MI Farm to School News

Greetings all!

It was great to meet many of you at the School Nutrition Association of Michigan (SNAM) conference this past weekend!  For those of you who missed us, team Michigan Farm to School represented at the trade show on Saturday in Battle Creek, checking in with old and new friends and spreading the Farm to School word.  Welcome to those of you new to the list!  It was a fun day filled with corn hole, Michigan Specialty Crop trivia, and lots of education on Farm to School and Cultivate Michigan. It was a fun afternoon, and we left with lots of ideas for how to make next year even better!

Here's some updates from the last two weeks:

News

• School lunches are notoriously nasty. This program is changing that. - Take Part
  • Take Part discusses how the National Farm to School Network helps bring healthier food into schools with farm to school practices, advocacy, and passion.
• Cultivating communities through school gardens – Mother Earth News
  • This article shows and tells how a community used making gardens as a fun and healthy way for kids and the community to grow healthier together.
• Q&A: Anupama Joshi, National Farm to School Network – UC Food Observer
  • An Interview with NFSN's director Anupama Joshi on local food sourcing and food and agriculture education in schools
• A taste of hope – Inside School Food
  • As new buffalo herds grow on Native lands, a small group of schools have joined a pilot program that introduces buffalo to lunch trays and classrooms.

Opportunities

• 2016 National Farm to Cafeteria Conference: Save the Date, and submit a proposal! - June 2-4, 2016, Madison, WI
  • The 8th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference is coming to Madison, Wis., next June, and we want to feature your expertise and stories of success, challenges and learning. Deadline for submitting proposals is December 4th!
• The Michigan October School Garden Newsletter has a lot of good information on school garden grants.  See attached, if you're interested!

There was a healthy layer of frost on my car this morning in Lansing, so stay warm this week!

All the best,

Abby Harper

Farm to School Specialist

MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

480 Wilson Rd Rm 309 | East Lansing, MI 48824

(p) 517-432-4525 (f) 517-353-3834

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