Start the school year with fresh ideas for farm to school!

Look inside for Michigan Farm to School news, events, resources, and more!

September 2019 Dear Michigan Farm to School subscribers, With the excitement of back-to-school, this month's newsletter offers ideas to revitalize menus, invigorate nutrition education and gardening practices, and help schools and early education sites fund farm to school and ECE efforts. With October right around the corner, be sure to check out resources for Farm to School month too! News Gardens at Schools and ECEs in Southwest Michigan Awarded Mini-Grants Eighteen schools and early care and education facilities in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties are using these mini-grants to get more students learning in the garden. Read more. Robotics in a School Garden? At a school in Washington, a FarmBot growing system waters and weeds the school garden when classes are out for summer. Read more. Texas School Revitalizes Menu An intermediate school district in Texas is revitalizing their menu by integrating more fresh ingredients into their themed menus and grab-and-go selections.  Read more. Events Get Ready for the Great Lakes Apple Crunch! October 10 Join participants across Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio for the Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch. Participants of all ages are invited to help reach the goal of 1.6 million crunches this year! Register your event and follow @miapplecrunch on Facebook.  October is National Farm to School Month Thousands of schools, early care and education sites, farms, communities, and organizations across the country will recognize October as National Farm to School Month! Join them in celebrating food education, school gardens, and access to food trays filled with healthy local ingredients throughout the month. Learn how to get involved. Resources Use More Michigan Blueberries in Your Farm to School Activities Find recipes, nutrition guides, virtual farm tours, kid-friendly activities, and growing information for blueberries in this new farm to school resource from the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council. Access the playbook. Updated Resource Available: USDA’s “A Guide to Smart Snacks in School” This resource can help anyone managing school vending machines, fundraisers, or snack bars to better understand the Smart Snacks standards. View the guide. Serving School Meals to Preschoolers The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program has a new resource for planning menus for to meet requirements for the preschool meal pattern.  Check out the worksheet. 2019-20 School Meal Pattern Updates Stay up to date on USDA school meal patterns for 2019-2020! View the updated patterns. Opportunities Gro More Good Garden Grants Deadline: October 11 Apply for a grant in the amount of $5,000, plus a garden kit and educational resources through this initiative from the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and the National Head Start Association. Learn more and apply. Apply for a “Get Schools Cooking” Grant Deadline: October 28 A program of Chef Ann Foundation, Get Schools Cooking provides school districts with funding and technical assistance to start using more fresh foods in their food service operations. Apply now. SeedMoney Offering Garden Grants Deadline: November 12 Fund your garden with a SeedMoney grant! SeedMoney is offering a platform to crowdfund your food garden project between November 15 and December 15. See full details and apply. Sustainable Agriculture Youth Educator Grant Deadline: November 14 Request up to $4,000 from North Central SARE for your sustainable agriculture programs for youth. Learn more and apply. Jobs Youth Programs & Volunteer Coordinator Deadline: September 13 Allen Neighborhood Center is hiring for two part-time positions – Youth Programs Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator – and the right candidate may be able to merge the two into one full-time position overseeing both areas. Learn more and apply. About Michigan Farm to School Farm to School centers around efforts to serve local foods in school and early care and education settings. We share ideas, tools and resources to support a range of efforts, from school garden programming to farmer visits and field trips. Visit mifarmtoschool.msu.edu >> FOODSYSTEMS.MSU.EDU ‌ ‌ ‌ You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the MIFARMTOSCHOOL listserv. Please note that if you unsubscribe from this mailing, you will be removed from the listserv as well.

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