Above: Josh Miller and the food team at Saginaw’s intermediate school district are proving what’s possible with 10 Cents a Meal funding. Left to right: Leslie Blumer, Josh Miller, Allie Nye, Shari Hatfield. Photo by Leslie Blumer.
“Oh I know who you are Mr. Miller— you’re the reason I have to buy asparagus and broccoli for my kids!”
After 13 years working on the Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds program with Saginaw area schools, Josh Miller has tons of stories about the impact of his work, like the comment above that came from a father at a neighboring table at the local breakfast joint one Saturday morning.
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds
The Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds program is a SNAP-Ed-funded program operated through Saginaw ISD that aims to increase nutrition education within the community through classroom nutrition education, community outreach, promoting increased physical activity, and supporting food access efforts. In practice, that looks like 45-minute nutrition education lessons in classrooms, taste tests with fruit and vegetable promotion at farmers markets, and innovative and interactive strategies like creating StoryWalks at community parks.
StoryWalks encourage families to get active and read about food and nutrition with every step. As families walk the route, posted signs allow them to follow along and read a food and nutrition story, complete with a suggested recipe to try at home.
Approximately 5,800 children across 29 schools and 247 classrooms access nutrition education programming through Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds.
Josh and three team members run programs for schools in the Saginaw ISD with additional reach to schools in neighboring counties. All in all, approximately 5,800 children across 29 schools and 247 classrooms access nutrition education programming through the Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds programming.
Whether in a classroom, at a school event, or during a local farmers market, taste tests are often involved. For recipes, Josh and his team use Mitten Eats, a SNAP-Ed-funded resource run by the Michigan Fitness Foundation that publishes recipes with Michigan-grown ingredients like blueberries, tomatoes, and beans. Children are encouraged to taste test dishes with the understanding that it is totally O.K. if they aren’t a fan. The exposure to new things really matters, and allowing children to explore new foods is the goal. “Parents are shocked to learn about what their children are willing to try,” Josh said. “When I talk with parents, they sometimes claim that their kid doesn’t eat this or that, without realizing that earlier that day the child already tried and liked that food in class.”
Federal, State, and Local partnerships
The Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds program is a shining example of how partnerships can increase community nutrition education and support 10 Cents a Meal— and though less visible, there are a multitude of other behind the scenes partnerships that are likewise essential to 10 Cents a Meal. The 10 Cents a Meal implementation team works behind the scenes to support program administration, resources available to grantees and prospective grantees, trainings, and communications about the program. In turn, 10 Cents a Meal supports other statewide programs like the Michigan School Meals program, which provides no-cost breakfasts and lunches to public school students by combining both state and federal funding to support meals served through USDA Child Nutrition Programs.
Federal USDA Child Nutrition Programs such as the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program support feeding children across the country so they are ready to learn and grow by providing monetary reimbursements for qualifying meals and snacks. That work continues even when school is out for the summer through programs like the Summer Food Service Program too. When summer produce is at its peak here in Michigan, sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program are especially encouraged to make use of 10 Cents a Meal funds to include flavorful, Michigan-grown produce in what they are serving.
10 Cents a Meal in the Saginaw Area
Currently three districts working with Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds are also participating in 10 Cents a Meal, and Josh is excited about the opportunity to encourage more of the districts he works with to participate in the program. Since 10 Cents a Meal has a required food education component, the districts partnering with the Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds program already have that part covered! This program year, Saginaw County has six 10 Cents a Meal grantees, representing almost half of the 15 grantees in Region 4 of the Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators.
Those applying for the program will find that the application asks about plans for education, marketing and promotion, and partnerships related to local food. Partnering with community organizations, suppliers, and even other schools strengthens the implementation of the 10 Cents a Meal program as a whole and helps to make preparing, promoting, and educating about Michigan-grown food easier. Collaboration is a key ingredient in being successful with the program. And Josh has some great insight on why nutrition education and healthy meals and snacks matter. “The idea is this: we want to get more fruits and vegetables in front of our kids. Programs like the 10 Cents a Meal program are essential in doing that and make sense for supporting our farmers.” 
Melanie Tran is Groundwork’s Farm to Early Care and Education Specialist. melanie.tran@groundworkcenter.org
