Don’t forget farm to school in your back to school plans!

Check out news, resources, events, opportunities, and more in the Michigan Farm to School Newsletter.

August 2021 Dear Michigan Farm to School subscribers, This month, preparations for back-to-school are gearing up. Farm to ECE and farm to school can be part of that planning. Check out this month’s newsletter for information about expanded funding for 10 Cents a Meal and how you can apply, how farm to school is being implemented in settings across Michigan, and resources to help plan for the upcoming school year. News Increase in Funding for 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids & Farms  On July 13, HB4411 was signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, which includes funding for 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids & Farms. With $5 million funding for this program to increase purchases of Michigan fruits, vegetables, and legumes in schools and early care and education centers, the funding is now more than doubled from the $2 million in 2020-21. Read more. Farm to School Grants Awarded to Four Michigan Programs Farm to school grants awarded by the USDA were announced to 176 grantees, totaling $12 million in funding. Grantees in Michigan include: Montague Area Public Schools, Bethany Housing Ministries, Inc. (partnering with Muskegon Schools), Crim Fitness Foundation, and YWCA Kalamazoo Children’s Center. Congratulations to the Michigan grantees! Read more. Farm to School is Growing in the United States New farm to school census data released from the USDA shows farm to school efforts are growing across the nation! Between 2018-19, 65% of school districts and other local entities responsible for school meals are reporting participation in farm to school activities, and more than half report starting those activities within the last three years. Read more. Events Cultivate Michigan Marketplace: Growing Connections in Early Care and Education Join fellow food suppliers and childcare providers for a virtual meet-the-buyers style event in your region! This series of exciting networking events provides an opportunity for local and regional food suppliers and early care and education sites to connect around local food. Childcare providers and food suppliers will receive a gift card for their participation in one event. Register for your regional event: Monday, August 16 – Upper Peninsula  Tuesday, August 17 - Southwest Michigan Wednesday, August 18 – West Michigan Thursday, August 19 - Northern Lower Peninsula  Monday, August 23 - East Michigan  Tuesday, August 24 - Mid-Michigan  Wednesday, August 25 - Southeast Michigan  Thursday, August 26 – Southeast Michigan (Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties)  The Power of Food: Cultivating Equitable Policies through Collective Action September 20-22 Kansas City, MO The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future is organizing an in-person national forum for food policy councils to strengthen relationships, establish new skill sets, and energize participants for action. Learn more and register. Michigan Good Food Charter Gathering October 13-15 Virtual Join us as we wrap up the Michigan Good Food Charter update process and plan for the future of good food in Michigan! The gathering's interactive agenda will bring together food systems advocates and practitioners to preview components of the updated Michigan Good Food Charter, share feedback, and plan for collaboration and next steps. Learn more. Resources Garden-Based Learning Guide for Early Childhood Settings Keep Growing Detroit has released a new guide called "Garden-Based Learning for Early Childhood Settings!" With guidance for preparing the garden throughout all four seasons, planting tips, and helpful suggestions for engaging families and children, this new tool is a valuable resource for educators and caregivers. Explore the guide. Lessons from COVID-19: Innovations and Strategies for Farm to ECE Implementation The Policy Equity Group and the National Farm to School Network (NFSN) released this new resource that shares farm to ECE efforts at the beginning of the pandemic and how organizations in five states adapted. The brief includes recommendations for sustaining successful strategies identified during the pandemic. Read more about this new resource in the NFSN blog and check out the full resource. Food Sovereignty in the USA: A Selection of Stories The Narrative Collective of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance recently released this multimedia publication. The publication highlights a series of stories that explore the concept of food sovereignty - a vision for democratic control over food and agricultural systems. The videos and text in this resource are intended to raise awareness and inspire conversations within and beyond the food sovereignty movement. Explore the stories. Northeast Farm to School Institute Model Webinar Recording The National Farm to School Network hosted a special webinar to share examples of adaptations of the innovative Northeast Farm to School Institute Model from across the country. Watch the full recording. Opportunities 10 Cents a Meal Applications Open Deadline: August 16 The application for 10 Cents a Meal is now open for the 2021-22 school year! 10 Cents A Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms is a state-funded grant providing matching incentive funding up to 10 cents per meal to purchase and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and legumes.  The program is open to school districts (public, public school academies, or private), residential childcare institutions (RCCIs), and child care centers that participate in the USDA child nutrition programs of Extended Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) during the school year, National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Learn more and apply. USDA Requests Public Input on Racial Justice and Equity Deadline: August 14, 11:59 p.m. EST USDA is requesting input from the public on how it can advance racial justice and equity for underserved communities as part of its implementation of Executive Order 13985, “Identifying Barriers in USDA Programs and Services; Advancing Racial Justice and Equity and Support for Underserved Communities at USDA.” The deadline for submitting comments has been extended to Saturday, August 14. Submit a formal comment. 2021 Native Youth and Culture Fund Grants Deadline: August 19 First Nations Development Institute announced that it is accepting proposals for the Native Youth and Culture Fund for programs that focus on youth and that support the perpetuation of traditional ecological knowledge, spirituality, and the intergenerational transfer of knowledge systems, resulting in compassion, respect, dignity, reverence for nature, and care for each other and the Earth. First Nations expects to award approximately 30 grants of $5,000 to $25,000 each for general operating support. Learn more and apply. 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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10 Cents a Meal Grant Application Now Open for 2021-22 School Year

Hello!

We are proud to share that the Michigan Department of Education has announced that it is accepting applications for the 10 Cents A Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms, a state-funded grant providing matching incentive funding up to 10 cents per meal to purchase and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and legumes. 

The program is open to school districts (public, public school academies, or private), residential childcare institutions (RCCIs), and child care centers that participate in the USDA child nutrition programs of Extended Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) during the school year, National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). 

The grant has gone from a regional pilot program to finally being available to applicants statewide, and this latest $5 million dollar investment affirms the importance of 10 Cents a Meal in providing fresh, healthy, local fruits, vegetables, and dry beans for Michigan's schoolchildren. 

The 10 Cents a Meal grant application opened Monday, August 2, 2021 and will close on Monday, August 16th. 10 Cents a Meal is a competitive grant. Scoring of applicants prioritizes districts and ECEs that demonstrate the greatest ability to procure, prepare, and promote Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables and legumes, and plan for related educational activities.

For more information about the application process please visit www.tencentsmichigan.org. Click here to see the application guide. 

Questions about the application or process may be directed to Liana Bennett at BennettL4@michigan.gov or Jaime Malnar at MalnarJ1@michigan.gov.

Additional Program Contacts:

Diane Golzynski, Michigan Department of Education, GolzynskiD@michigan.gov

Nathan Medina, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, nathan@groundworkcenter.org

Colleen Matts, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, matts@msu.edu

Please feel free to share throughout your professional network. Thank you!

Nathan Luis Medina  | Policy Specialist

Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities

P   231-941-6584 ext. 714

W  groundworkcenter.org

F   Groundwork Center

T   @grndwk

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

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.

2021-2022 FoodCorps Service Member Positions Still Available

Colleagues:

We still have a few service positions open for those interested in being candidates as 2021-2022 FoodCorps AmeriCorps Service Members. In Michigan, we are accepting applications to serve in schools with our site partners in Detroit, Flint, Muskegon, and the Petoskey region. The candidate must, at a minimum, serve 1,700 allowable hours beginning in August 2021 for 11.5 months. Apply here!

 

FoodCorps Michigan has connected over 50,000 children to healthy food in schools across the state since 2010. We complement school wellness objectives by placing FoodCorps' trained AmeriCorps members in kindergarten through 8^th grade classes, where they deliver our evidence-backed program to students. Our members work with staff, students, and community members to implement evidence-based strategies that get kids to eat healthily. For more information on applying to serve in Michigan, contact FoodCorps MI Program Coordinator Quan Blunt - quan.blunt@foodcorps.org 

Please assist us by including this information in eNewletters and job boards, and forwarding the attached flyer to all interested parties.

Kind regards,

Dale

 

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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.

Save the Dates: Michigan Good Food Charter Virtual Gathering Oct. 13-15, 2021

Save the dates for the Michigan Good Food Charter Gathering this October!

Join us as we wrap up the Michigan Good Food Charter update process and plan for the future of good food in Michigan! The event will take place on October 13-15 on a virtual platform with live workshops and networking space.  This interactive agenda will bring together food systems advocates and practitioners to: Preview components of the updated Michigan Good Food Charter Share feedback and big ideas for Michigan's good food future Plan for collaboration and next steps We are seeking facilitators! If you are interested, please let us know by completing the application form. Charter Gathering Facilitator Application We plan to charge a fee to help offset the costs of the virtual platform and support future networking events like this. Low barrier scholarship opportunities will be provided via registration. For more information or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Diane Drago: ddrago@dmsevents.com www.michiganfood.org ‌ ‌ ‌ #2021goodfood You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to one or more MSU Center for Regional Food Systems list(s).  Please note that if you unsubscribe from this mailing, you will be removed from all list(s).

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$5 Million Secured for 10 Cents a Meal

Greetings all,

Please see this big news!  Help spread the word to farms, schools, and early childcare centers in your communities, and support them in success.

This is the 10 Cents a Meal Newsletter. Do you subscribe? You are automatically on the list if you sign up as a supporter here. 

Best, Diane

Have you heard the news?  It's Official! HUGE 10 Cents a Meal news! Earlier this week Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the $17.1 billion K-12 budget into law. Included in that budget is $5 million for 10 Cents a Meal for the 2021-2022 school year, more than double the current year's funding of $2 million.  This additional funding adds to the great legacy of the matching grant program. We are so excited to continue our work helping schools and early childhood education centers connect Michigan's children to Michigan-grown food while supporting our hardworking farmers.  Preview the Press Release!  "KENTWOOD, MI - Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed HB 4411, the $17.1 billion K-12 budget, into law July 13, surrounded by students and faculty at East Kentwood High School. The bill accounts for the largest single-year School Aid Fund budget ever passed by the state, and included funding for 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms at $5 million, more than doubling the funding from $2 million in 2020-21.  10 Cents A Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms (10 Cents a Meal) is a state-funded program providing schools and early childhood education centers (ECEs) with matching incentive funding up to 10 cents per meal to purchase and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and legumes. The grant has gone from a $250,000 state pilot program in 2016 to finally being available to applicants statewide for the 2020-2021 school year, and this latest investment affirms the importance of 10 Cents a Meal in providing fresh, healthy, local fruits, vegetables, and dry beans for Michigan's school and pre-schoolchildren." Read the full press release Celebrate with Us! Help us spread the good news and show us some love on social media! Share, like, and comment on our announcement posts on Facebook andInstagram Tweet at us, reply to our tweet, or retweet our post on Twitter 10 Cents a Meal Network Meeting — Save the Date!  Join Groundwork Center and other supporters of 10 Cents a Meal for our next 10 Cents a Meal Network meeting on Thursday, August 19th 2:30-3:30 p.m. Please save the date and stay tuned for more details. With the expanded $5 million budget for next school year we will have much to talk about regarding the future of the program!  Ten Cents A Meal http://www.tencentsmichigan.org/   10 Cents A Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms · MI, United States  This email was sent to diane@groundworkcenter.org. To stop receiving our emails, click here.  You can also keep up with Ten Cents A Meal on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram.