Register now & scholarships available - MI Farm to Institution Network Gathering on Nov 20

 

Registration is open and scholarships are available for the Michigan Farm to Institution Network (MFIN) Gathering on Nov 20 in Lansing!

 

WHAT: Michigan Farm to Institution Network Gathering

WHERE: Lansing Community College West, Lansing, MI

WHEN: 9 am – 4:30 pm on Wednesday, November 20, 2019 with an opening reception on November 19 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm

COST: $35, and scholarships are available through the registration form

REGISTER by November 8 at http://bit.ly/MFINGathering2019

LEARN MORE about lodging and other details

 

Since our launch in 2014, we at MFIN have been proud to share and promote the stories about farm to institution in action around the state. These are just a few of the farm to institution and good food stories that network members and supporters made happen in recent years:

• Beans on the Menu: A Surprising Twist on Traditional Fare
• Michigan Farm to Freezer Makes Local Produce Available All Year Long
• American House Senior Living Communities Celebrate Local Agriculture and Seasonal Meals
• YWCA of Kalamazoo Brings Fresh, Healthy Food to Little Ones
• Sparrow (Hospital) Hits a Cultivate Michigan Milestone
• Macomb County Pilots Regional Directory To Promote Local Food Purchasing in Schools

 

Join us at the upcoming MFIN gathering to hear more important stories from farm to institution practitioners, celebrate our collective progress to date, and help inform the future direction of our work beyond 2020!

 

Best,

 

Colleen Matts

(she, her, hers)

Farm to Institution Specialist

Coordinator, Michigan Farm to Institution Network

Core Partner, National Farm to School Network

Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems

matts@msu.edu | 517.432.0310

foodsystems.msu.edu | cultivatemichigan.org | mifarmtoschool.msu.edu

 

Michigan Apple Crunch Update

Greetings All,

 

We're pleased to report that the Michigan Apple Crunch, as part of the Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch, exceeded our goal of 1.6 million crunches across the region! The total crunches as of October 10 (the official Crunch date) were 1,805,338!! Michigan came in third place in the Great Lakes States, contributing 322,104 collective crunches! Great work to all who participated and demonstrated their support of Michigan agriculture. Michigan also had the highest number of adults who crunched – 46,985 and the third highest number of K-12 students at 275,119.

 

Remember, you can still Crunch and be counted throughout October, just remember to register at http://bit.ly/MIAppleCrunch2019. Many Michigan registrants plan to do an event in conjunction with Halloween next week.

 

As always, share your plans, photos from your event, and follow along on Facebook @miapplecrunch and @michiganfarmtoinstitution.

 

Sending a big thank you to all who participated!

The Michigan Apple Crunch Team

 

 

-- 

Kaitlin Koch Wojciak

(she/her/hers)

Michigan State University Extension Educator

Community Food Systems

21885 Dunham, Suite 12

Clinton Township, MI 48036

Work: 586-469-6088

Cell: 313-695-7746

 

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer.  Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status.

 

 

10 Cents a Meal One-Pagers

Greetings,

I have had a number of requests for one-pagers and high level talking points about 10 Cents a Meal, so I thought I would share them more widely.

Be sure to select "fit to print" as some need to be about 96% rather than 100% in order to get all of the graphcs in. 

Also please note that this post has been updated at the bottom with template language if you plan to make outreach to legislators and the governor regarding 10 Cents in the state budget.

Attached and with links are:

• 10 Cents a Meal Overview in Infographics: Includes quotes from Michigan Farm Bureau and School Nutrition Association of Michigan.
• 10 Cents a Meal Overview from the 2018-2019 Legislative Report: In heading and bullets form, and additional info not in the infographic form, including that the top impact of 10 Cents cited by food service directors for all three years of the pilot is that the variety of fruits, vegetables, and dry beans served to their students has increased.
• 10 Cents a Meal Outreach One-pager: Includes status in the state budget including veto, next steps, quotes, and high level impacts for children, schools, and agriculture.

One-pagers with results in each of five regions of the state last year are at www.tencentsmichigan.org on the tools for communities tab.

Best, Diane

P.S. Find the current list of signed-up supporters of 10 Cents a Meal (and a link to sign up) here. 

Fun Fact: Currently, signed up supporters hail from 54—or 65%—of Michigan's 83 counties.

FW: Farm to School Month Update: 2020 USDA FARM TO SCHOOL GRANT RFA IS LIVE!

Greetings,

Please see notice below about the USDA Farm to School Grant Request for Applications (RFA), which is now live! Please contact Jenna Segal (contact below), our USDA Midwest Regional Farm to School Lead, or farmtoschool@usda.gov for more information about this grant opportunity and RFA.

 

And happy Farm to School Month from us here at Michigan Farm to School!

 

Best,

 

Colleen Matts

(she, her, hers)

Farm to Institution Specialist

Coordinator, Michigan Farm to Institution Network

Core Partner, National Farm to School Network

Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems

matts@msu.edu | 517.432.0310

foodsystems.msu.edu | cultivatemichigan.org | mifarmtoschool.msu.edu

 

From: "Segal, Jenna - FNS" <jenna.segal@usda.gov>
Date: Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 1:05 PM
Subject: Farm to School Month Update: THE 2020 FARM TO SCHOOL GRANT RFA IS LIVE!

 

Hello Farm to School Partners,

 

Happy Farm to School Month! I'm emailing to share with you the exciting news that the FY 2020 Farm to School Grant Program Request for Applications (RFA) is now available! FNS seeks to award up to $10 million this fiscal year.

 

There is one major change I want to highlight. FY 2020 marks the first time that a separate track is available specifically for State agencies. State agencies include any State‐level agency working to promote farm to CNP activities in eligible schools, such as State Departments of Education, Health, or Agriculture. The State agency does not need to administer the Child Nutrition Programs in order to be eligible for this track; however, the State agency applicant must include a letter of support from the relevant CNP‐administering State agency. See p. 13 of the RFA for more information. Other pertinent details are below:

 

Open Date:                       October 8th, 2019

Closing Date:                    December 13th, 2019 until 11:59pm ET

Tracks:                               Planning, Implementation, and State agency

Eligible Applicants:         City or township governments

Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

County governments

Independent school districts

Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)

State governments

Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

              

The Office of Community Food Systems will host a webinar Wednesday, October 23^rd, at 3:00pm ET to help interested applicants learn more about the RFA and how to apply for a grant. Please keep an eye on The Dirt e-newsletter for updates about the Farm to School Grant application!

 

The RFA can be accessed here: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=321407. We encourage you to share the RFA opportunity and the upcoming webinar widely among your networks!

 

P.S. I will also be sending out an email on updated FY19  Farm to School Census participation rates this week too!  

 

Sincerely,

Jenna

 

Jenna Segal, MPH

Midwest Farm to School Regional Lead, USDA-FNS-MWRO

Office of Community Food Systems

77 West Jackson Blvd., 20th Floor

Chicago, Illinois 60604

312-886-4613

jenna.segal@usda.gov

Sign up for our E-letter for updates about grants, news, resources, and more!

 

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

1.7 Million Great Lakes Apple Crunchers, and still time to join!

1.7 Great Lakes Apple Crunchers and growing!

 

It’s not too late to join the fun and throw your support in for Michigan agriculture! The Great Lakes Apple Crunch is counting participation throughout the end of October, and Michigan is well on its way to having the most participating crunchers we’ve ever had!

 

Tomorrow, October 10, schools, universities, early childcare programs, businesses, organizations, families and friends throughout the Great Lakes region will be celebrating local agriculture by crunching into Apples. As of the last count, 1.7 million individuals have committed to crunching in – are you one of them?

 

Celebrate Farm to School Month with a crunch at any point in the month of October. Whenever you participate, whether it’s October 1, 10 or October 31, be sure to register so your numbers are counted! You can register your group and find more information at https://www.cias.wisc.edu/applecrunch/ and everyone who registers will receive helpful information to make your crunch successful. And then, let us know what you did! Share your plans, photos from your event, and follow along on Facebook @miapplecrunch and @michiganfarmtoinstitution.

 

Need some inspiration? Check out these stories from Cultivate Michigan to see how others have celebrated throughout the state!

·      See how the Michigan Apple Crunch kick started broader farm to school efforts at Hart Public Schools

·      Take a Bite with Macomb ISD and see how they made their 2018 Apple Crunch accessible to all!

·      Read about our successful 2015 MI Apple Crunch and get inspired to make this year’s even better!

 

 

Abigail Harper (she/her/hers)

Please note new address!

Community Food Systems Educator

MSU Extension

5303 S. Cedar St.

Lansing, MI 48911

 

(p) 517-676-7207

(c) 857-600-6921

(f) 517-887-4592

 

2019 Farm to School Census Reminder

Dear Michigan School Food Authorities:

You may have received notification that the 2019 Farm to School Census is underway! A number of Michigan SFAs have already completed the Census and even more have started the process. As the Census nears the halfway mark for data collection, we are reaching out with a friendly reminder to use your personalized link included in the emails.

 

Why complete the Census?

We know you are busy. The Census is designed to track farm to school activities, and the results can be used to help advocate for policy and funding support and guide USDA's technical support. The Census can help us at Michigan Farm to School and other farm to school supporters do the same at the state-level. The Census data is publicly available, as well, so it's a way for schools/districts doing farm to school to be counted and recognized for your good work! You can see results from the 2015 Farm to School Census at https://farmtoschoolcensus.fns.usda.gov.

 

The Farm to School Census Preparation Worksheet may be especially helpful as you are gathering information to complete the census itself. Visit

https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/Census%20Preparation%20Worksheet_revised%202019.06.07.pdf

for the worksheet or https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/farm-school-census-respondent-resources for additional resources.

 

If you have any questions, please contact the Abt project team from 9 am to 9 pm ET toll-free at 855-452-5794, or e-mail farmtoschool@abtassoc.com.

 

 

Meagan K. Shedd, PhD
Assistant Professor, Farm to Early Care and K-12 Education
Center for Regional Food Systems | Michigan State University
Department of Community Sustainability | College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
480 Wilson Rd, Room 309 | Natural Resources Building | East Lansing, MI 48824-1039
517.432.4525 | mshedd@msu.edu

www.foodsystems.msu.edu | www.mifarmtoschool.msu.edu

Make your Crunch Count! Register for the MI Apple Crunch

The MI Apple Crunch is quickly approaching - make sure your event is counted! It's easy to participate - just register at http://bit.ly/MIAppleCrunch2019. In return, you'll receive information about where to find local apples and how to promote your event. We are hoping to reach 1.6 million crunches across the region - your registration will help us get there!

 

This year marks the first time that the Michigan Apple Crunch and the Great Lakes Apple Crunch will join forces for one great crunch. Schools, hospitals, early childcare and education programs and other organizations celebrate Michigan's abundance of fresh, local produce by collectively crunching into Michigan apples for this fun, one-day event. The official date is October 10, but you can celebrate anytime in October. Share your plans, photos from your event, and follow along on Facebook @miapplecrunch and @michiganfarmtoinstitution. 

 

To support your Michigan Apple Crunch:

• Check out Cultivate Michigan resources to help you source Michigan apples from distributors and food hubs for your institutions and promote them in your cafeterias.
•  Visit the Michigan Apple Committee website that has searchable tools to help you find Michigan apples at farm markets and stores as well as activities for kids and resources for teachers.
• Go to Michigan Farm to School for a range of resources and tools to help with your ongoing farm to school work at schools and early child care and education sites.

 

 

-- 

Kaitlin Koch Wojciak

(she/her/hers)

Michigan State University Extension Educator

Community Food Systems

21885 Dunham, Suite 12

Clinton Township, MI 48036

Work: 586-469-6088

Cell: 313-695-7746

 

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer.  Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status.