ABOVE: What rural food partnerships look like. This is the diagram that resulted when partners in a regional meeting were asked to draw a line from their name to anybody they were working with to further the local food economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s...
This article is the first in a three-part series in which we explore the work being done to expand local food economies along Michigan's west coast. The program is one of just a handful of similar USDA pilot programs in the entire nation, and they are...
This forum piece first published in Bridge Michigan. We all remember those weeks of food scarcity as the pandemic began its terrible sweep across the nation in spring of 2020. Photos of empty grocery store shelves played across TV screens. The web streamed images of...
So, what is Farm to School, actually? I know that seems to be a question with a really obvious answer: “Something is grown on a farm and sold to a nearby school for children to eat.” But that’s only a small part of the rich and full answer to, “What is Farm to...
The public school system of East Jordan is a small but mighty player when it comes to building a culture of nutritious food for students. The district’s ongoing collaborations with Groundwork, FoodCorps, the Health Department of Northwest Michigan, and other...
First published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle Above photo: Local food at Beaver Island Community School Imagine this: Your children come home from school to tell you about the kale flowers they ate in the school garden today with Miss Hope, and then ask if your...