By: Amanda Brezzell 

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 along 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 Mary Rose Vanas, Food Service Director for Shelby Public Schools and Joshua (Josh) Reames, Director of Dining Services for Gull Lake Community Schools.

Photo by Sarah Rypma

From the Heart

The kitchen is considered the heart of every home. It is the lifeforce, space for nourishment, and the rhythms associated with mealtime set the daily pace. As is the heart, the kitchen is the most vital, so it is no wonder that those who coordinate the kitchen hold a particular kind of reverence for the space. This rings true for prominent celebrity chefs, who are exciting to watch on television, and is also true for those whose stories we don’t always see; the people who dedicate their early mornings, summer days, and late nights to feeding our youngest eaters. 

School Meals

It’s 4:50 am and Mary Rose Vanas is on site in the school prep kitchen. The goal each morning is to start cooking and maximize time. “We try to cook as much of our food as possible from scratch, hence the early start time,” says Mary Rose. By 5:00 am, all food service staff are in the kitchen to finish food preparation for that day before beginning preparation for the next. Mary Rose serves as the Food Service Director for Shelby Public Schools, where she and her staff prepare and serve 12,000 meals for students on a weekly basis during the school year. 

Most people would find the task of deciphering the details that go into planning successful large-scale food operations for children daunting, but after 35 years in school food, Mary Rose has it down. “Planning the menu and the days on which labor-intensive prep is on, is vital. Shelby Public Schools invests the dollars in labor, that way we have control over additives and preservatives, and have knowledge of potential allergens,” says Mary Rose.

Mary Rose explains that she and her staff set aside time for the preparation of fresh local produce, and are assisted by the proper machinery that prepares large quantities of produce in minimal time. With the introduction of fresh local produce, students have become more familiar with what that produce looks like. “Last year was our first year taking part in a local CSA [Community Supported Agriculture]. We have held farmers markets at the school and the kids enjoy shucking their own corn for lunch!”

School food service may look different depending on the district. Just 30 minutes outside of Battle Creek, Josh Reames has stepped into the role of Director of Dining Services for Gull Lake Community Schools. Here, his work looks like managing the food service department, including menu development, team building, catering for staff, and all food events for the district’s 3,000 students. 

While Mary Rose and her staff are doing their morning preparation work, Josh and his team are serving up a grab-and-go breakfast at each of their five dining locations and scratch cooking to keep lunch items as fresh as possible for the students. Through his district’s partnership with the Kalamazoo Valley Community College ValleyHUB, and other food distributors, Josh is able to meet their local produce needs. He cites their biggest challenge to keeping everything as local as possible is getting a larger variety of fresh produce year-round.

Making The Investment 

Josh explains that support from district leadership and in-kitchen staff has been a vital part in the success of their district’s relationship with local food and vendors. Sourcing the local produce from multiple sites is not what his district was accustomed to. “When they see the end result of students loving the meals, it really hits home. Students do notice,” says Josh.

Deciding to incorporate fresh and local food into meals is an investment into the futures of our children. It takes coordination and planning, but with access to the right resources, many schools and institutions across the state are able to participate to some degree. “Life is much simpler with one broadline distributor, but this is about being able to prioritize the investment in your local community as well as the superior quality of produce you are serving your students,” notes Mary Rose.

One addition Shelby Public Schools made to support this investment was hiring a Food Service Specialist for the administrative side of purchasing local food. The person in this position is responsible for managing and paying vendors, arranging delivery times, and coordinating distribution from a central building to satellite kitchens. “Small, local farmers cannot wait three weeks on payment. By processing our billing in house we are able to pay the farmers the same week, and this is vital for them,” says Mary Rose. 

Photo By Sarah Rypma

The Future

Recently, both the Michigan House of Representatives and Senate passed the FY25 education omnibus budget, which houses recent changes to the 10 Cents a Meal Program. These changes include $4.5 million in funding for the program, as well as provisions that allow up to 25% of a grantee’s award to be used toward transportation, labor, and other costs associated with procuring and serving fresh local food. “More labor comes into play when we use fresh options. Funding for this would be a straight benefit to current work being done, and will continue to make serving the best produce Michigan has to offer easier,” says Josh. These changes will take effect when Governor Whitmer signs the new budget bill into law.  

School meals are especially vital in the summertime. For many families that rely on school meals to help keep their children fed, when eating at school isn’t an option, they go hungry. Summer Food Service and Summer Electronic Benefit programs are designed to support children who have less access to nutrient dense food.They provide options for families in the summertime when school breakfast and lunch programs are not available. During the summer, Mary Rose and her team serve 13,000 meals a week. “We serve families as many local fresh fruits and vegetables as possible. Families with kids come from surrounding districts and counties for the fresh local produce and the premade frozen meals we serve them.”  

Even when food service styles and accommodations vary, the impact of fresh food across the state remains the same. Josh notes, “Our veggie and fruit lines have never been more brilliant in color showcasing amazing fresh produce we can find here in Michigan.” For many students, the school kitchen and cafeteria are essential parts of their lives. Children spend most of their days in school, and it follows that most of the meals they consume in those hours are from school too. 

Having someone, like these incredible food service directors, dedicated to, and excited about feeding our children what they need, is valuable and should not be taken for granted. When we invest in the people who keep the rhythm for our most vital spaces, caring for our youth, the most precious members of the community, then we are investing in a true sustainable future for our great state and beyond. 

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10 Cents a Meal Policy and Engagement Specialist Amanda Brezzell writes from their hometown of Detroit, 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.