MSU Center for Regional Food Systems
517.432.4525 (office) 313.695.7746 (cell)
Good morning school food service directors,
I hope you enjoyed a well-deserved and restful spring break!
We’re gearing up to celebrate National Asparagus Month in May with Michigan asparagus on school lunch trays (hoping the weather will cooperate, of course)! Have you previously served asparagus in your school meals program? If so, do you have a well-received recipe that you’d like to share? Please pass on your recipes, preferably in quantities appropriate for food service scale, to me in the coming week if you can. I’d like to compile and share them (giving credit to those who came up with the recipes, of course) with schools around the state before Asparagus Month rolls around!
Thank you for all you do,
Colleen Matts
Farm to Institution Specialist
MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, formerly the CS Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems
517.432.0310
Food service directors must often work through numerous challenges to start or expand farm to school programs. The goal of the MI Farm to School Grant Program is to help overcome some of these challenges, and initiate and expand farm to school programs across the state.
With funding from the WK Kellogg Foundation, the MI Farm to School Grant Program was able to award EIGHT Michigan K-12 schools/districts with funds to plan for or implement farm to school programs in 2011. The second grant program year is September 1, 2012 – June 1, 2013, early childcare programs are eligible to apply for planning grants.
· The MI Farm to School Planning Grant will help schools and early childcare programs plan for integrating fresh, local foods into cafeterias AND ultimately develop a Farm to School Action Plan to implement a farm to school program after the grant year.
· The MI Farm to School Implementation Grant will help schools put existing farm to school plans into action AND ultimately develop a Farm to School Sustainability Plan to keep a farm to school program going and growing in future years.
Eligibility:
· A goal of this program is to help vulnerable children find more healthy and local food choices in school meals programs. K-12 school food service programs must have at least 50% free and reduced-price meal enrollment and at least 50% of early childcare program participants must be eligible to receive Tier I reimbursement rates at the time this application is completed.
· Only school food service/nutrition directors can apply for their school district(s) or school(s). Food service directors from a school district may choose to focus on a few school buildings or an entire school district's food service program, but the district must have 50% free and reduced price meal enrollment. Private or charter schools may apply as an individual school.
· Only one application for either the planning or implementation grant (not both) is allowed per district or private/charter school per grant year.
Please review the application materials and sample grant applications attached for more information. You can also find these materials on our website at http://www.mifarmtoschool.msu.edu/index.php?id=48.
To be reviewed, complete applications must be received by 5 pm EST on Friday, May 4th, 2012. Email completed application as an attachment to Jekeia Murphy at stilljek@msu.edu.
Best,
Jekeia
Greetings,
My apologies, but we had the wrong day of the week listed on previous emails for this Farm to Institution Meet & Greet event next week. The date was correct, however. Please see below and revised attached postcard for details on this Meet & Greet on TUESDAY, March 27th.
Apologies for cross posting as well.
Thanks,
Colleen Matts
Farm to Institution Specialist
MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, formerly the CS Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems
517.432.0310
From: Matts, Colleen [mailto:matts@ANR.MSU.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2012 12:28 PM
To: FARMMKTMI@LIST.MSU.EDU
Subject: Farm to Institution Meet & Greet in St. Clair County on 3/27/12
Hi all,
See below for details for an up-coming Farm to Institution Meet & Greet in St. Clair County next week! (See attached for flyer.)
At this event, local farmers can Identify new market opportunities with institutional food buyers, and institutional food buyers can find sources for local food products. All participants can meet new partners and build connections within the local food system!
Blue Water Meet & Greet for Food Growers and Buyers
Hosted by: St Clair County School Food Service Directors, MSU Extension and the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems (formerly the CS Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems)
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
9 am for farmers, including overview of marketing to institutions
10 am for Meet & Greet with farmers and institutions
East China Schools Administrative Building
1585 Meisner Rd.
China Township, MI 48054
RSVP to Kathe Hale, MSU Extension, at halek@anr.msu.edu or 586.469.6088.
Please share with farmers in the area who might be interested in expanding their local markets, and institutional buyers interested in purchasing local food!
Thanks,
Colleen Matts
Farm to Institution Specialist
MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, formerly the CS Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems
517.432.0310
To remove yourself from this list, email to: listserv@list.msu.edu and include the following in the text of the message: UNSUBSCRIBE FARMMKTMI.
Greetings!
The Food Family Farming Foundation has launched the Healthy Breakfast 4 Kids Grant Program and we need your help to reach potential applicants.
We thank you in advance for helping to spread the word to schools you are connected to.
About the grant:
Food Family Farming Foundation (F3) and Walmart Foundation are partnering to grant 117, $2500 equipment grants to rural high needs schools for the purpose of implementing universal breakfast in the classroom programs. Grant awardees will be able to order $2500 worth of food service smallwares or equipment for establishing universal breakfast programs.
Deadline to apply: March 31, 2011
Please consider sharing information about this grant on your blog, facebook page, twitter account, newsletter or website as soon as possible so that we may reach schools that may need this opportunity to help improve their nutrition programs!
Click here to learn more about the grant: http://www.foodfamilyfarming.org/html/grants.html
We appreciate your support of our efforts!
Ann Cooper & Beth Collins
Board President Executive Director
Food Family Farming Foundation
For more information contact us at: breakfastgrant@foodfamilyfarming.org
Sample posts:
Facebook:
Don't miss the chance to apply for this simple Healthy Breakfast 4 Kids (equipment) grant! Find out more and apply here: http://www.foodfamilyfarming.org/html/grants.html - thanks for reposting and spreading the word!
"Breakfasts are a slam dunk in terms of effectiveness..." http://bit.ly/zCjihT. Need support for your school breakfast program? Apply for the Healthy Breakfast 4 Kids Grant here: http://ow.ly/95TYF!
Hi all,
It’s been a busy start to the new year so I’m a little late in getting out this newsletter. There are plenty of news items, resources, opportunities and events here to enjoy!
NEWS
As we shared earlier this year, The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 new nutrition standards for school meals standards mark “the first major changes in school meals in 15 years”, according to the USDA, by increasing offerings of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and limiting amounts of sodium, saturated fat and trans fats among other changes. The new standards will be phased into school meals programs over three years, beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.
· See the final rule here and the USDA press release here.
· Click on the links to see articles about the nutrition standards from The New York Times and The Washington Post.
· See the attachment for a resource by Alyssa Moles at the Food Trust in Philadelphia which offers a condensed version of the final rule with comparisons to the current regulations and the proposed regulations.
· Click here to see a news video from UpNorthLive about school food service director Renee DeWindt’s on-going efforts to meet nutrition standards and buy local.
Also in February, the USDA announced that Deborah Kane will serve as National Director of the USDA’s Farm to School Program. Read more in the blog post titled Moving Forward for Healthy Kids by USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan.
The USDA also recently introduced the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass, a new online, multimedia resource and interactive map about USDA’s support for local and regional food systems, including Farm to Institution!
Helene York from Bon Appetit Management Company contributed to the Civil Eats blog to explain Bon Appetit’s decision to “Go Humane” for their pork and shell eggs supplies. Read more here.
The Michigan League for Human Services has released the annual Michigan Kids Count Book for 2011, a comprehensive resource on the well-being of children which includes state and county level data.
In a related story from the Public News Service, The Kids Count Data Snapshot from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that Michigan ranks 44th out of the 50 states for the percentage of kids living in areas in concentrated poverty, with the Detroit having the highest percentage of any large US city.
Michigan FoodCorps member Kirsten Gerbatsch shares her service experience as she seeks to expose Northern Michigan kids to healthy, locally-grown foods. Click here to get a glimpse of a day in the life as a FoodCorps member.
RESOURCES
Three new videos on farm to school best practices and innovations are now available from Michigan Farm to School! Visit www.mifarmtoschool.msu.edu to watch school food service directors touring Veges from the Ledges farm, Country Dairy showing us how they bring milk to local schools, and Bear Lake Schools sharing how they use local food in the Summer Food Service Program.
One page Agenda Briefs covering 10 of the Michigan Good Food Charter’s 25 priorities are now available, including a brief on the “10 Cent Solution” which would offer additional reimbursements for local fruits and vegetables to be purchased and served in school meals. The briefs put Charter recommendations in the context of on-the-ground work across Michigan and are designed for printing and distributing so you can use them to introduce ideas and organize next steps.
The newly published elementary curriculum Nutritious, Delicious, Wisconsin: Connecting Nutrition Education and Local Foods focuses on using Wisconsin foods with a connection to Wisconsin’s history, culture, and people. Find this resource online here.
The New York City Health Department has developed a new online resource, A+ Fundraisers for High School Guide, to help promote healthier school environments. The guide contains healthy food and non-food fundraiser ideas with tips for organizing and implementing. Check it out here!
OPPORTUNITIES
2012 FoodCorps applications are open for its next class of school food changemakers! FoodCorps is looking for people to serve in Michigan who are passionate about the mitten state and who are committed to improving food landscapes across the state. See attachment for more information on how to become a FoodCorps member, or go to www.foodcorps.org. In this current service year in Michigan:
· FoodCorps members have served over 5028 kids.
· FoodCorps has energized 31 new volunteers.
· FoodCorps members have helped build and revitalize 5 school and community gardens, totaling over 1350 sq feet of garden space.
The journal Childhood Obesity is seeking submissions for a special issue on school food. Click here for more details. Manuscripts are due April 1, 2012.
Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) in northwestern Lower Michigan is taking applications for a new food service director for its approximately 10,000-student school system. The job description includes making farm to school purchasing—purchasing and serving food grown by local farmers—a priority. Please click here for more information and to fill out the application - click on "view our open positions" and then click on "non-affiliated positions.”
EVENTS
Food Safety: Tackling Traceability Workshops offered by MIFFS & MDARD
One workshop remains on Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 at Jackson County MSU Extension.
See PDF flyer for more details and to RSVP.
Detroit Local Food Sourcing Meet & Greet hosted by FSEP and FoodLab Detroit
Wednesday March 14th from 4-6 pm
COLORS Restaurant in Downtown Detroit
The Virgil Carr Building, 311 E Grand River, Detroit
To RSVP, fill out an online survey form here or call 734.222.3817.
Blue Water Meet & Greet for Food Growers and Buyers
Hosted by St. Clair County School Food Service Directors, MSU Extension, and the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems
Wednesday, March 27, 2012
9 am for farmers, 10 am for institutions & farmers
East China Schools Admin Building
1585 Meisner Rd.
China Township, MI 48054
RSVP to Kathe Hale, MSUE, at halek@anr.msu.edu or 586.469.6088.
See attached postcard for more details!
2012 Michigan Good Food Summit
June 14, 2012
Lansing Center, Lansing, MI
See attachment or www.michiganfood.org for more information.
6th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference: Digging In!
August 2-5, 2012
Burlington, Vermont
Click here for more information.
Colleen Matts
Farm to Institution Specialist
MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, formerly the CS Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems
517.432.0310
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