A recent overhaul of the federal nutrition rules for schools is meant to provide healthier options for children. But the new requirements-including larger servings of fruits and vegetables that local farmers could grow, less sodium and fat, and more whole grains-have sparked a heated debate nationally and right here in Traverse City.

Big announcements at Farm Summit
Over the last decade, though, through the relentless and often creative efforts of organizations and entrepreneurs, a now burgeoning food and farming sector is evident at every turn. On Tuesday, March 12, the fruits of this work were celebrated during the fifth annual Farm Route to Prosperity Summit at the Hagerty Center in Traverse City.

MLUI is moving!
MLUI is packing up and heading south, leaving behind eight-month winters and the first part of our name.

The ‘Farm Routes to Prosperity’ are getting clearer
More than 115 people representing all aspects of the local food system gathered Tuesday to celebrate recent successes in promoting local food and make plans for the future

Dozens of farmers get tips on the wholesale marketplace
More than 60 people from nearly 50 farm operations crowded into the NW Michigan Horticultural Research Center on Feb. 11 to hear Atina Diffley deliver one of the most effective workshops in the five-year history of MLUI’s Get Farming! program.

Traverse City Restaurant Supports Farm to School Efforts
Firefly Restaurant will help area schools purchase fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers by donating $1 of each dessert sale to the 10 Cents a Meal for School Kids & Farms program, a project of the nonprofit Michigan Land Use Institute.