Busy August: 10 Cents a Meal Updates

Greetings Friends,

I have two updates and one resource for you regarding 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms. 

UPDATE #1: Last week, the Michigan Department of Education notified grantees from all three years of the program that they have until 8 a.m.August 31 to say if they want to participate in the new, fourth round that was funded by the recent state budget supplemental and, if so, to provide receipts showing their local purchases from September 1, 2019 to  September 1, 2020. 

• If you work with any of these districts or with any farmers, food hubs, or other local produce businesses who may want to sell produce to them this month, you may want to reach out to see if you can offer assistance. 
• You can find the list of grantees for each year in the annual legislative reports here.

UPDATE #2: Next week, the state will hold its Revenue Estimating Conference, which will lead to development of the new budget for fiscal year 2021 no later than October 1 — just over a month away.  

• A sign-on letter that now has the names of more than 400 organizaitons and individuals is being circulated by Groundwork with the intent of sending it to the governor and key legislators next week after that August 24 Revenue Estimating Conference. 
• If you already signed it, do you know someone who hasn't with whom you could share it? We want to be as complete as possible. (The letter, FYI, is the same content as it was before the supplemental funding but updated.) To sign the letter click here. To see who has signed the letter click here. 

NEW RESOURCE: For a new, easy-to-read, one-page info-sheet for educating others about 10 Cents a Meal, click here.

10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms is a state of Michigan matching grant program that supports schools in purchasing locally grown fruits, vegetables, and dry beans. Since 2016, it has been available to schools in about half of the state's counties. Schools, farmers, and health advocates across the state are hoping this program will be expanded statewide for equitable access for all of Michigan's children.

Best,

Diane

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__________________________

Diane Conners  |  Senior Policy Specialist

Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities

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