Farm to School Updates:
Save the Date! Michigan Farm to School Regional Trainings
With summer fading away and the new school year right around the corner, it’s time to gear up your farm to school programming! CRFS is hosting its annual round of farm to school trainings throughout the state this September and October. Whether you’re brand new to farm to school or a seasoned expert, working in early childhood or K-12, this will be a great experience for those working in to increase your knowledge of farm to school activities, meet and collaborate with colleagues developing farm to school efforts throughout the region, and provide you with new skills for beginning or expanding your farm to school programs.
Dates, Locations, and special guests:
- Cadillac: Monday, September 21, 12:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Cadillac Public Library
411 S Lake St.
Cadillac, MI 49601
Special Guests: Jenice Momber, Food Service Director at Kaleva Norman Dickson; Erin Caudell, Michigan Farmers Market Association
- Detroit: Wednesday, September 23, 12:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Catherine Ferguson Academy
2750 Seldon St.
Detroit, MI 48208
Special Guests: Xavier Jaramillo, Food Service Director at Calumet Center; Tyler Vuillemot, Michigan Farmers Market Association
- Kalamazoo: Thursday, September 24, 12:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Kalamazoo Valley Community College Groves Center
7107 Elm Valley Dr
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
Special Guests: Dan Gorman, Food Service Director at Montague Area Public Schools; Tyler Vuillemot, Michigan Farmers Market Association; staff from Kalamazoo Valley Community College
- Munising: Thursday, October 1, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm
MSU Upper Extension and Research Center
E3774 University Dr.
Chatham, MI 49816
Special Guests: Michelle Walk, MSU Extension Community Food Systems Educator; New Food Corps Service Member; Erin Caudell, Michigan Farmers Market Association
Agenda:
- Overview of Farm to School and Farm to Early Childhood
- Purchasing and Procurement of Local Foods
- Building Successful Farm to School Teams
- Working with Local Farmers / Hoophouses for Health
- Seasonal Menu Planning
- Tracking Purchases and Measuring Progress
Registration is required
These trainings are free, however we ask you to register at http://msucarrs.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_diD7k1cRWPa4gkt. You are welcome to bring more than one person from your farm to school programs to these trainings. In fact, we encourage it! Farm to school teams are an essential part of successful programs, but we ask that
each attendee register individually.
This year, the 20 grantees from 12 counties across Michigan will be planning and implementing farm to school programming with nearly 25,000 students, from early childhood through grade 12. Though all grantees are at different stages of 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
For more questions email Abby Harper, CRFS Farm to School Specialist, at harperab@msu.edu
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
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