By Diane Conners Zoe Fauble, a senior at Whitehall Public Schools, learned to love fresh vegetables after helping her dad and grandmother in their garden. It was the most economical way for them to eat, and it was delicious. But put beans into a muffin? That’s not anything she’d ever considered—not until becoming a second-year culinary student at Muskegon Career Tech Center, where she is learning to prepare food not just for restaurants—someday, perhaps—but also to help make school meals healthy and delicious right now. Continue reading

10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms provides schools, early childhood education centers, and other eligible programs participating in USDA federal child nutrition programs with matching funds to purchase and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and dry beans. By participating in 10 Cents a Meal grantees source and serve Michigan-grown food, promote and market them, and also conduct educational activities to teach the children they serve about food, nutrition, and gardening. This story, written by Jen Schaap of Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities highlights East Jordan Public Schools, a 10 Cents a Meal grantee making huge strides with their food, gardening, and nutrition education programs. Continue reading

Traci Jackson’s second graders can’t stop talking about food. They are bragging about family recipes for asparagus and recommending potato salad instead of French fries. They are demanding succotash at school and at home. And Michigan farmers are to thank for the students’ newfound fresh-food enthusiasm. Continue reading

Neha Shah, a teacher at Burn Parks Elementary in Ann Arbor Public schools, shares a story with her students every year. It’s Seedfolks, by Paul Fleischman, and it opens up to Kim, a 9-year-old Vietnamese American girl, trekking out in the early morning chill to plant lima beans in the vacant lot across from her apartment.   Continue reading

  Parents are stopping Beth Kavanaugh in the aisles of her local grocery store to get tips on how to help their kids try new foods. That’s because Kavanaugh, food service director at Public Schools of Petoskey, has been successful in getting kids to try everything from black bean and corn salad to radish slaw at school. Continue reading

  FoodCorps Michigan Service Members are major allies for school districts in their efforts to promote fresh, whole foods. FoodCorps Service Member Sarah Perez-Sans hosted a make-your-own salsa activity for #10CentsAMeal grantee Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) during family night, where students and their parents measured ingredients together.

We're so inspired by 10 Cents grantee Food Service Director Dan Gorman's work in Montague Area Public Schools! Last Thursday, students and teachers at Nellie B. Chisholm Middle School shared a meal. Educators and students have the power to transform our food system when they come together around a communal table to share food and ideas.

Food service staff, educators, and others from Muskegon County made a “learning journey” to Traverse City in the fall to explore farm to school progress there. They discovered the professionally vetted farm to school lessons at Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District, and it was a highlight, said Deb Warren, who is coordinating farm to school program development in the Muskegon Public Schools. Continue reading

Boyne Falls Public Schools, a tiny school of 200 students, decided three years ago to hire a chef to run its kitchen. As a result, students are eating not only local produce, but also local meat. Chef Nate Bates, with funds from a grant, purchased a locally raised pig and smoked it for use throughout the year. Continue reading

In Leland Public Schools, Laura Miller, Student Advocate and Farm to School Coordinator, connects kids in the classroom to what Food Service Director Dave Ruszel is serving. She provides them with samples of items he plans to make, such as winter squash soup and kohlrabi snack sticks. At the same time, she teaches them how the nutrients in the foods affect their health, and how and where they were grown. Continue reading