Announcement: MI Farm to School Grantees - 2015-2016

We at CRFS are excited to announce this year's grantees for the MI Farm to School Grant Program! 

This year, the 20 grantees from 12 counties across Michigan will be planning and implementing farm to school programming with nearly 25,000 students!  We have an especially diverse pool of applicants this year spanning both early education and K-12 programming in schools serving anywhere from 25 students to districts serving over 13,000!

Though all grantees are at different stages of the Farm to School program development, all are initiating innovative efforts this coming year to expand and strengthen their programming.  In addition to purchasing more fruits and vegetables from local farms, efforts include:

• Building stronger planning commissions to ensure sustainability of farm to school efforts
• Developing systems for freezing and preserving summer harvests to use in winter meals
• Building community connections with local farmers through field trips and school education
• Increasing staff capacity to serve local produce through knife skills and seasonal menu planning training
• Working with Cultivate Michigan as a tool for tracking local purchasing

Check out the full list of current and previous grantees:

http://foodsystems.msu.edu/resources/mi_farm_to_school_grantees

For more information on our MI Farm to School Grant Program, you can view this year's webinar outlining the program, expectations, and eligibility here:

http://foodsystems.msu.edu/resources/mi_farm_to_school_grant_program_information_webinar

I'll be highlighting the various initiatives of our farm to school grantees throughout the year, so stay tuned!

Abby Harper

Farm to School Specialist

Center for Regional Food Systems | Michigan State University

480 Wilson Rd | Rm 309 Natural Resources Building East Lansing, MI 48824

(p) 517.432.4525 (c) 857.600.6921

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