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Friday, May 28, 2021

FoodCorps Position in Petoskey, MI - Lead the Way to a Tastier, Healthier Future

Please share widely!

The application portal for 2021-2022 FoodCorps AmeriCorps Service Members is open and Groundwork Center in Petoskey is looking for one more FoodCorps service member to join our team in August. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Members for the program year must, at a minimum, serve 1,700 allowable hours between August 9, 2021 and July 8, 2022. 

 


Serving as an AmeriCorps member with FoodCorps is a full-time, eleven-month commitment. The 1,700 hours you'll serve between August to July will mostly take place during school and business hours, but evenings and weekends are occasionally required. 

FoodCorps has host sites across the country, one is at the Groundwork Center Petoskey office. Alongside Groundwork's Local Food Policy Specialist and two other FoodCorps service members, the service member will collaborate with schools, food service staff, farmers and students in Emmet and Charlevoix counties, to help … 

1.      Learn why healthy food matters

2.      Grow, cook and try new things

3.      Eat healthy food every day

4.      Build a foundation for a bright future

FoodCorps offers service positions in several states. To see a list of the State Partners, please visit FoodCorps Service Sites.

 

To be considered for a FoodCorps service member position, you must:

• Be 18 years or older by the start of your service term

• Be a legal, permanent resident of the United States

• Hold a high school diploma, GED or equivalent

 

What You'll Gain, be eligible to receive:

    • Up to $22,000 living stipend for Service Members in Michigan: paid bi-weekly
    • $6,345 AmeriCorps Segal Education Award, upon successful completion of your first (or second) term of service: for future schooling or repay qualified student loans. Learn more here.
    • And more!

 

For More Information

Contact FoodCorps Michigan Program Coordinator Quan Blunt – quan.blunt@foodcorps.org or Jen Schaap - jen@groundworkcenter.org.


--

JEN SCHAAP  |  Local Food Policy Specialist
Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities

P    231-941-6584 x708
A  313 Howard St, Unit B  |  Petoskey, MI 49770

pronouns: she/her/hers

The Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities is a Traverse City based non-profit. Our work is member-funded and community-driven. Protect what you love. Become a member of Groundwork today.
MIFARMTOSCHOOL is a listserv that links farm-to-school stakeholders and practitioners in Michigan, from school food service directors and school administrators to growers and distributors. Content posted to MIFARMTOSCHOOL does not necessarily reflect the views of Michigan State University or the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems.

Monday, May 17, 2021

Lansing, MI: Apply by May 31, 10 Cents a Meal Consultant/Michigan Department of Education

Greetings all,

The MichiganDepartment of Education has just posted a School District Consultant 11-P13 position in its Office of Health and Nutrition Services. This permanent, full-time position is located in Lansing, MI. The deadline to apply is May 31.

The successful job applicant will support the state's 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms program, which provides incentive matching grants for school districts, early childhood education centers, and other eligible applicants to purchase and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and legumes in federally reimburseable Child Nutrition meals and snacks. 

To apply and/or view the position description, click on the link below.
 

Please share widely. 
 
Best,
Diane Conners


Diane Conners  |  Senior Policy Specialist
Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities

P   231-499-3937

T   @grndwk

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

Monday, May 3, 2021

Little seeds can grow big changes—resources for farm to ECE and procuring local food

May 2021
Dear Michigan Farm to School subscribers,

Early care and education and K-12 schools plant the seeds for best practices in farm to school, enabling others to learn what works and think about where they can start to implement small changes in their own programs.

Read on to learn what others are doing to integrate farm to ECE and farm to school into their work.
News
Farm to School Supports Mental Health in Michigan Schools
Schools in Northern Michigan are using farm to school to support mental health initiatives, acknowledging that healthy eating is important for students' mental health. The use of SNAP-Ed, as well as hoop houses and gardens, is supporting nutrition lessons, taste testing, and the integration of local food in school menus.

Maryland Preschoolers Use Healthy Foods to Learn the Alphabet
Maryland SNAP-Ed is using a train-the-trainer approach in early care and education sites to share Edible ABCs, an innovative program that helps young children learn the alphabet and healthy eating habits.

Early Childhood Grant Awardees Announced by No Kid Hungry
No Kid Hungry just announced that $3 million will be awarded to 126 early childhood organizations across the country, including several organizations and early childhood education sites in Michigan. Congratulations to the Michigan awardees!

Fresh produce in boxes.
USDA Announces Nationwide Waivers through June 2022 and Summer 2021 P-EBT
USDA recently announced a set of nationwide waivers for School Year 2021-2022 through June 30, 2022 for school meals programs and childcare institutions across the country.

This summer, USDA is also expanding Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits. Read more.
Events
Racial Equity in Farm to Early Care and Education Forum
May 5
5:00-6:00 p.m. EST

Join the National Farm to School Network for an open discussion forum to share your insights and ideas on how farm to ECE can be an opportunity to shift power and advance racial equity in our food and early care systems. Share your insights and ideas at this open community form on how farm to ECE can elevate and enable community initiatives.

Creative Opportunities for Strengthening Farm to ECE Through Emerging Federal Funding Streams 
May 12
12:30-2:00 p.m. ET

Farm to early care and education can be a component of building back better after the pandemic. Join this webinar co-presented by the National Farm to School Network, Policy Equity Group, and Food Research & Action Center to learn about immediate opportunities to encourage state decision makers to use American Rescue Plan funds to build more equitable and resilient food and ECE systems.

On-Farm Food Safety Info Session for Farm to Institution
May 25
1:00-3:00 p.m.

The May 2021 Michigan Farm to Institution Network meeting will feature presentations and discussions that focus on the importance of on-farm food safety in farm to institution programs. Farmers, institutional food service staff, and other supply chain partners are invited to join this info session and discussion!

Resources
Photo collage showing a garden sign for beets and children walking through a farmed field
Farm to CACFP Series
Wondering how other sites have leveraged the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and looking for creative ideas? Check out the recent Innovation Series from National Farm to School Network sharing how three states have used this funding source as part of their programming.

Growing Minds Farm to Preschool Toolkit
The Growing Minds Farm to Preschool Toolkit is available for free online or by order for a physical copy. This spiral bound toolkit contains lesson plans, “This Week in the Garden” activity guides, “Farm to School Goes Home” parent handouts, local food sourcing guidance, and tips for cooking and gardening with young children.

To order toolkits for $30 plus shipping and applicable sales tax, please email growingminds@asapconnections.org.
Early Care and Education Food Procurement During a Pandemic
Wondering how to purchase local food during the pandemic or how other early care and education sites have sourced and served local foods with seasonal foods? Check out this recent blog post with Detroit urban farmer Heidi Bombrisk from Family Roots Farm.

2021 Farm to Summer Toolkit
There are many benefits to implementing farm to summer at summer meal sites. Summer nutrition sponsors can apply lessons from this toolkit from North Carolina to utilize local foods and implement nutrition education activities in summer nutrition programs.

Opportunities
Request for Proposals: Food Sovereignty Symposium & Festival
Deadline: May 15

This symposium seeks to provide opportunities for Indigenous knowledge holders, researchers, practitioners, producers, and community members to share common interests, insights, and dialogue from across the fields of Indigenous agriculture and foods.

Jobs
Farm to Institution Fellow, Center for Regional Food Systems
Deadline: May 5

This fixed-term position is a unique and exciting opportunity for a self-motivated, resourceful, and committed early-career candidate to bring creative vision to an existing, strong foundation of relationships, programs, and learnings to support and shape farm to institution programs in Michigan into the future.

Farmer, Keep Growing Detroit
Deadline: Rolling

Keep Growing Detroit is seeking a full-time Farmer. The ideal candidate for this position loves physical, outdoor work, has some farming and/or market experience and is passionate about good food, healthy communities, and strong local economies.

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.

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