TAKE ACTION!
How you can help get 10 cents a meal funding reinstated! A comprehensive Toolkit and advice for using it. Please act today!
Michigan's governor and legislature made a deeply unfortunate decision during budget negotiations for the 2025-26 fiscal year, when they canceled funding for the program "10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids and Farms." This nationally respected program is often studied by other states as a model for local food school lunch programs because it accomplishes so much for student health and farmer income, yet is a minuscule part of the state budget. This fiscally responsible program, with so many positive outcomes, is what good governance is all about.
Groundwork and other advocates for student nutrition and farm family solvency are not, however, giving up on reinstating this essential program.
Our team has built a comprehensive tookit that puts in your hands powerful assets—strategic and persuasive information, social media graphics, addresses for legislators, and more—for advocating to bring back funding for 10 Cents a Meal.
Click this link to access the tookit in a set of google folders or access the individual files through the thumbnails below. Download any and all materials that will help you take action!
Toolkit Assets
All you need to be an effective voice for this important program that brings
health for children and financial stability for family farms.
FIND YOUR DISTRICT
Michigan has new House and Senate districts. If you don't know yours, look them up here, and then enter your district number into the top of the form at right.
other ways to make a difference
- You can also check out candidates’ web pages and social media to find times and dates for in-person or virtual coffee hours, town halls, and candidate forums.
- Here is a hand-out to share
Here's why 10 Cents a Meal is so important:
children's health and well-being
- 10 Cents a Meal provides kids access to nutritious, high-quality, local food so they are ready to learn and grow.
- Students tried 67 new Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and dry beans that schools hadn't served to them before, thanks to 10 Cents a Meal. Schools are where our children get up to two or even three meals a day—even if school is out for a crisis like COVID.
economy
- The program doubles the state’s investment because schools match the grant with existing school food dollars, usually federal.
- Schools direct the dollars to purchase Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and dry beans. This keeps money in Michigan’s economy—especially benefitting farm families—and strengthens the security of our state food supply.
Read more of former Sen. Schmidt's comments in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
SPARKING HEALTHY CHOICES AND A VIBRANT ECONOMY.
10 Cents a Meal provides schools with match incentive funds to purchase and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and dry beans—improving child health and supporting family farms. Funded as a pilot project by the State Legislature since 2016, 10 Cents a Meal transitioned to a statewide program in 2021. Child nutrition experts at the national level have praised 10 Cents a Meal as a leading, innovative model. Let’s make investing in local food for kids in schools a part of Michigan’s identity.
AGRICULTURE
- In the last pilot year, schools purchased 93 different fruits, vegetables, and dry beans grown by 143 farms in 38 Michigan counties.
- School food service directors say 10 Cents a Meal gives them needed funds to try new things, and children love the flavors and varieties that local farms grow —like the many different apple varieties and fun, multi-colored carrots.
EDUCATION
- Farm to school activities enhance classroom education through hands-on learning about food, health, agriculture, and subjects like science and math.
- Children also see their community reflected back to them when they learn where food comes from. Educators can draw connections to academics, such as teaching fractions by cutting up apples while also celebrating the local apples in the lunch line.
My goal, first and foremost, was to keep it alive. We got that accomplished. As the old adage says: 'Live to fight another day.' And that is what we are going to do.
Visit the 10 Cents website to learn lots more and find school and community resources, success stories, hand-outs, and legislative reports. A breakdown of the site's navigation can be found here.
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WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?
10 Cents NEWS
Petoskey Schools Ramp Up Purchases From Local Farms!
Public Schools of Petoskey offers a shining example of how schools — and children — are becoming fans of the produce that local farms grow, providing increased sales. Consider this: in 2015 Petoskey Food Service Director Beth Kavanaugh tried farm-to-school...
Meet Nathan Medina, our new Lansing-based Policy Specialist!
Groundwork’s new Policy Specialist, Nathan Medina, has signed on to help make sure the healthy school-food program 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids & Farms keeps receiving essential funding from the state. As time goes on, we’ll no doubt be tapping his...
Milestones: Diane Conners and a Remarkable Journey for Children’s Health
This is a story that expresses Groundwork’s 25-year legacy or vision, persistence, pragmatism, collaboration, nimbleness, and tenacity—as well as any story in our history.