ABOVE: Jane Lively, farmer at The Lively Farm.
This piece first published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle Agriculture Forum.
Let’s say that somewhere in the world there’s a category titled “The Best That Good Governance Can Bring.”
When we think of that category, we think of a farm to school program called 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids & Farms that was piloted right here in Traverse City. It was implemented statewide and, with its stellar reputation, went on to inspire more states to create similar programs. Former head of the United States Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, affirmed the program’s renown when she said that she’d like to see it used as a model for a federal program available nationwide.
But in the “doesn’t-always-make-sense” world of politics, Michigan’s governor and legislature ended funding for the program for fiscal year 2025-26. We’re writing today to help you understand why our children and farmers need us all fighting to restart this program … and to assure you that that fight is underway. You can help.
10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids & Farms, on the surface, seems pretty straightforward. The program provides money to help schools and early child care centers buy Michigan-grown food to include in meals and snacks served to children. In the most recent year of the program, grantees were also able to use funds to support food service labor expenses and transportation fees, changes that were implemented after receiving feedback that costs for labor and transportation of local food were often barriers.
But 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids & Farms brings far more than a successful business transaction between schools and farmers. The program offers hope for how America can do school food better. And America needs to do school food better.
10 Cents a Meal has long been a flag that Michigan has raised to show that we care about the nutrition and health of our children and the economic viability of our state’s farmers. Why lower that flag? Why cut a program that has been successful?
We all know that children are at their critical time of mental and physical development, but our nation is failing them. The United States currently ranks among the worst for child health among wealthy western nations—among the worst. Poor food is a root cause.
Recent opinion polls show that concern about the health impacts of America’s food is shared across the political spectrum, and 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids & Farms addresses food quality head on.
By focusing on purchasing from local farms, schools serve food that’s richer in nutrition while also eliminating the harmful ingredients that children consume with ultra-processed foods. We all know that better food results in stronger, healthier bodies. But research shows that children also learn better when they are well nourished, giving them a brighter future in so many ways. It only makes sense that schools should serve food that best enables learning and development.
As for family farmers, they’ve been struggling financially for years and are especially struggling in this economy. Nationwide, there were as many farm bankruptcies in the first half of 2025 as there were in all of 2024. School food and child care business can help create new markets for farmers..
Purchasing from farmers locally and throughout Michigan helps keep farms financially viable. Especially valuable for farmers is that schools are a steady customer they can count on for nine months a year. And with child care operations running year round there is an opportunity to source locally during our most abundant summer season. Even a small school with 50 students per grade would serve 600 K-12 students every single school day. No restaurant around could match that volume.
Local communities and the broader state also benefit by having those food dollars stay in Michigan and cycle through our economy. Because 10 Cents a Meal is a matching program, the last program year resulted in almost a $7 million state impact.
A beneficial bonus of the program is that some school food directors become so convinced of the wisdom of local food purchasing that they invest even more of their budgets that way. One school food director we know spent over 90% of her produce budget in her school’s county. That’s a number any county economic development director can love.
Groundwork and several partner organizations involved in school nutrition are leading the effort to restore funding for this program that brings so much value and so much hope for better ways of nourishing children and supporting farmers. But we need your voice and the voices of your friends, family, and school community. To find advocacy tools and advice for using them, please go to groundworkcenter.org/10-cents-a-meal-advocacy and share this message! 
Jen Schaap is Groundwork’s Food & Farming Program Director. jen.schaap@groundworkcenter.org
Jeff Smith is Groundwork’s Communication Director. jeff.smith@groundworkcenter.org
