MDARD’s Good Food for Michigan awards grant to help Dearborn Public Schools serve more fresh, local food
State’s third-largest district latest recipient of new ag initiative to bring Michigan-grown food to cafeterias
LANSING, Michigan — Dearborn Public Schools is the latest recipient of a grant from a Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Department (MDARD) initiative focused on bringing more locally-grown food to schools, hospitals, and other institutions.
The new Good Food for Michigan Project awarded Dearborn Public Schools a $460,565 grant, as well as support services, to increase the amount of Michigan-grown and produced foods it serves at more than 30 sites across the district. The investment also will help the district to further develop relationships with farmers in the region.
Dearborn Public is Michigan’s third-largest school district, serving roughly 20,000 students. The Good Food for Michigan Project will help the district offer fresh, Michigan-grown food as part of the more than 3 million meals it serves annually. The Good Food team also will work with Southwest Food Excellence, a national company that specializes in culinary services for schools, to increase the volume of healthy Michigan food served at Dearborn and boost the district’s capacity to partner with Michigan farmers.
“This investment from the Good Food for Michigan Project is an incredible catalyst to help us provide more fresh, nutritious food to students across our school district,” said Mike Esseily, superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools. “Good nutrition is the foundation of a great education and, with the help of the Good Food for Michigan Project, we are taking a big step in offering more high quality, local food.”
The grant will also help Dearborn schools to identify opportunities for local sourcing so the district can serve as a model for others across Michigan to expand their connections to invest in more fresh, local food, said Melanie Tran, the Michigan Impact Manager at the Center for Good Food Purchasing.
“Dearborn Public Schools has a unique opportunity to scale up good food procurement to eventually provide increased demand for Michigan farmers and a steady flow of nutritious food to thousands of students,” Tran said. “Our work with Dearborn Public Schools will help to ensure it’s a model that can be replicated in other areas of the state.”
The Good Food for Michigan Project is a partnership between MDARD, the Center for Good Food Purchasing and Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems. It is the result of collaboration between state agriculture officials, farmers, and community groups.
“We are thrilled to showcase our state’s rich agricultural heritage by providing fresh, Michigan-grown food to one of the largest school districts in our state,” said Dr. Tim Boring, the director of MDARD. “We are looking forward to another opportunity to support our farmers by helping to bring their products to cafeterias across Dearborn Public Schools.”
Institutions participating in the Good Food for Michigan Project work with experts to invest in local and regional food markets, increasing the volume of Michigan-grown food served. That work is aimed at increasing food offerings that are healthy, locally sourced, fair to farmers and workers, and produced using sustainable and humane practices.
“Working with Dearborn Public Schools will help us take another important step toward ensuring more local food is served to more students,” said Lindsey Scalera, director of policy and leadership education for the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems. “By partnering with one of Michigan’s largest school districts, this initiative will demonstrate that we can take meaningful steps to bolster local and regional food systems.”
The Good Food for Michigan Project complements other innovative MDARD programs focused on strengthening regional food systems. Additional information is on the Good Food for Michigan Project website.
