Applications are open for the “10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids & Farms.” The purpose of the program is to introduce fresh produce to the state’s youth. (Journal photo by Christie Mastric)

MARQUETTE — Want to get more fresh produce to your students?

Applications are open for a program with just that purpose. The application window runs through Feb. 11.

The state of Michigan program titled “10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids & Farms” provides schools and early childhood education centers with up to 10 centers per meal in match funding to buy and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables and legumes.

According to tencentsmichigan.org, the Michigan Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer increased funding from $2 million to $5 million for the program in this year’s budget. It also indicated that Michigan students and young children were introduced to up to 32 new types of vegetables and 14 new types of fruit during the 2020-21 school year thanks to the state’s expanded 10 Cents a Meal program, according to an annual legislative report published by the Michigan Department of Education, which implements the program.

The program is open to school districts — public, public school academies, or private — and non-school sponsors of USDA Child Nutrition Programs such as residential childcare institutions, and child care centers and after school programs participating in the Summer Food Service Program, National School Lunch Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program, according to the Groundwork Center, which is involved in local food economy and other issues.

The center’s Melanie Wong, a registered dietitian who serves as communications and advocacy partner for 10 Cents a Meal, was part of a Jan. 25 virtual webinar to discuss the program.

Not only does the program promote good nutrition, it can be provide a tactile experience.

“Kids get this experience of connecting with their food in a completely different way,” Wong said.

In her presentation, Wong showed a picture of a canned peach.

“It is delicious in its own right, but I think we can all agree that a canned peach is very, very different than a fresh peach,” she said.

Wong passed along a quote she received regarding kids trying fresh Michigan peaches: “They were very intrigued with the peach fuzz. I actually saw kids rubbing them on their cheeks before eating them.”

She called it a “fun” story.

“Seeing a child experience food, seeing their faces light up when they take a bit of a fresh, juicy peach, and that joy, is really one of the core parts about this program that make it so amazing,” Wong said.

The 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan Kids & Farms program is designed to improve daily nutrition and eating habits as well as invest in Michigan’s economy, she said.

Wong said the program involves matching grants.

“If a site has a $5,000 grant, it means they are committing to spending $10,000 on local food,” said Wong, who noted that grantees are reimbursed up to 10 cents for each meal or snack that contains Michigan-grown food.

Specifically, a prospective grantee would apply, with MDE awarding funds, she said. The next step would be for the grantee to serve fruits, vegetables and dry beans grown in the state, and conduct food and nutrition marketing and education. Surveys also are part of the program.

MDE’s Wendy Crowley is involved in 10 Cents A Meal.

“It’s really exciting to see the increase in the sponsors that we are working with,” Crowley said.

A goal of the Michigan Legislature and the program’s internal work group is to increase the number of non-school sponsors that are participating, she said, which include summer food service sponsors and others.

“We’re trying to reach out to any and all organizations that would be qualified,” Crowley said.

For details, visit www.tencentsmichigan.org. The application can be found at bit.ly/3ALMxmi.

Superior Central receives grant

Superior Central School’s Agriculture and Forestry class has been awarded a $2,000 grant to support a project that will bring more local food into the lunch room, Michigan State University Extension announced.

After meeting with farmers and food service to better understand their local food system, students designed a project that will provide school-grown food for the school lunch program through innovative projects that capture passive heat for extending the growing season in their hoop house and uses indoor growing space, MSU Extension said.

Superior Central has been growing food at the school since 2012.

“I, along with the rest of my classmates, are very excited to work and make adjustments to our school in order to be able to provide fresh local produce almost all year round,” student Clara Rondeau was quoted as saying.

According to MSU Extension, with this project the school will be able to increase the number of days in the school year that locally fresh produce is available.

Students will work together with farmers and food service to provide education and information to their school community about locally sourced food that is purchased through the 10 Cents a Meal program and the U.P. Food Exchange, an online food hub.

Student Neo Wilson, part of the Liberty Farms and Flour Mill family, was quoted as saying, “I like the idea that the projects we are building will continue to increase the amount of local food used in our school.” Additionally, this initiative deepens relationships between the school and area farms, which will host students for farm tours and leadership activities in the spring, according to MSU Extension, which quoted student Eli Penney.

“I felt satisfied working on this project with my fellow students, gaining experience in grant writing, teamwork and leadership,” Penney said.

Producing and purchasing more local foods to serve in schools is the major goal of the project, MSU Extension said. As core components of the Farm to School program, local food production and procurement supports farmers in the community and expands the variety of healthy food choices for students.

According to student Paavo Manisto, “During the course of this project I learned many things about agriculture, which shifted my perspective on things and made me want to buy and produce locally grown foods.”

Project partners on this U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program grant include Michigan State University Department of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center, Superior Central Schools, Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency and Full Plate Farm.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal .net.