By: Melanie Tran 

On the road that leads from the farm to the tray, we encounter many folks along the way who contribute to feeding our kids. Who’s Feeding Our Kids is a series where we explore different people and organizations within the food system who are working to feed our kids and support the 10 Cents a Meal program.

These are some of their stories.

This story features Ann Arbor Public Schools and Argus Farm Stop. 

Difficulties with sourcing Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables is a common challenge for 10 Cents a Meal grantees, especially if they are new to the program or just getting started. For food program managers, it can feel like there isn’t enough time in the day to find Michigan-grown food to serve. For this reason, starting small is recommended— for example, starting with one product that is already being served, like salad greens, and then finding a local source for them.

Photo above: Sliced, Michigan apples being packaged at Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s food hub, ValleyHUB.

Photo credit: Sarah Rypma

Another way to work towards increasing the amount of local food you serve is to partner with organizations who can help with the leg work of connecting with local farmers. This can help increase the variety of products institutions can offer and lessen the administrative work of managing multiple relationships. Food hubs, such as Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s ValleyHUB, is one example of this, and works with multiple 10 Cents a Meal grantees and farms in Southwest Michigan to aggregate and distribute Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables—even offering some minimally processed versions like sliced, Michigan apples. 

Larger distributors can also help their clients determine eligible Michigan-grown food in their catalogs by providing a list of Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables they are distributing. There are also smaller food movers who can assist with getting local food into institutions such as Argus Farm Stop in Ann Arbor, Michigan who has been working with Ann Arbor Public Schools, a 10 Cents a Meal Grantee. 

About Argus Farm Stop

With three retail locations and a wholesale delivery program, Argus Farm Stop is a local food aggregator, which means they work with different farms and small businesses to collect products they grow and make, which they then sell to customers. “Argus provides a service more than a product” shared Will Moyer, the Online Operations Manager for Argus. Argus works on a consignment model and aims to provide living wages for the dozens of farmers and small businesses it works with. With their model, they allow farmers to set their prices and return 70% of the sale price to farmers, keeping 30% to support their work doing logistics involved with coordinating dozens of farmers and makers, running retail operations, and making deliveries. 

Last year, Argus began partnering with Ann Arbor Public Schools. In the fall, products like tomatoes, peppers, winter squash, spinach, salad mix, and celery from local farms were delivered to eight different schools within the district. Once delivered, those farm fresh ingredients were transformed into dishes like cinnamon, maple glazed winter squash or hearty chili by talented chefs and kitchen staff. 

In looking to the future, Will believes more coordination could help with increasing the amount and types of local food going to schools, “I would love to see a planning session around this time of year, the farms we are working with plan their seasons around the markets they already have.” This kind of pre-season planning can help producers plan what and how much to plant while also giving schools inspiration for seasonal menus. 

Direct Purchasing

While Argus helps Ann Arbor Public Schools source local food from a variety of farms, food service leadership at the district also work directly with three farms, leaning on relationships they’ve built over the years. “You have to go and talk to them, go visit their farm, make the in person connections” said Mike DeVries, food service director at Ann Arbor Public Schools. While it can be hard to find the time to get away, nurturing those relationships can really make a difference. Visiting farms can provide insight on what products farmers can offer, their production methods, and if they are a good fit for an operation’s needs. 

Not only do those relationships help facilitate purchasing, but also open the doors to new opportunities like inviting farmers to farm to school events. “Some of the farmers aren’t sure at first, but once they come and see how happy the kids are and the difference that their produce makes to the kids— they get excited,” said Sandy Short, Assistant Director, who has been organizing pop-up farmers market events and farm to school celebration days like the Michigan Apple Crunch for the district. These opportunities give children the chance to learn about fresh, local food outside of what they are served at lunch. These farmers are rockstars to the children. “For the Michigan Apple Crunch Day we had three different farmers/local food distributors come to help. Kids were asking for autographs from the farmers, asking them to sign anything they could find!” 

Photo above: A pop-up farmers market event at one of Ann Arbor Public Schools elementary schools featuring fresh, local fruits and vegetables. Children received a bag and pretend money to “purchase” items from the market to take home and enjoy with their families.

Photo Credit: Sandy Short

The variety and quality of the Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables the district provides doesn’t go unnoticed according to Mike. High impact items like yellow watermelon, those fresh Michigan apples, and blueberries are products in high demand on the fresh fruit and vegetable bars in the schools. “Kids were maxing out their fruit and veggie servings in the cafeteria because they love the local produce so much.”

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Farm to Early Care and Education Specialist, Melanie Tran, writes from Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they support the 10 Cents a Meal Program through Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, outreach and communications partner on the 10 Cents a Meal implementation team.