Farm to School News

Greetings All.

Hope you all are preparing for a joy-filled and restful holiday season!  I will be in and out the next couple of weeks, so this is your last update of 2015.  A couple great Michigan focused news articles this week, and please note the Farm to School Manager job posting for Muskegon County (the deadline is tomorrow!).

Opportunities:

• Job Opening: Farm to School Manager at Muskegon Public Schools (see attached)
  • Muskegon County Michigan is seeking a Farm to School Coordinator to support the planning activities outlined in their Farm to School Planning Grant awarded by the USDA.  Deadline is December 18!

News:

• Good Food Life: Marla Moss
  • Director of the Office of School Support Services at MDE (and long time supporter of farm to school) Marla Moss talks about her work in supporting the Good Food Charter goals
• School districts tap student chefs to create unique recipes to support Cultivate Michigan
  • Dan Gorman, FSD at Whitehall and Montague Public Schools (and a MI Farm to School Grantee), highlights their innovative work to celebrate Cultivate Michigan's 2015 fall featured food: Winter Squash!

Resources:

• Farm to School Indiana has come out with two new resources to help you use local foods (specifically lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and apples) in your cafeteria:
  • ​Optimizing Prepackaged Salads & Serving Lines with Local Foods gives strategies for increasing use of locally produced foods in school service
  • Optimizing Salad Bars with Local Foods is specific to salad bars
• New Using Local Meet Fact Sheet from USDA – USDA
  • Have any questions related to buying local meat poultry, game, and eggs? this memorandum clarifies the regulatory requirements related to food safety and answers specific questions related to these products

Happy Holidays and see you in the New Year!

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