Fourteen school districts in northwest Lower Michigan are among 32 statewide that have extra funding this school year to purchase locally grown fruits, vegetables and dry beans. That’s thanks to a second year of the state’s 10 Cents a Meal for School Kids & Farms pilot grant program. Together the districts serve 22,567 students in our region.
Healthy Kids, Healthy Michigan (HKHM), a coalition of public and private sector health advocates united to fight childhood obesity, has emerged as an important advocate for the 10 Cents a Meal program. HKHM’s Healthy Food Access Team provides important policy support to inform legislators about how 10 Cents is strengthening Michigan, bolstering both students’ health and farmers’ bottom lines.
This week our friends at the Michigan Department of Education did a momentous thing: They’ve asked 166 school districts to apply for funds to buy locally grown fruits and vegetables for our kids’ tummies-and for their brains and their health.
Many Michigan farmers will sell significantly more fruits and vegetables to Michigan schools this fall, thanks to a new, cutting-edge law championed by area legislators. And if those champions have their way, our farmers could eventually be selling even more of their fresh produce to schools across the state.