VegNews Article

This is an article that hopefully will be published in VegNews Magazine this Fall:

Food System Economic Partnership (FSEP), a non-profit in Southeast Michigan, has been helping school districts across the region implement farm to school programs since 2006. Working with more than 15 school districts in Jackson, Washtenaw, Wayne, Monroe and Lenawee counties, FSEP has brought farmers and food service directors together and helped develop successful, sustainable farm to school programs unique to each school district.
Farm to School as three components; Cafeteria, Classroom and Community and FSEP’s primary focus has been on the first “C” Cafeteria. By helping food service directors and farmers work out the details of sourcing, procurement procedures and facility needs, FSEP’s farm to school programs have served over 20 different locally sourced fruits and vegetables throughout the school year, most of which are not commonly found in school food service.
As FSEP’s Farm to School programs continue to grow, we look forward to beginning work on the second “C” Classroom. This fall FSEP will pilot a classroom component of the Farm to School program in Jackson Public Schools. We will work with teachers, administrators, parents and students to develop engaging activities and events that will support the cafeteria’s efforts of serving fresh, locally sourced food. The program will consist of things such as monthly activities and educational workshops, including field trips, farmer classroom visits, cooking demonstrations, celebrating cultural foods, contests for classrooms who eat the most vegetables, menu options with legumes instead of meat, a vegetable of the month, school gardens, wellness fairs, and many more opportunities for kids to learn, appreciate, and have fun with good nutrition.
The Farm to School program is aimed at inspiring both students and their parents to eat locally, be healthy and become educated about the benefits of replacing processed and fried foods with fresh fruits and vegetables. FSEP is currently in the planning stages of the classroom component of the farm to school program and we need your help. This is a great opportunity for you to make an enormous impact on a child’s life and work with a great team of volunteers. If you are a VegMichigan member living in or near the Jackson area, and would like to get involved, please contact us at quallsj@fsepmichigan.org or (734) 222.3817.

To learn more about Food System Economic Partnership visit our website at www.fsepmichigan.org