The Michigan Commission of Agriculture & Rural Development unanimously approved a resolution during the September meeting in support of National Farm to School Month which is scheduled for October.  The resolution was introduced by Commissioner Fike and can be accessed here. Resolution -National Farm to School Month.

FSEP in partnership with Growing Hope and Washtenaw Public Health presented on opportunities in Agricultural Economic Development to the Eastern Leaders Group. View the presentation and case statement here.

Upcoming conference in Detroit to discuss food supply and demand issues and develop innovative strategies to address food access issues in southeast Michigan.

Fighting Hunger: A United Effort
Gleaners Community Food Bank
2131 Beaufait Street • Detroit, MI 48207

Monday, October 3, 2011
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Keynote Speaker:
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow
Chair, Senate Agriculture Committee

Join us for:
Collaborative Café –  An Exhibit of  Innovative Food Access Strategies
Panel Discussion on Food Supply and Demand
Breakout Sessions to Determine What’s Next
Tours of Local Best Practices Sites

This important Summit will focus on regional collaboration towards closing the gap between food supply and demand. We hope you will be a part of the solution.

For information or to request participation in the
Collaborative Café Display (Space is Limited):
Contact: Giancarlo J. Guzman
United Way for Southeastern Michigan
313-226-9350 or email giancarlo.guzman@liveunitedsem.org

The 2012 Farm Bill: What does it mean for southeast Michigan?

FSEP will host a Farm Bill community forum on Wednesday, August 10 from 6:00pm to 8:30pm. Please join us for this free event intended to inform community members about key issues surrounding the Farm Bill, discuss why the Farm Bill is important to us in southeast Michigan, and learn how we can all effectively advocate for a Farm Bill that represents our best interests.

The forum will take place in the Community Room at the Whittaker Branch of the Ypsilanti District Library, located at 5577 Whittaker Road Ypsilanti, MI 48197.

The event is free and snacks will be provided. Welcome and sign-in begins at 6:00pm, and presentations will start at 6:30pm. This is a great opportunity to come learn more about the Farm Bill and voice your opinion! To RSVP, please visit  www.farmbill101.eventzilla.net.

Healthy Food in Health Care Program Associate at the Ecology Center

FOODCORPS ANNOUNCES AMERICORPS GRANT IN SERVICE OF HEALTHIER CHILDREN

MSU’s Mott Group to Host Six FoodCorps Members

NEW YORK CITY– The Corporation for National and Community Service has awarded FoodCorps $625,000 to support 50 AmeriCorps members serving at 42 sites in 10 states to increase vulnerable children’s knowledge of, engagement with, and access to healthy food. The first class of members will serve in Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oregon. Working under the direction of Michigan’s partner organization, the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems (Mott Group) at Michigan State University, Michigan’s six FoodCorps members will conduct nutrition education, build and tend school gardens, and expand farm to cafeteria sourcing of healthy food at the Michigan Land Use Institute, YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, Food System Economic Partnership, and the Crim Fitness Foundation.

“We are eager to host the first cohort of Michigan FoodCorps members. After training in late August, the six members will report to their service sites in both urban and rural areas to dig in and get started,” said Colleen Matts, FoodCorps Supervisor with the Mott Group. “The work of Michigan’s FoodCorps members will contribute directly to meeting some of the goals of the Michigan Good Food Charter. Building partnerships with local organizations and community members will be critical to the success of our members.”

This inaugural year as an AmeriCorps grantee will allow FoodCorps to apply a model of national service proven effective by Teach for America, City Year and Habitat for Humanity to the pressing problems of healthy food access, childhood obesity and diet-related disease. “Service through AmeriCorps is an essential part of the solution to many of the social challenges facing our nation,” said Curt Ellis, executive director of FoodCorps. “The program will at once serve families in need, improving access to healthy, affordable school meals, while also serving its AmeriCorps members: training a cadre of young leaders for careers in public health, food, and agriculture.”

The current year’s AmeriCorps grant cycle was highly competitive. Organizations requested nearly twice the number of grant dollars and AmeriCorps positions that could be funded. “I congratulate this year’s grantees for rising to the top in a highly competitive year,” said John Gomperts, Director of AmeriCorps. “These organizations will increase their reach and impact on meeting local needs through the infusion of dedicated AmeriCorps members.” Nationally, AmeriCorps engages 80,000 Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service to meet critical needs. Its members serve through more than 14,000 nonprofit and faith-based organizations in rural and urban communities throughout the nation.

ABOUT FOODCORPS

FoodCorps is a nonprofit national service organization that seeks to reverse childhood obesity by increasing vulnerable children’s knowledge of, engagement with, and access to healthy food. The centerpiece of our work is an AmeriCorps public service program that recruits young leaders for a year of service in high-obesity, limited-resource communities of need. Service members build and tend school gardens, conduct hands-on nutrition education, and facilitate Farm to School programming that brings high quality local food into public schools. The program serves vulnerable children, improving access to healthy, affordable school meals, and trains a cadre of leaders for careers in food and agriculture. FoodCorps is made possible by the generous support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps), the Woodcock Foundation, the Claneil Foundation, the Wallace Genetic Foundation, and anonymous private donors.www.foodcorps.org .

ABOUT AMERICORPS

AmeriCorps is a national service program administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service that engages Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service to meet critical needs. Members tutor and mentor youth, expand health services, build affordable housing, run after-school programs, support veterans, help communities respond to disasters, and recruit and train volunteers. Interested individuals can learn about available opportunities and apply online by visitingAmeriCorps.gov.

ABOUT THE C.S. MOTT GROUP FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS

The C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at Michigan State University engages communities in applied research and outreach to promote sustainable food systems with a goal to improve the access and availability of locally-produced food. www.mottgroup.msu.edu . The group led development of the Michigan Good Food Charter, with information available at www.michiganfood.org .

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2011

Contact:  Colleen Matts, C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems

matts@msu.edu, 517.432.0310

High School Nutrition Education Summer Program Coordinator:

Work with non-profit Growing Hope, based in Ypsilanti, MI to help develop and facilitate programming which trains high school youth as nutrition educators for younger youth through Growing Hope’s summer garden-based nutrition education programming.  Work closely with up to six high school nutrition educator interns, VISTA staff and youth program manager to develop a coordinated schedule, program planning, with robust evaluation  that aligns with our summer youth programming for elementary and middle school youth. Create opportunities for high school youth to learn, plan, teach, and reflect on the implementation
of garden-based, interactive and hands-on nutrition education lessons and develop leadership skills by facilitating strengths-based, youth-driven lesson creation and implementation.

Position Requirements include a minimum 1-3 years experience working with high school aged youth; facilitating, and/or developing educational programming for youth with proven ability to take initiative and both work independently and as a member of a dynamic, collaborative team.  Excellent verbal and written communication skills and experience planning lessons and teaching youth in an outdoor or non-classroom based setting.

Compensation & Timeline:  $13-15 per hour, depending on experience; 20 hours per week, on average; Duration: June – August

To Apply: Send resume and cover letter to apply@growinghope.net or
PO Box 980129 Ypsilanti / MI 48198 or call (734) 786-8401.
Position posted on 5/20/2011.  Applications accepted on a rolling basis and position is open until filled.

ANN ARBOR, MI   Held under the historic Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market pavilion, the fourth annual HomeGrown Festival will take place on Saturday, September 10th, 2011 from 6-11pm at 315 Detroit Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The HomeGrown Festival showcases a vibrant local food system and seeks to strengthen community food security in Southeast Michigan.  Admission to the Festival is free.

Affordable small-plate portions ($1-$6) prepared by local chefs committed to cooking with seasonal, local food will be available for purchase. For adults over age 21, tasting portions of dozens of Michigan’s small producer beer, wine, mead and hard-ciders will be available for purchase.

In addition, the Festival hosts a line-up of popular bands (with dancing), special activities for kids, a silent auction, tastings and chef demonstrations, and many options for learning about the people and places that make up this region’s diverse and productive foodshed.

Applications for chef/restaurant, farmer, sponsor, brewery, winery, non-profit, and volunteer participation are now available at the HomeGrown website: http://www.homegrownfestival.org/apply

HomeGrown Festival sponsorship is open only to those businesses and non-profit organizations matching strict criteria for commitment to the local economy. The HomeGrown Festival highlights local food artisans and businesses with a commitment to sustainability.

By choosing sustainable materials, and by composting, and re-using as much of the Festival infrastructure as possible, Festival organizers work to make this event as close to zero waste as possible.  Organizers also encourage alternative transport.  The Washtenaw Biking and Walking Coalition will offer their “bike valet” parking and security service to make it easy to arrive by non-motorized transport.

Project Grow Community Gardens will bring more than 50 varieties for their heirloom tomato tasting – from Snow White to Aunt Ruby’s German Green to Black Zebra.  The Slow Food Huron Valley Great Lakes Heirloom project will showcase over 30 heirloom vegetables that have been grown in this region for more than 60 years.

The HomeGrown Festival, first held in 2008, is a grassroots phenomena, completely organized and staffed by volunteers.   In 2010, the HomeGrown Festival drew over 6000 people to the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market.

HomeGrown Festival logos and artwork were designed by local artist Melanie Boyle, whose medium is traditional Chinese paper cuts. All logos feature the foods of Michigan.

The HomeGrown Local Food Summit, an annual local food conference, grew out of the need identified at the HomeGrown Festival for networking and strategic planning among food system stakeholders. Over 300 attended the  3rd annual Summit in 2011.

At the request of HomeGrown Festival organizers, Mayor John Hieftje issued proclamations in 2008, 2009 and 2010 declaring the month of September Ann Arbor’s “Local Food Month.”  This year’s proclamation is expected to be released in August.

Although Washtenaw County spends over $1 billion dollars per year on its food, less than 1% of that food is grown within the county. Keeping those food dollars circulating in Washtenaw County would not only help to create more farms and stimulate the local economy, it would also support community food security, defined in part as the ability of our region to be self-sufficient in producing enough to feed our population.

FESTIVAL SUMMARY
- 12 area chefs who prioritize local food in their restaurants and businesses have been matched with local farms to prepare affordable ($1-$6) small-plate tasting portions.
- 20 Michigan beer and wine vendors will each bring multiple labels to taste, in addition to Michigan-made mead and traditional hard cider.
- 4 popular local bands will provide live Main Stage music, with smaller acoustic sets throughout the Festival, from folk to Latin jazz to blues to funk and soul.
- 40 Silent Auction donors.
- 20 Food System (and related) Non-profits.
- 35 Local food and artisan vendors (with tastings!)
- 50 Heirloom Tomato varieties in the Project Grow Tomato Tasting.
- Hands-on kid and educational activities including the “Farm Stand” educational display highlighting area farms and the Great Lakes Heirloom Seed Project.
- Dancing, tastings, demos, panel discussions and more.

A growing number of farmers markets across southeast Michigan are accepting Bridge Cards this summer.  To find a market near you, click here.