Michigan Farm To School - Blog: October 2020

Friday, October 30, 2020

Local food purchasing at Michigan’s schools increased in 2019-2020, report shows

Announcing a new report on Farm to School in Michigan

The MSU Center for Regional Food Systems is pleased to announce the report, Local Food Purchasing at Michigan Schools 2019-2020 Survey Resu lt s as Farm to School Month comes to a close.

58% of Michigan school food service directors reported purchasing local foods last school year, according to this new report.

Explore the report to learn:

How many school food service directors have reported local purchasing each year (for the past six years)

What sources they purchased local food from (e.g. farmers market, broadline distributor, etc.)

How local food purchasing by 10 Cents a Meal grantees compared to overall results from all foodservice directors

Read and share the report with your networks!

Local Food Purchasing at Michigan Schools: 2019-2020 Survey Results

For more information, contact Colleen Matts at matts@msu.edu.

This work was made possible thanks to generous funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Please help us spread the word!

Forward this message and share on social media. Tag @MSUCRFS on Twitter and Facebook.

58% of Michigan school food service directors said they purchased local foods last school year. What were their sources for local food? How did purchasing by 10 Cents a Meal grantees compare to the rest? Find out at www.foodsystems.msu.edu/resources/local-food-purchasing-at-michigan-schools-2019-2020

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Tuesday, October 27, 2020

10 Cents a Meal Grant Deadline Extended to Nov. 2

Greetings,

The 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms grant application is open now through 5 p.m. November 2. Please spread the word! Make sure your school district or early childhood education center knows about the opportunity, and also farmers and food hubs. This state of Michigan farm-to-school program is, for the first time, open to school districts and sponsors of early childhood education centers statewide. It provides matching grants for purchasing Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and dry beans.

School districts interested in the program should check for an email from the Michigan Department of Education sent Tuesday, October 27. It includes a link to the application.

Early childhood education centers interested in the program should check with their CACFP sponsor, and make sure their sponsor has seen the same October 27 email from the Michigan Department of Education. A helpful one-pager about 10 Cents a Meal for early childhood education centers is here,

Applicants with questions should contact Liana Bennett, BennettL4@michigan.gov or Jaime Malnar, MalnarJ1@michigan.gov

Click here to see a helpful application guide updated for this year, along with a new FAQ sheet.
Community members can also support local schools and early childhood education centers in success. Check out this page for some ideas!
And check out the 10 Cents a Meal Facebook page for a social media announcement about the grant application deadline extension. You can share it from there! Graphic attached below.

Best,

Diane

P.S. On a different note-

Educate your candidate: 10 Cents a Meal gets funded because policymakers know about its value to our children, farms, and to their constituents. Every single seat in the Michigan House of Representatives is up for election Nov. 3. Make sure your candidates know about 10 Cents a Meal. It is easy to email them educational information from here.

*Please note my email address has changed to diane@groundworkcenter.org.

__________________________

Diane Conners | Senior Policy Specialist

Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities

P 231-499-3937

W groundworkcenter.org

F Groundwork Center

T @grndwk

A 148 E Front St, Suite 301 | Traverse City, MI 49684

Service site of FoodCorps.

Member Cultivate Michigan; Healthy Kids, Healthy Michigan; and Northwest Michigan Food & Farming Network

Join us at localdifference.org & Farm to School Northwest Michigan

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

10 Cents a Meal Applications open through October 26

10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids and Farms

The 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids & Farms grant application is now open. 10 Cents provides matching grants for schools and early childhood education centers to purchase and serve Michigan-grown vegetables, fruits, and legumes.

Funding for the 10 Cents program recently increased from $575,000 to $2 million for the 2020-2021 school year. The program has also expanded statewide!

For the first time, schools and districts participating in USDA Child Nutrition Programs across the entire state are eligible to apply.

Sponsors of early childhood education centers that are participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) are also eligible to apply for the first time.

Considering applying?

Schools and districts should check for an email from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) sent Monday, October 12. It includes a link to the application.

Early childhood education centers should check with their CACFP sponsor to be sure they have seen the same October 12 email from MDE.

Applications are due by 9:00 a.m. on Monday, October 26, 2020.

MDE administers the program. If you have questions about the application, contact Liana Bennett, BennettL4@michigan.gov or Jaime Malnar, MalnarJ1@michigan.gov.

If you’re interested in seeing 10 Cents come to your community, share this opportunity to make sure your school district and early childhood education center know about the program. Check out some ways that community members can show their support!