Michigan Media Coverage

West Michigan farmers, schools discuss getting local produce to student lunches by Matt Vande Bunte. The Grand Rapids Press. Published 12/21/2009.
GRAND RAPIDS -- While fresh fruits and vegetables are fed daily to area students, few of those items are local. But that's not because Paul Baumgartner and other school food service directors are opposed to serving West Michigan produce. Baumgartner this week took part in a panel discussion, sponsored by Michigan State University's Farm to School program, about how local farmers can get products into campus cafeterias. The consensus was that school food service directors are open and eager to hear a sales pitch from farmers. Read the entire article.

School participating in Farm To School initiative. WWMT.com Channel 3 News. Published 12/14/2009.
Read the entire article.

Fresh to the core by Annie Martin. Battle Creek Enquirer. Published 12/14/2009.
Students sat at long tables in the Lakeview Middle School cafeteria Monday, munching on typical school lunch fare: a slice of pizza, tater tots, an apple and a small carton of milk. Quantcast But it's a little different than the lunches the school has served in the past because the apples and potatoes the school uses are grown in Michigan. Getting locally grown produce into school cafeterias was a four-year project for Paul Yettaw, director of food services. Meeting U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines and finding vendors that provide food from Michigan farms proved to be hurdles. Read the entire article.

Kalamazoo: Oh the Webs They Weave! by Patty Cantrell. Michigan Land Use Institute. Published 12/01/2009.
The rise of Kalamazoo’s strong Good Food movement is a story about people—and about how one good thing often leads to another when those people are passionately committed to a local food economy—and communicating with each other. For many in this region, the Good Food movement revolves around a non-profit called Fair Food Matters. FFM hosts the Eat Local, Kalamazoo! group, which sponsors events throughout the year to connect local people and local foods. FFM also puts on the Fair Food Film Festival and operates projects like the Can-Do Kitchen, summer chefs classes for kids, and learning gardens, like the Roots of Knowledge garden at Woodward Elementary School, in nearby Portage Read the entire article.

Changing the Look of School Lunch One Tray at a Time. The Jackson Blazer. Published 10/01/2009.
We often think of school lunch as cardboard pizza and grey green beans, but for students at Concord Community Schools, lunch looks very different. Over the past year, students have enjoyed fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables as part of their school lunch. In the fall of 2008, Food Service Director Alan Breneman began a Farm to School program in the school district and started sourcing produce from area farmers. Mr. Breneman became connected to local farmers through a partnership with Food System Economic Partnership, a non-profit in southeast Michigan that works to link farmers with consumers. Read the entire article.

Program supplies fresh produce from Jackson-area farms to students by Mike D. Lammi. Mlive.com. Published 09/10/2009.
Students at all Jackson Public Schools elementary and middle schools this year will be offered fresh fruits and vegetables during lunch. Those who purchase lunch, or receive free or reduced lunch, are allowed one trip to a serving area Read the entire article.

Michigan by Laura Shapiro. Gourmet. Published 09/09/2009.
If there's anyplace that ought to be immune from a California-style food revolution, it's Michigan. Long winters, high unemployment, an economy that's been staggering for years, no instantly recognizable culinary culture - Berkeley it ain't. But the truth is, Michigan farmers raise the second-greatest variety of agricultural products in the country, after California. Traditionally most of the fruits and vegetables grown there have gone straight to giant food processors, but that system isn't working the way it used to, now that processors have access to cheap produce from across the globe. Read the entire article.

Nonprofit helps Michigan farmers' business grow by Associated Press. Chicago Tribune. Published 08/29/2009.
Charles Bagwell wants to run an organic fish farm that would generate a million pounds of tilapia a year. A southeast Michigan nonprofit wants to help him get his feet wet. Read the entire article.

State Legislators Host Hearing On Michigan's Agriculture Industry by JM. WHMI 93.5 FM. Published 07/21/2009.
The future of agriculture, programs and state permit issues along with costs and land issues were all brought up along with farm to school feeding programs. The lawmakers are touring the state for input and yesterday was the group's second hearing with the ultimate goal to produce ideas that can be turned into legislation. Read the entire article.

Study: Michigan climbs scales as 9th fattest state by Megha Satyanarayana. Detroit Free Press. Published 07/01/2009.
Michigan's obesity has risen 1% since last year's report. Dr. James Marks, senior vice president of RWJF, said, "We must continue to view this with alarm." Read the entire article.

Education Newsmakers: 06/30/2009. Traverse City Record Eagle. Published 06/30/2009.
Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools Superintendent Michael Buell recently met with U.S. Senate leaders and experts in Washington, D.C., to discuss promoting healthy eating habits and increasing physical activity in students, featuring farm to school. Read the entire article.

Executive Profile: Jennifer Fike Executive director, Food System Economic Partnership by Janet Miller. Michigan Business Review. Published 06/04/2009.
Jennifer Fike wants to make sure the family farm doesn't end up on the endangered species list. As executive director of the nonprofit Food System Economic Partnership, Fike connects local food buyers with local food growers. Read the entire article.

Students nosh on fresh foods in new class by Elizabeth Willis. The Enquirer. Published 05/26/2009.
Homer Community Schools in October became the third district in the state to obtain the non-competitive grant through Michigan State University Extension's Michigan Nutrition Network, Finch said. The goal is to get kids eating more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and to increase their physical activity. It has allowed elementary students to grow nutritious foods from the seed and then try them in their classroom, among other activities. Read the entire article.

Students nosh on fresh foods in new class by Elizabeth Willis. The Enquirer. Published 05/26/2009.
Homer Community Schools in October became the third district in the state to obtain the non-competitive grant through Michigan State University Extension's Michigan Nutrition Network, Finch said. The goal is to get kids eating more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and to increase their physical activity. It has allowed elementary students to grow nutritious foods from the seed and then try them in their classroom, among other activities. Read the entire article.

 Local School District Gets Lunch Makeover by Rebecca Trylch. ABC12 News. Published 05/20/2009.
A Mid-Michigan school district is giving lunch a mini makeover. Read the entire article.

Recovery Act designates $2.5 million to promote healthy eating in Michigan schools by Eartha Jane Melzer. Michigan Messenger. Published 05/11/2009.
Michigan schools have until May 29th to apply to the state Department of Education for federal Recovery Act funds for equipment to improve school lunch service. Many school cafeterias lack equipment needed to prepare meals from scratch and can only heat and serve prepared food. Read the entire article.

There's a race in the Whitehall school board election. White Lake Beacon. Published 04/27/2009.
Challenging them for the two four-year seats on the board is Kimon Kotos, who was the Democratic candidate for the 2nd Congressional District in 2004 and 2006. Kotos has been deeply involved in farmers unions nationally and in Michigan, has been active in the Democratic Party in California and has been involved in the Muskegon Area Sustainability Coalition and the Muskegon Farm to School program. Read the entire article.

Session's focus: Locally based economy by Eric Gaertner. Muskegon Chronicle. Published 04/25/2009.
"Coming Home: E.F. Schumacher & the Reinvention of the Local Economy," a film by Montague filmmaker Chris Bedford, takes a look at the strategies designed by the E.F. Schumacher Society for communities to reinvest in themselves. Bedford is president of a local organic foods market, an organizer of the local group involved in the local farm-to-school program and runs the Center for Economic Security. Read the entire article.

WWD host 'Farm to School' event. Dexter Leader. Published 04/23/2009.
The Western Washtenaw Democrats are sponsoring a symposium on Michigan "Farm to School" initiatives on Thursday, April 30 in the McKune Room at the Chelsea District Library. The National Farm to School program teaches students about the path from farm to fork, and instills healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. Use of local produce in school meals and educational activities provide a new direct market for farmers in the area and mitigates environmental impacts of transporting food long distances. Read the entire article.

Obama Stimulus Targets Fresh, Local Food by Diane Conners. Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. Published 03/19/2009.
The Obama administration's stimulus package has good news for schools that need new kitchen equipment but can't afford it: They might get some federal money to buy some of that equipment, as long as they are quick on the draw. Read the entire article.

Small, Green And Good by Catherine Tumber. Counter Currents. Published 03/14/2009.
One of MLUI's highly successful programs is Farm to School, which is part of a growing nationwide movement that connects local farm products with school cafeterias. MLUI links the program to a larger state initiative based on a study showing that helping farmers sell to local supermarkets and farmer's markets could increase net farm income in Michigan by nearly 16 percent and generate up to 1,889 new jobs. Read the entire article.

Farmers want school customers. Education Report. Published 02/27/2009.
Farmers in southeast Michigan are looking for ways to sell their food to local schools, prisons and hospitals, according to The (Adrian) Daily Telegram, with some turning for help to a five-county government program called the Food System Economic Partnership. Read the entire article.

Five-county partnership works to get local crops into local markets by Erik Gable. The Daily Telegram. Published 02/24/2009.
A partnership between government and industry leaders in five counties is trying to find new markets for southeast Michigan crops by making connections between local farmers and local customers such as restaurants and school cafeterias. Read the entire article.

Embrace new food rules. Traverse City Record-Eagle. Published 01/16/2009.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm recently signed three new state laws intended to reduce complications for districts interested in buying local. The new farm-to-school initiatives removed bidding restrictions and require the state to help schools start their own programs. Read the entire article.

Lansing Passes a Farm-to-School Test by Diane Conners. Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. Published 12/26/2008.
Michigan's lawmakers and the governor just gave school children, farmers, and the state's economy a tasty end-of-year holiday present: Legislation that supports schools' expanding efforts to buy healthy, locally grown food for cafeteria meals and snacks. Read the entire article.

What's on Santa's Plate? by Diane Gale Andreassi. Ann Arbor News. Published 12/24/2008.
Sara Aeschbach, Ann Arbor School District director of community education and recreation, will treat Santa to locally grown foods. The district has a Farm to School program that helps teach kids about the food system by nudging them to ponder where food comes from; promote healthy eating and encourage them to try new foods. Read the entire article.

Farm-to-school lunch organizer sees benefits for all by Eric Gaertner. Muskegon Chronicle. Published 12/15/2008.
If we could actually have a food system that had fresh, healthy, local food here grown by local farmers for our kids, it would result in many, many positives. The first of which, all that money that was spent on those 417,000 lunches could go to local farmers and local food providers. Read the entire article.

New Law Will Increase Fresh, Local Foods in Schools. Michigan House Democrats. Published 12/08/2008.
State Representative Terry Brown (D-Pigeon) praised a bipartisan plan signed into law today that creates farm-to-school initiatives to help make fresh, locally grown foods available in school cafeterias. Read the entire article.

Legislation seeks to make it easier for Michigan farmers to supply school cafeterias by Beth Loechler. The Grand Rapids Press. Published 11/21/2008.
In an effort to get more Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables onto school lunch trays, legislators have sponsored a package of bills that would make it easier for local farmers to sell to schools. Read the entire article.

Springport students celebrate locally grown food by Shepker. Jackson Citizen Patriot. Published 11/08/2008.
Springport students know the sources of their food, from the grain fields that dot the rural landscape to the poultry and livestock they raise in the schoolyard. Read the entire article.

Michigan Farm to School Web site. NBC25. Published 10/31/2008.
A new state Web site is helping match schools up with local food producers to help boost Michigan's economy and encourage students to eat healthier. Read the entire article.

Michigan Farm to School Web site. TV 7. Published 10/31/2008.
The idea of the Michigan Farm to School Web site is to create an easy resource for schools to plan local agriculture related projects. Projects like helping schools get local food for school meals programs, designing fundraisers that involve local agricultural products, and creating things like school gardens, planning farmer visits to school classrooms and cafeterias, and school field trips to local farms. Read the entire article.

Healthy Fuel: GTACS program provides kids with nutritious snacks by Carol South. Traverse City - Record Eagle. Published 10/21/2008.
Determined to instill life lessons, the Life Balance Initiative has been branching out. The Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools program was launched a year ago to bring healthy hot lunches to the four schools in the system. Processed, high sodium, high fat and packaged food gave way to made-from-scratch offerings that included local produce, meat and milk. Read the entire article.

Lansing Moving on Farm-to-School? by Diane Conners. Michigan Land Use Institute. Published 09/25/2008.
Farm-to-school legislation took a big step forward in Michigan earlier this month when the state House passed-by a nearly unanimous vote-a package of bills meant to make it easier for schools to buy and serve food grown by local farms. Read the entire article.

Bipartisan plan will boost local growers' sales, keep children healthy. Michigan House Democrats. Published 09/18/2008.
State Representatives Kathy Angerer (D-Dundee) and Kate Ebli (D-Monroe) voted to pass a bipartisan plan Wednesday to create farm-to-school initiatives that will help make fresh, locally grown foods available in school cafeterias. Read the entire article.

House passes farm-to-school bill. The Bay City Times. Published 09/17/2008.
The Michigan House on Tuesday passed a bipartisan plan co-sponsored by State Rep. Jeff Mayes, D-Bay City, to create farm-to-school initiatives that would help make fresh, locally grown foods available in school cafeterias. Read the entire article.

Hansen effort links local farms to schools. Michigan House Republicans. Published 09/17/2008.
Local school children will be able to eat healthy and learn where their food comes from, all while boosting the area economy if a package of bills approved Tuesday by the House becomes law, announced state Rep. Goeff Hansen. The House sent House Bill 6366 to the Senate, a measure sponsored by Hansen to expand the school bidding process so more local producers can provide food to area districts. The House also approved a Hansen resolution designating Sept. 18, 2008 as Buy Fresh, Buy Local, Select Michigan Day in support of the Farm-to-School package, which includes HBs 6365-68. Read the entire article.

Brown Votes for Plan to Increase Fresh, Locally Grown Food in Schools. Michigan House Democrats. Published 09/16/2008.
House passes bipartisan initiatives to boost growers' sales, keep kids healthy State Representative Terry Brown (D-Pigeon) today voted for a bipartisan plan to create farm-to-school initiatives that will help make fresh, locally grown foods available in school cafeterias. Read the entire article.

Farm to School Meeting at Lakeview Middle School by Brigette Leach. Battle Creek Enquirer. Published 08/05/2008.
Come prepared to learn about how you can become involved in placing more Michigan grown food on school menus. We plan to make sure food service directors are aware of all the Michigan grown fruits and vegetables available to them and during what seasons, and help farmers learn how to get their products into local schools and what food service directors need. Read the entire article.

Schools, farmers benefit from push to 'buy local' by Jackie Smith. The Dexter Leader. Published 07/31/2008.
The movement for consumers to buy produce from local farms has extended far into today's communities, feeding even the youngest of buyers in neighborhood schools.vThe Chelsea School District has been piloting a farm-to-school project over the past year with full anticipation of its continuation this fall, said Food Service Director Karen Carty. "We have found that utilizing local foods not only helps the food budget, but also provides us with fresher-tasting, more nutritious products overall," Carty said. "We are proud to support our local farmers and have this partnership to be very beneficial." Read the entire article.

Students plant seed for idea by Eric Gaertner. The Muskegon Chronicle. Published 06/15/2008.
The high school students in Kyle Fiebig's agri-science projects class recently played the role of farmer in the proposed program, except on a much smaller scale. Over a few weeks near the end of the school year, the students grew a couple varieties of lettuce that were fed to staff and students for lunch. Grown in the school's greenhouse, the lettuce was offered to 2,000 to 3,000 students during six lunch sessions. "The overall response was they want it back," Fiebig said. "I like the idea that the lettuce traveled all of 600 feet." Read the entire article.

Food for thought by Eric Gaertner. The Muskegon Chronicle. Published 06/14/2008.
The days of school lunch lines filled with imported food offerings and food loaded with trans fat could be numbered. A county wide proposal that is just beginning to be thoroughly evaluated would have local schools saying goodbye to well-traveled carrots and greasy fries and hello to fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables and meats that are most likely organic in nature. Read the entire article.

Keeping Up with the Jones, Tastefully by Diane Conners. Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. Published 06/09/2008.
Thirty schools in northwest Lower Michigan now include locally grown fresh food in their menus and soaring sales indicate students are glad to avoid typical cafeteria fare. Read the entire article.

Cook's Corner: Taste The Local Difference. The Traverse City Record-Eagle. Published 06/02/2008.
The Taste the Local Difference Web site, www.localdifference.org, has also been updated with all the search options combined into one step; a local food exchange featuring "land wanted" or "farmer wanted" listings, farm to school plans, healthy eating and more. Read the entire article.

Gonzales Proposes Plan to Bring Fresher Foods into Local Schools by Evan. On Truth and Exploration. Published 04/22/2008.
State Representative Lee Gonzales (D-Flint Township) today introduced House Bill 5967, a bill that would make it easier for school districts to purchase food from local farmers for school lunch programs, bringing more fresh fruits and vegetables into our cafeterias and boosting the local economy. Gonzales' plan would streamline the bidding process for school food administrators by increasing schools' small purchase threshold (SPT) for food procurement to $100,000, up from $19,650. Read the entire article.

Farm-to-School Success Stirring State Action by Diane Conners. Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. Published 04/21/2008.
In separate steps that are aimed at bolstering the state's burgeoning "farm to school" movement, a Michigan legislator and the state agricultural commission are each trying to make it easier for schools to serve more fresh, locally grown foods in their student cafeterias. Read the entire article.

Earth Day offers a world of good by Christa Buchanan. C & G News. Published 04/16/2008.
To commemorate Earth Day, April 22, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and its Earth Works urban garden ministry are holding a dinner event featuring fresh, seasonal food and presentations on the importance of local foods and maintaining a connection to the environment. Read the entire article.

Tools for Change - One Letter Leads to Legislation by Beth Collins. Lunch Lessons. Published 04/11/2008.
What a few choice words can do to stimulate policy that translates into real change through a local non-profit's e-newsletter after the local paper wouldn't publish it! Read the entire article.

(Fresh) Food Fight by Jessica A. Knoblauch. EJ Magazine. Published 04/01/2008.
Farm to school may be a recipe for success, but barriers prevent these programs from taking hold. Read the entire article.

Fresh from farm: Change state rules to help school menus. Battle Creek Enquirer. Published 03/28/2008.
The Michigan Land Use Institute says schools that have adopted its farm-to-school program have seen increases in meal participation. A new scratch-cooking effort utilizing many local farm products at Glen Lake Schools has boosted lunch participation by 50 percent in one year, according to the institute, and the number of kids eating breakfast at Frankfort-Elberta Schools has nearly doubled with the school-to-farm effort. Offering more fresh, local produce in school meals is healthier for students while also emphasizing the connection with food grown in their own communities. Read the entire article.

N.W. Michigan Growers, Educators Pack Farm-to-School Conference by Patty Cantrell. Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. Published 03/19/2008.
More than 300 people attended a historic conference in Traverse City, Michigan last week aimed at helping school administrators, food service workers, teachers, and students prepare and serve fresher, healthier food at schools and camps. Read the entire article.

State Law Slows Farm-to-School Progress by Beth Collins. Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. Published 03/16/2008.
Here we were, 330 of the region's professionals in school education, nutrition, and health, working to nudge fresh, wholesome local food into the center of the plate in our schools? dining rooms. But what did we find, in the course of our conversations, is perhaps the greatest obstacle to that important goal? Our own state government. Read the entire article.

Farm-to-school programs keep food supply local -- with happy results by Eartha Jane Melzer. Michigan Messenger. Published 02/21/2008.
Now, as school cafeterias everywhere destroy what remains of the recalled meat and rearrange their menus, a growing farm-to-school movement seeks to restore the regional agricultural bonds that once linked consumers to farmers in their local communities. Read the entire article.

Prosperous Farms, Well-Fed Kids by Diane Conners. Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. Published 02/07/2008.
More than 30 schools in the region are now serving about a dozen local farm products, from apples to winter squash. Most schools worked with the Michigan Land Use Institute to figure out how to add local farm products to their cafeterias and bring first-hand experiences with farms to their classrooms. Schools embracing local foods have seen powerful results. Frankfort-Elberta students are eating five times as many apples since the school replaced the bland apples it was serving "picked for their tolerance of long distance shipping, not taste" with juicy, local varieties. A Benzie County Central elementary school ditched its traditional candy sale and raised $6,000 in one day by selling local farm products instead. Read the entire article.

Students focus on healthy eating by Cymbre Foster. Traverse City Record-Eagle. Published 11/27/2007.
Amy White was looking for a way to change what kids ate at Glen Lake Community Schools without making the students feel forced to do it. Senior Abbie Christiansen said she's not only learned a lot about food, but about how to take what she's learned and make changes at a grassroots level. "I've always been interested in healthy foods but I've also learned about the kinds of things we can do at our school to be part of the farm-to-school movement and getting healthier food into our school, which is a nice option to have after school," said the 18-year-old. Read the entire article.

Fresh, Local Produce for Kids a Win-Win-Win. The Ann Arbor News. Published 09/28/2007.
Each Friday, elementary and middle schools students in the Ann Arbor school district are served fruits and vegetables from local farms, with signs telling them the names of the farms that grew the produce. Read the entire article.

Locally Grown Fruits, Veggies a Hit by David Jesse. The Ann Arbor News. Published 09/24/2007.
Student after student found room for the fresh fruit, cleaning out each serving tray almost as soon as it came out of the kitchen. Read the entire article.

Kids get fresh in the lunchroom - fruits and veggies that is by David Jesse. The Ann Arbor News. Published 09/24/2007.
Student after student found room for the fresh fruit, cleaning out each serving tray almost as soon as it came out of the kitchen. That's exactly what members of the Ann Arbor Farm to School Collaboration wanted to see - students enjoying fresh fruit and vegetables as part of Farm Fresh Fridays. Read the entire article.

Way Better than Summer School! by Diane Conners. Michigan Land Use Institute. Published 12/02/2006.
Students grow or pick, then sell and donate fresh produce Read the entire article.

Grow Michigan by Christopher Bedford. Detroit Free Press. Published 11/22/2006.
Newspaper columnist Erma Bombeck once observed: "Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare and 12 minutes to consume -- the length of most televised football half times." This Thanksgiving, perhaps, the food will get a little more attention than the Detroit-Miami game, given the Lions' record. But, for the most part, food is an invisible force in Michigan. It is taken for granted. Its source is unknown. Read the entire article.

Farm Raisers Make Cents for Schools by Diane Conners. Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. Published 08/28/2006.
"Sporting a cap that said “Born to Farm,” Tom Cooper nursed a cup of coffee as 26 fourth graders from nearby Central Lake Elementary School hopped off their buses and scrambled into the pole building where his family turns cherries into specialty jams, salsas, and fruit butters." Read the entire article.

Farm Fresh School Lunches Can Cost More, but Worth It by Diane Conners. Michigan Land Use Institute. Published 03/24/2006.
When schools launch local food programs, they often receive strong community support, including private donations to cover start-up costs. Read the entire article.

Congress Could Put More Local Food Into Schools by Diane Conners. Great Lakes Bulletin News Service. Published 01/10/2005.
"The kids rave about the taste. Local farmer Mark Doherty is making sales in a new market. And cooks in this northern Michigan school district are pleased to be serving his fresh, bursting-with-flavor apples to students in the lunch line." Read the entire article.

Survey: Schools Want More Fresh Food by Diane Conners. Michigan Land Use Institute. Published 11/09/2004.
Buying local could reduce youth obesity, grow farm economy Read the entire article.

Nutrition Plays Key Role in Community Viability by Lisa Soloman. Nutrition Spot Light. Published 04/30/2003.
Read the entire article.