Farmers
Coming Soon - Farm to School Marketing Manual
With funding from Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs), we are developing a Step By Step Guide for Michigan farmers to market to Michigan schools. This guide will be a companion to the "Purchasing Local Products: A Step By Step Guide", a local food purchasing manual for school food service directors, and will cover topics like the school food bidding process, marketing materials, value-added services, and distribution.
Stay tuned! There will be opportunities throughout 2009 for farmers to offer critical input and feedback on this resource as it's being developed. If you're a grower who is interested in lending a hand to make this Step By Step Guide really work for Michigan Farmers, please contact Colleen Matts, Farm to School Outreach Specialist at matts@msu.edu or 517-432-0310.
Resources and Links:
Gladwin County's Farms Selling to Schools Workshop - Find presentations and materials from this program for farmers, which includes a farm to school overview, a request for bids/quotes for Gladwin Community Schools farm to school project, food safety information from the local health department, and business planning and organization information for producers.
How to Sell Produce Direct to Schools - The presentation and materials from the Food System Economic Partnership (FSEP) Grower Farm to School workshop series in southeast Michigan are available. Just scroll down to "Events" to download the materials that will help guide you through the process of marketing fruits and vegetables to local schools.
School Food Budgets is a brief explanation of typical school food funding, costs, and procurement to help you understand the budgetary conditions under which most school food service programs operate.
A Checklist for Purchasing Local Produce from Iowa State University Extension and Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture lists some questions that school customers may ask about your farm and production practices and worker safety and sanitation.
Buying Local - Approved Food Sources for Food Establishments from Michigan Department of Agriculture provides guidance to customers interested in buying Michigan food products.