Greetings Michigan Farm to School practitioners and supporters!

It may only be August, but we're already gearing up for National Farm to School Month this October. Read below for information on the Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch and the Food Day Midwest Menu Event. Farm to School Month is a great time to promote your farm to school projects and share the good work of connecting kids, local farmers and vendors and good food. Get ready to celebrate!

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

Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch

Did you Crunch last year? Do you want to Crunch this year? Sign up here to participate in the Second Annual Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch, and you’ll be directed to the Michigan Apple Crunch page sponsored by Cherry Capital Foods. This is a simple, but loud way to feature your farm to school work. At NOON on Thursday, October 22, we'll all Crunch into a healthy, delicious local or regional apple to show our support for National Farm to School Month and Food Day 2015.

Sign up here to receive your Crunch Guide chock full of ideas for planning, promoting, sharing and educating around your event - and you'll receive the 2015 Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch logo too! Be sure to "Like" the Facebook page to stay up to date on the latest news. Let everyone know you are participating in the Crunch by using the hashtags #GreatAppleCrunch #F2SMonth and #FoodDay2015 on your favorite social media. Questions? E-mail vherald@wisc.edu or your National Farm to School Network State Lead. Your state may even have a special edition of the Crunch - or even a contest - click here to find out more.

We are asking participating schools and organizations to sign up this year. Tracking the impact of the Crunch is a critical way to share the importance of our collective work to build farm to school in the region.

Food Day: Midwest Menu Event

Are you looking for a new and exciting way to celebrate Food Day and National Farm to School Month? Are you ready to showcase your local food efforts throughout your lunch tray? This year school districts in the Midwest and Great Lakes are invited to celebrate by serving a Midwest Menu on Thursday, October 22nd in partnership with the School Food FOCUS Upper Midwest Regional Learning Lab. Join seven of the largest regional school districts in serving a Midwest Menu that highlights your favorite local and regional foods. Please attend the webinar on Wednesday, August 12 at 2 EST / 1 CST to learn more, and sign up to participate in this great event! And if you want to share, use these hashtags to promote your great events! #MidwestMenu2015 #FoodDay2015 and #F2SMonth. Register for the webinar here, and read more below.

Farm to School Month Midwest Menu Webinar

Wednesday, August 12, 2015
1:00 pm Central

Are you interested in doing something special with your whole tray to celebrate Food Day during Farm to School Month this year? The Midwest Menu might be just what you are looking for! In the spirit of collective celebration, all schools across the Midwest are invited to serve a coordinated lunch tray featuring local and regional foods on Thursday, October 22nd, 2015. This webinar is designed to help you prepare to join the School Food FOCUS Upper Midwest Regional Learning Lab in serving a clean-label and locally sourced school lunch, and participate in National Farm to School Month with a “crunch heard round the region,” a delicious coordinated apple bite during lunch!

In the webinar, you will hear the stories of food service staff who participated last year—they will share advice and answer questions to help you plan your own local foods celebration.

Each tray should include a chicken item of your choice and a local apple - locally or regionally procured if possible! Step two is to find a vegetable and whole grain side that showcase the bounty of your local area. A highlight of participation is having your students bite into their local apples at the same time for an enthusiastic Great Apple Crunch!

A project of the School Food FOCUS Upper Midwest Regional Learning Lab, the Midwest Menu is a great way to join forces with schools around the region to highlight your local and regional food efforts!

Speakers:
Vanessa Herald - Farm to School Specialist at the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, Wisconsin
Sandy Huisman, RD, MS, LD -Director Food and Nutrition Management Des Moines Public Schools, Iowa
Chad Elliott - Culinary Specialist Decorah Community School District, Iowa
Melinda Maendele - Food Service Director Norris Public School District, Nebraska