Upcoming Events and Opportunities for 2025!

Explore these resources from the Michigan Farm to School team

Photo Credit: Sarah Rypma Mark Your Calendars for Upcoming Opportunities! We have several events and opportunities coming up that may be of interest to you! Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub Spark Awards The Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub funds community-driven collaborations that reimagine school meals. The initiative, supported by the USDA Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative and convened by the Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI), intends to offer grants this year from $30K to $100K to collectives of farmers, food producers, school food authorities, industry partners, and other people working to reimagine school meals in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana.   As of 1/31/25, the 2025 Spark Award application opening has been paused. We will provide updates as soon as possible. Additional grant cycles will continue through 2028. In the meantime, explore resources to apply: Support for Applicants webpage for more information on the grant application. Application Toolkit, featuring an applicant directory, 2024 roundtable materials, and open office hours information.  Interest Form, connect with resources, office hours and/ or the State Lead Team at the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems. Please do not reach out to the State Leads directly—all inquiries will be answered through the form. Upcoming Events: MDE's Tuesday at 2: Procurement Series Are you a Child Nutrition Program Sponsor? Join the Michigan Department of Education’s School Nutrition Programs staff for an informal 30-minute webinar meeting on February 18th at 2:00 pm EST to learn more about procurement policies, procedures, and procurement Methods. Learn more Network’s Nurturing Diversity in School Gardens On February 19, 2pm EST, the SGSO Network will be presenting an engaging and insightful webinar, "Nurturing Diversity in School Gardens," where we'll explore the transformative power of inclusivity and representation in educational gardening programs. This session will dive into the importance of intentional representation, uncovering and addressing unexamined practices and celebrating the rich tapestry of cultural backgrounds within our school communities. Register MSUE’s Urban Agriculture Summit Join Michigan State University Extension and partners for a convening of urban farmers and urban agriculture (UA) stakeholders on February 27, 2025 from 8:00AM - 4:00PM EST. The convening will feature facilitated sessions to engage attendees in networking, sharing knowledge and ideas. This event is free and includes a light breakfast and lunch but registration is required.  Learn more MSUE’s Farm to School Workshop Join us at MSU St. Andrews on Friday, March 14, 2025 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m EST. for an overview of the Farm to School Program! This no cost educator training is geared to: teachers who want to incorporate school garden curriculum into their classrooms, food service staff who want to integrate garden produce into menu planning, and administrators who are supporting Farm to School and 10 Cents a Meal programming. The workshop will include informational overviews and a panel discussion with teachers and food service staff who have successfully navigated the challenges of Farm to School. Lunch is provided. Learn more Additional Resources and Announcements: FoodCorps applications are open for '25-'26  FoodCorps partners with schools and communities to nourish kids’ health, education, and sense of belonging. Please help us spread the word about recruitment for our next cohort (Aug ‘25-July ‘26) of AmeriCorps Members. We have sites in Michigan (Detroit, Petoskey, Flint, and near Alpena) and throughout the country. Applications are open through March 3, 2025 for next year's cohort (August '25-July '26). Questions can be directed to seema.jolly@foodcorps.org.  Apply here Grant Writing for Farm and Food Entrepreneurs Course – FREE  MSU Extension has a new, self-paced online course open to all Michigan farm and food business entrepreneurs. This course is designed for food and farm business owners in Michigan to better understand the grant writing process, as well as provide information about grant writing opportunities for specialty food businesses. Participation in this course is free and takes place on MSU’s Desire 2 Learn (D2L) platform. For more information, please contact Kelly McClelland at mccle100@msu.edu.  Enroll here The USDA Farm to School Census Results Are In!  The latest 2023 Farm to School Census results are now publicly available for you to explore! The website includes a data explorer tool, overview of findings, and downloadable datasets. Good news for Michigan! Our state was a leader in farm to school activities with over 76% of school food authorities reporting local food served in school meals. Read here 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.

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