Western Upper Peninsula Farm to School

Newsletter

<— Click on the logo and sign up for the regional Farm to School Newsletter

Farm to School Project Phase I (2021-2023)

Over the past few years, there have been significant strides in our region to support Farm to School. In 2021, the Western U.P. Planning and Development Region and community partners received a planning grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. The first phase of the grant united community partners, farmers, and schools in the Western U.P. with the goal of supporting farm to school activities. Key activities focused on increasing local food purchases by schools, providing technical assistance for food service directors applying for additional funding, support for local farms with food safety mini-grants, on-farm safety visits, connecting local farmers with nearby schools, and a photovoice project. 

Project Highlights: 

  • At the end of the two-year grant, three new farms were selling produce to a local school, and 8 farms in total committed to selling to schools within the next two years. 

  • Eight farms were granted supplies to encourage food safety such as wash packs, stainless steel packing tables, water filters, water testing kits, and more.

  • Partners worked with local farms to create the Farm to School Directory, highlighting the best way to contact local farms committed to selling to schools. 

  • The final photovoice project Sharing Abundance and Adversity: Food Stories from the Keweenaw was published and put on display at multiple schools this past fall. Read more about the photovoice project here. 

  • Two new positions hired