| May -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 25th, 2024 10 Cents a Meal Budget Passed for FY '25 with New Program Options The 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms program has been funded within this year's school aid budget and will receive $4.5 million for the program in FY '25. This program year will bring some great new options. Starting in October, grantees will be able to use a portion of their funding to support labor and local food transportation costs. The purpose of these funds is to enable grantees to expand their ability to process local food, increase scratch cooking, and access new suppliers, new food products, and/or new partnerships with other Child Nutrition Program sponsors to strengthen the local food supply chain. More information will be available during the annual application process. "Here at Gull Lake Community Schools, we have been running a very successful program. More labor comes into play when we use fresh options. Funding for this would be a straight benefit to current work being done, and will continue to make serving the best produce Michigan has to offer easier," said Director of Dining Services for Gull Lake Community Schools, Joshua Reames. 10 Cents a Meal provides schools, early care and education sites, and other organizations participating in USDA Child Nutrition programs with match incentive funding up to 10 cents per meal to purchase and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and dry beans. The program supports Michigan's economy by incentivizing participating grantees to spend more money on food from Michigan farms and food businesses and promotes relationship building across the local food supply chain. "I believe all kids need fresh, healthy food to be able to learn, and that's why we fought to secure $4.5 million for the 10 Cents a Meal program. This investment will expand students' access to local and nutritious food while bringing communities together, and I'm proud to support it," said state Senator Darrin Camilleri (D-District 4). In the 2023-2024 program year there are 270 10 Cents a Meal grantees reaching approximately 593,882 children, spanning all 10 regions of the Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators and 66 of Michigan's 83 counties. The continued funding for the program is just one way the legislature has committed to support for the health and wellbeing of Michigan's children and the local food economy. This year's $82.5 billion budget includes $19 billion for school aid, and allocates $200 million to continue providing universally-free breakfast and lunch to Michigan's public school students. The FY '25 budget also reserves $3 million to establish the Farm to Family Program, focusing on building agricultural diversity, fueling economic growth in agriculture and increasing food security. "We have a responsibility to ensure every student has what they need to be their best self, and we know that part of that formula for success is access to healthy, nutritious food. This year's budget builds on the progress we have made by continuing to fund free breakfast and lunch for all Michigan students while making smart investments in our state's agriculture and local food economy." said State Senator Sarah Anthony (D-District 21). The program is administered in collaboration between the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, and MSU Center for Regional Food Systems.
Find more information about 10 Cents a Meal at tencentsmichigan.org.
### Program Contact: MDE Farm to Program team at MDE FarmtoProgram@michigan.gov Wendy Crowley, Michigan Department of Education, CrowleyW@michigan.gov Cheyenne Liberti, Michigan Department of Education, LibertiC@michigan.gov Megan Maddox,Michigan Department of Education, MaddoxM2@michigan.gov Melanie Wong, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, melanie.wong@groundworkcenter.org Amanda Brezzell, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, amanda.brezzell@groundworkcenter.org Lori Yelton, Michigan Department of Rural Agriculture and Development, YeltonL@michigan.gov May Tsupros, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, Tsupros1@msu.edu Megan McManus, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, Mcmanu60@msu.edu Ten Cents A Meal
https://www.tencentsmichigan.org/ | 
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