Two chefs enter the room, prepared to demonstrate the latest dish they’ve learned to perfect. The audience is at the edge of their seats, craning to catch a glimpse of every last ingredient and technique required to recreate the recipe at home. But this isn’t the latest stadium battle of Iron Chef or a scene from Chopped. The audience members are no more than 6 years old, and the chefs are only a few years older.
Everything we do revolves around food, yet it’s not so easy to define. Go ahead, give it a shot. Now take that definition and ask yourself: Do soft-drinks qualify? How about alcoholic beverages, or bottled water, or fast-food or a protein bar with mysterious ingredients that look a lot like that pharmaceutical ad? This is our challenge as we try to measure our work in the food system, and it’s just the beginning.
At the recent 2014 Michigan Good Food Summit, I was one of 425 people who heard story after story about how the movement to support local food and agriculture is growing across the state.
For 15 years, Central Lake Elementary School has participated in the Farmer to Community Fundraiser, a program that has students selling locally grown produce, fish, meat, honey, milk, and jam to raise funds for school field trips in the spring. Dozens of schools are embracing non-traditional fundraisers featuring local products.
The Michigan Land Use Institute convened food, farm and health leaders from throughout the northwest Michigan region and state to brainstorm, network and plan on how local food can be used to promote good health.
Schools throughout northwest Lower Michigan are cooking up locally grown food for lunch this October as part of National Farm to School Month.