schoolchildren with additional fruits and vegetables from within their own communities," said Kevin Concannon, USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. "When schools invest food dollars into local communities, all of agriculture benefits, including local farmers, ranchers, fishermen, food processors and manufacturers."

These states were selected based on their demonstrated commitment to farm to school efforts, including prior efforts to increase and promote farm to school programs in the state, the quantity and variety of growers of local fruits and vegetables in the state on a per capita basis, and the degree to which the state contains a sufficient quantity of local educational agencies of various population sizes and geographic locations.

This pilot is designed to support the schools' pre-existing relationships with vendors, growers, produce wholesalers, and distributors, and increase the use of locally-grown, unprocessed fruits and vegetables in school meal programs. While the pilot does not require sourcing locally grown foods, the project will enable schools to increase their use of locally-grown, unprocessed fruits and vegetables from AMS authorized vendors. Unprocessed fruits and vegetables include products that are minimally processed such as sliced apples, baby carrots, and shredded lettuce. For more information about the pilot, please visit the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables website.

Building robust connections between farms and institutions, including schools, is a key element of USDA's Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative, which coordinates USDA's efforts and investments in local food system development. Since, 2009, USDA has supported over 3,000 projects nationwide to build new opportunities in local and regional foods, mainly through programs authorized in the Farm Bill:

  • USDA has expanded access to healthy foods in underserved communities by making EBT available at farmers markets. Over 5,000 farmers markets now accept EBT, and SNAP redemption at farmers markets nationwide rose from $4 million in 2009 to over $21 million in 2013.  In September, USDA announced the application season for the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program, a new Farm Bill program to help low-income consumers purchase more fruits and vegetables, particularly locally-grown produce, by providing incentives at the point of purchase.
  • USDA's Farm to School grant program has funded 221 projects in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands since this program began in 2013. According to the USDA's Farm to School Census, schools spent over $385 million on local food purchases during the 2011-2012 school year.
  • In FY14 alone, USDA facilitated over 330 new markets for local foods – including food hubs, scale-appropriate processing, and distribution networks – that are connecting rural producers with new sources of revenue and creating jobs. 

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs. In addition to the National School Lunch Program, these programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, and the Summer Food Service Program which together comprise America's nutrition safety net. For more information, visitwww.fns.usda.gov.

Today's announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit: www.usda.gov/farmbill. 

##

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).


This email was sent to matts@msu.edu using GovDelivery, on behalf of: USDA Food and Nutrition Service · 3101 Park Center Drive · Alexandria, VA 22302 · 800-439-1420
Powered by GovDelivery


Diane Conners
 |  Senior Policy Specialist | Food & Farming

Michigan Land Use Institute
148 East Front Street | Suite 301 | Traverse City, Michigan 49684

p  231.499-3937        diane@mlui.org    w mlui.org & localdifference.org 

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FW: USDA Selects States for Participation in the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables

Check it out! Thanks to the leadership of staff from the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan is one of eight states selected by the USDA to participate in a pilot for unprocessed fruits and vegetables for schools. See the USDA press release below, and we’ll share more as we learn more!

 

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: USDA Food and Nutrition Service [mailto:usda.fns@service.govdelivery.com]
Sent: Monday, December 08, 2014 11:25 AM
To: Matts, Colleen
Subject: USDA Selects States for Participation in the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables

 

USDA News Release

 

USDA Selects States for Participation in the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables

 

Pilot will support schools’ efforts to procure more fruits and vegetables; Offers new opportunity that supports local producers and local economies

 

WASHINGTON, December 8, 2014 – Today USDA announced the selection of eight states to participate in the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables, as directed by the Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the Farm Bill. Under the pilot, California, Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin will be able to increase their purchases of locally-grown fruits and vegetables for their school meal programs.

USDA Foods – provided by the USDA to schools – make up about 20 percent of the foods served in schools. States use their USDA Foods allocation to select items from a list of 180 products including fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, poultry, rice, low fat cheese, beans, pasta, flour and other whole grain products. This pilot program will allow the selected states to use some of their USDA Foods allocation to purchase unprocessed fruits and vegetables directly, instead of going through the USDA Foods program.

Providing pilot states with more flexibility in the use of their USDA Foods' dollars offers states another opportunity to provide schoolchildren with additional fruits and vegetables from within their own communities,” said Kevin Concannon, USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services. "When schools invest food dollars into local communities, all of agriculture benefits, including local farmers, ranchers, fishermen, food processors and manufacturers.”

These states were selected based on their demonstrated commitment to farm to school efforts, including prior efforts to increase and promote farm to school programs in the state, the quantity and variety of growers of local fruits and vegetables in the state on a per capita basis, and the degree to which the state contains a sufficient quantity of local educational agencies of various population sizes and geographic locations.

This pilot is designed to support the schools’ pre-existing relationships with vendors, growers, produce wholesalers, and distributors, and increase the use of locally-grown, unprocessed fruits and vegetables in school meal programs. While the pilot does not require sourcing locally grown foods, the project will enable schools to increase their use of locally-grown, unprocessed fruits and vegetables from AMS authorized vendors. Unprocessed fruits and vegetables include products that are minimally processed such as sliced apples, baby carrots, and shredded lettuce. For more information about the pilot, please visit the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables website.

Building robust connections between farms and institutions, including schools, is a key element of USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative, which coordinates USDA’s efforts and investments in local food system development. Since, 2009, USDA has supported over 3,000 projects nationwide to build new opportunities in local and regional foods, mainly through programs authorized in the Farm Bill:

  • USDA has expanded access to healthy foods in underserved communities by making EBT available at farmers markets. Over 5,000 farmers markets now accept EBT, and SNAP redemption at farmers markets nationwide rose from $4 million in 2009 to over $21 million in 2013.  In September, USDA announced the application season for the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program, a new Farm Bill program to help low-income consumers purchase more fruits and vegetables, particularly locally-grown produce, by providing incentives at the point of purchase.
  • USDA’s Farm to School grant program has funded 221 projects in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands since this program began in 2013. According to the USDA’s Farm to School Census, schools spent over $385 million on local food purchases during the 2011-2012 school year.
  • In FY14 alone, USDA facilitated over 330 new markets for local foods – including food hubs, scale-appropriate processing, and distribution networks – that are connecting rural producers with new sources of revenue and creating jobs.

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs. In addition to the National School Lunch Program, these programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, and the Summer Food Service Program which together comprise America's nutrition safety net. For more information, visit www.fns.usda.gov.

Today’s announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit: www.usda.gov/farmbill.

##

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).


This email was sent to matts@msu.edu using GovDelivery, on behalf of: USDA Food and Nutrition Service · 3101 Park Center Drive · Alexandria, VA 22302 · 800-439-1420

Powered by GovDelivery

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

USDA Farm to School Grants announced today!

Congratulations to Detroit Public Schools and Waterford School District for their USDA Farm to School Grant awards!!

 

A USDA press release regarding Midwest Region Farm to School grant awards follows and is attached.

 

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

 

 

 

Chicago, IL, Dec. 2, 2014 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced grants for 82 projects spanning 42 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands that support the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) efforts to connect school cafeterias with local farmers and ranchers through its Farm to School Program. Of the 82 awards, fourteen awards are being given in the Mid-West region valued at $1,079,112.

 

“Community partners are coming together to ensure a bright and healthy future for students, and local farmers and ranchers,” said Vilsack. “These inspiring collaborations create long-term benefits for students, as they develop a meaningful understanding of where food comes from, and support our farmers and ranchers by expanding market opportunities for local and regional foods.”

Selected projects will serve school districts in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Michigan awards are:

 

·         Detroit Public Schools, School District of the City of Detroit

Detroit Public Schools Office of School Nutrition proposes a training program to develop members in high-tunnel farming, general farm management, and distribution and logistics of fresh produce. Ultimately, this program is designed to grow and distribute more local products to all 90 schools and create a model for other urban areas. High tunnel growing is a specialty method of growing that requires a different production processes than outdoor growing. Proper ventilation and soil management are key to the success in high tunnel growing and different from conventional farming. High tunnel growing can be beneficial in a farm to school program because it includes better heat gain, season extension, control of foliar diseases and an overall more controlled growing environment.

 

·         Waterford School District

This project will institutionalize farm to school throughout the Waterford School District and the community. This will be accomplished by scaling up several initiatives already in place to varying degrees throughout the district, such as purchasing locally sourced, minimally processed foods; increasing the amount of locally sourced foods that are actually consumed by students; curricular integration of farm to school concepts; and experiential, hands-on learning in nutrition education and agriculture concepts.

 

The Farm to School Grants help schools respond to the growing demand for locally sourced foods and increase market opportunities for producers and food businesses, including food processors, manufacturers, and distributors. Grants will also be used to support agriculture and nutrition education efforts such as school gardens, field trips to local farms, and cooking classes.

USDA's Farm to School Program is made possible by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which authorized USDA to provide grants and technical assistance to help schools gain better access to local foods. It is also a core element of the USDA's Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative, which coordinates the department's work on local food systems.

USDA is focused on improving childhood nutrition and empowering families to make healthier food choices by providing science-based information and advice, while expanding the availability of healthy food.

·         America's students now have healthier and more nutritious school meals due to improved nutrition standards implemented as a result of the historic Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

·         USDA's MyPlate symbol and the resources at ChooseMyPlate.gov provide quick, easy reference tools for parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and communities.

·         USDA awarded $5.2 million in grants to provide training and technical assistance for child nutrition foodservice professionals and support stronger school nutrition education programs.

·         Since 2009, USDA has provided $160 million in kitchen equipment funding to states and schools. The President's fiscal year 2015 budget requests an additional $35 million for kitchen equipment grants. These grants are one of several ways that USDA is supporting schools as the implement the updated nutrition standards.

·         USDA recently launched a pilot project, called Team Up for School Nutrition Success, which is working with schools to identify challenges, provide free, customized training, and match schools with mentors who have successfully addressed similar challenges. 

Collectively these policies and actions are helping to combat child hunger and obesity, while improving the health and nutrition of the nation's children. For more information on USDA’s Farm to School Program, please visit www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool.

#

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay).