How often do typical elementary students get to eat lunch with the farmer who grew their school meal? Last month, every student at Suttons Bay Elementary had the opportunity to meet Jim Bardenhagen, who grows apples and squash on his farm in Leelanau County.
Have you heard of acanthosis nigricans? I hadn’t -not until I served on the planning committee for a recent event that Munson Medical Center and PriorityHealth sponsored to raise awareness about the significant impacts of obesity on our community, our economy, our schools and our health.
MLUI is happy to introduce new Senior Policy Specialist Bill Palladino, but for many of you, he needs no introduction. Bill has been working with us for years, as a volunteer, a board member and consultant. Now we’re thrilled to have him on staff, working with the Taste the Local Difference program and other efforts to support the local economy.
The USDA awarded the Michigan Land Use Institute a two-year, $100,000 grant for expanded education efforts and to help local growers scale-up their operations and infrastructure to make it easier for them to meet school needs. The project, “Scaling Up: Healthy Kids & Thriving Farms,” expands on MLUI’s existing efforts to promote local food in school cafeterias.
MLUI’s intrepid FoodCorps Service Members Daniel and Kirsten document a busy October celebrating National Farm To School Month at six schools across the region, with classroom, lunchroom, and garden activities.
The third annual PigstockTC raised $2,625 for the new 10 Cents a Meal for School Kids & Farms program that will provide schools with extra funds to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables.