About

"Farm to school" applies to a variety of initiatives in Michigan, including efforts to offer local foods in school cafeterias, school garden programs, fundraisers that take advantage of local products, farmer visits to school classrooms and cafeterias, and field trips to nearby farms. Michigan Farm to School is a portal for information and a venue for sharing ideas, tools, and resources to support these and other efforts to link schools with local agriculture in Michigan.

Watch our three videos on farm to school best practices and innovations in Michigan! Check out food service directors touring a farm called Veges from the Ledges, Country Dairy showing us how they bring milk to local schools, and Bear Lake Schools sharing how they use local food in the Summer Food Service Program.

Michigan Farm to School is coordinated by Colleen Matts, Farm to Institution Specialist, and Anne Scott, Youth and Community Food Specialist, with the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems (formerly the CS Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems). Find more information including contact information on this Michigan Farm to School Fact Sheet.

Farm to School Partners:

FoodCorps is a "nationwide team of leaders that connects kids to real food and helps them grow up healthy." The Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems (formerly the CS Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems) is one of twelve FoodCorps state host sites for the 2012-2013 service year. Through local partner organizations, nine members are placed at school sites in Michigan to help jumpstart farm to school, school garden and nutrition education projects. Learn more here about the second national gathering of FoodCorps members in April 2012 in Washington DC.

The National Farm to School Network is supported by eight regional lead agencies that comprise the National Farm to School Network, the program offers training and technical assistance, information services, networking, and support in policy and media and marketing activities. NFSN is also bringing together a new national Farm to Preschool Subcommittee.

Michigan Land Use Institute (MLUI), focused on Northwest Lower Michigan, coordinates Taste the Local Difference and Farm to School programs that offer resources for buying and selling local products, fundraising, cooking, learning and assistance.

Food System Economic Partnership (FSEP) serves a five county area in Southeast Michigan, FSEP exists to catalyze change in the food system of Southeastern Michigan. Through their Farm to School program, FSEP provides technical assistance to get fresh, healthy, local food into participating K-12 schools. MSUE's Community Food Systems group focuses, in part, on farm to school and farm to institution programs.

Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) and its Community Food Systems Work Group support the development of community food systems throughout Michigan, including providing resources, specialists and educational programs for farm to institution programs.