Fw: Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub Grants NOW OPEN!

Greetings Local Food Friends,

We are so excited to share the next round of Lake Michigan Innovation Hub Grants have been released-- the RFP is out now!

You can find more information about grant writing supports and grant writing office hours here.  Hope to connect with lots of future grantees soon.

May Tsupros  (they/them)

Director, Farm to Institution Programs 

Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems 

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Natural Resources Building, Room 312A

480 Wilson Rd., East Lansing MI

Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg–Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. The University resides on Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw. Read here by land acknowledgements are not enough. 

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From: Michigan Farm to Institution Network <crfs@anr.msu.edu>
Sent: Friday, October 17, 2025 4:55 PM
To: Tsupros, May <tsupros1@msu.edu>
Subject: Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub Grants NOW OPEN!

 

Learn more about the Spark and Innovation Collaborative Awards

October 2025 View as Webpage Applications are open for the Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub! MSU's Center for Regional Food Systems is a part of the Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub, which supports people working to improve school meals across Michigan. The initiative offers funding, training, and other assistance to partnerships that include farmers, food producers, suppliers, distributors, schools, and organizations.  Applications for two new funding opportunities are now open: the Spark Awards and the Innovation Collaborative Awards.  Spark Awards fund projects that need a short-term infusion of funds for school food system and product improvements, such as capacity-building, planning, and product-testing projects. ($30K - $100K per year)  Innovation Collaborative Awards fund projects that promote systems-level change of the school food system, such as scaling up of programs, forming regional partnerships, or developing or integrating new programs or products. ($250K - $500K over 2 ½ years)  Applications are open until January 23, 2026. Early application is encouraged.   Do you know a way to bring local and nutritious food to more schools across our region? Learn more at InnovateSchoolFood.org.  Get the details! Lake Michigan School Food Systems Innovation Hub Resources Get in touch with your State Lead Team! We're here to answer your questions and offer support with your application with weekly office hours. Contact us through the Michigan Interest Form linked on the Center for Regional Food Systems website.  Application Information  Frequently Asked Questions  Compliance Support - office hours are available for support with federal grant qualifications Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub Informational Video Coming soon! Launch Webinars A date and time for Igniting Your Innovative Ideas – 2025 Launch Webinar will be announced soon. Sign up here to receive registration information when it is released.  During this webinar we will share info about application logistics and answers to questions for the Innovation Hub's grants. Webinars will be available in both English and Spanish. Sign up here! STAY CONNECTED   About MFIN The Michigan Farm to Institution Network (MFIN) helps people across the farm to institution supply chain learn, connect, and collaborate.  Visit our website   About Cultivate Michigan In 2014, MFIN launched a local food purchasing campaign designed to help farm to institution programs grow and track progress.  Visit our website

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