Grantees
“Buy Local, Cook Fresh Illinois”
Beyond Green Partners
Partners: Janie’s Mill, FarmFED Co-Op, Illinois State Board of Education, & Sangamon County
“Buy Local, Cook Fresh Illinois” is a comprehensive training cohort project to help guide three rural Central Illinois schools in transforming their food service programs to scratch-cooking operations that use locally sourced ingredients. The cohort approach allows participants to collaborate and learn together, creating a community of schools to help build and support a local school food system. Participating schools will gain the skills to incorporate local and fresh food into culturally relevant meals that students want to eat and staff want to make.
This project will train schools to use fresh local ingredients in scratch-cooking, thereby generating the demand for larger consistent orders from institutions for local food. This transformative project builds upon past successes in the state of Illinois and creates a regional model from which other districts can learn and adopt, creating the opportunity for large-scale change to local school food systems and meal production. As regional cohorts grow in size beyond the lifecycle of this project, the demand for local food will be greater, making it a more viable market for local farmers to serve.
“Grains to Trays II”
Artisan Grain Collaborative
(Fiscally sponsored project of Global Philanthropy Partnership)
Partners: Tenera Grains, Tortilleria Zepeda, School District of Holmen, Mount Horeb Area School District, & Janie’s Mill
This project will increase the number of food producers working with schools in the Lake Michigan region by investing in the diversified grain farmer and producer community, deepening relationships between producers and school nutrition staff, resource creation, and trialing innovative pilot strategies at schools. With a direct emphasis on regionally grown whole grains, project activities will focus on growing engagement of both grain producers and local food businesses that make food products with regionally grown grains, ensuring they have appropriate information, connections, and tools to effectively engage with and serve schools in the region. By developing successful pathways to incorporate local and regionally grown whole grains within school meal programs, this project will benefit small and mid-size Midwest grain farmers, processors, and food producers in primarily rural and limited income communities; Midwest school districts and food service programs, with a priority focus on the School District of Holmen in Holmen, Wisconsin; and students and eaters in the Midwest.
“Growing Minds: Engaging Students in Building the Future of their Food System”
Madison Consolidated Schools
Partners: Madison Youth Unlimited & Food and Growers Association
Over 50% of students at three elementary schools in the Madison Consolidated School District are from low-income households and rely on school meals to meet their nutritional needs. The Growing Minds partnership between Madison Consolidated Schools, Madison Youth Unlimited, and the Food and Growers Association aims to increase the capacity of farmers in and around Jefferson County, Indiana, to supply these schools with fresh, high-quality local food for school lunches. Recognizing that strong food systems are a network of interrelated components that must be built with the long-term in mind, the Growing Minds project will build the following programs during the grant period:
(1.) A student-run, indoor local food marketplace (farm stop) that will double the customer base for local farmers and supply three low-income and rural elementary schools with fresh, local food;
(2.) Research and development on the creation of a food hub in the Jefferson County area, connecting farmers with schools, other institutional buyers, and individual consumers;
(3.) Cooking classes and listening sessions that empower low-income and rural school families to choose fresh foods and use their voice to build an equitable local food system;
(4.) School gardens that intentionally prepare students for leadership in the school food system;
(5.) Listening sessions and consultations across southeast Indiana to assist communities in building strong local school food systems and build a network of growers who can fill supply gaps across the region.
“Food Futures: Connecting Rural Production, Procurement and Processing in the UP through Education, Collaboration and Community”
Partridge Creek
Partners: Northwoods Test Kitchen, Chartwells, MSU Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center, Marquette-Alger RESA, Ishpeming Public School District No. 1, Negaunee Public Schools, Little Parsley Farm, & U.P. Food Exchange
“Food Futures: Connecting Rural Production, Procurement and Processing in the UP through Education, Collaboration and Community” sets to create food safe procedures to get local produce from farm to cafeteria. The dynamic collaboration of Partridge Creek Farm (PCF), Northwoods Test Kitchen (NTK), Chartwells, MSU Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center (MSU), and Marquette-Alger RESA (MARESA) aims to create an integrated local supply chain that connects a nonprofit educational farm’s production with students’ vision for their school lunch by working closely with the Ishpeming Public School District and Negaunee Public Schools.
Through delivery of the Locally Integrated Food Teams in the UP (LIFT-UP) classroom curriculum and professional development opportunities, led by MSU and MARESA, students will engage in taste tests, land-based learning, and food stories to guide the development of local food products that align with USDA school nutrition standards. PCF, NTK, and Chartwells will focus on crop planning, developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for farms and kitchens, food production, processing food for recipes that align with school nutrition standards, and serving local food in school lunches. Lessons learned along the way will be shared through local food sourcing practices, templates, training materials, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities for farmers, food producers, and foodservice directors across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and beyond.
“Rising Suns: Expanding Food Sovereignty Efforts of The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and The Menominee Indian School District”
Menominee Indian Tribe
Partners: Menominee Indian School District & Menominee Language and Culture Commission
The “Rising Suns” project is a collaboration between the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin’s (MITW) Department of Agriculture and Foods Systems and the Menominee Indian School District’s (MISD) Forestry Education Department to develop a Tribal Future Farmers Association. “Rising Suns” will create programming for students to cover hands on topics such as food forestry, farming, indigenous gardening practices, maple grove management/tapping, and more. The food produced within the program be used to build production for the MISD Food Service alongside a number of new, healthy recipes.
The “Rising Suns” project seeks to create and encourage career pathways for youth in food sovereignty while incorporating language and traditions into its teachings. The increased capacity of the MISD Food Service will leave lasting positive impacts on the health of the community as well as sustainability within the agricultural workforce. Program collaboration will further support local, small, indigenous producers/businesses.
“Good School Food: A Community-Driven, Food System Approach to Expand Healthy School Meal Options in Milwaukee”
FoodRight, Inc.
Partners: Mutch Better Foods, LLC, Milwaukee Public Schools, & Anita Garrett — School Food Advocate
Good School Food (GSF) initiates changes on both the demand and supply sides of the regional school food system so that all Milwaukee Public School (MPS) students can enjoy delicious, culturally-relevant nutritious school meals. Piloting the project in 30 schools, we will build systems and partnerships to address supply-side infrastructure, ensuring that MPS has access to enough locally-produced, regulation-compliant food to prepare 65,000 meals daily. Activities include facilitating an aggregator for locally grown produce and building a supply chain infrastructure that supports the influx of fresh, locally-sourced meats, legumes, produce, and dairy products. On the demand side, the team will work with Nutrition Services and school staff to increase family collaboration in enhancing school meal options through the development of Youth Ambassadors and Parent Champions programs. Ambassadors will provide input on new recipes, collecting market data as they showcase new foods to peers through cafeteria taste tests. Parent Champions will work with parents in their schools to communicate their priorities and inform changes to the meal service. Bringing key players from both the demand and supply side together, GSF will create a Community Council which will meet regularly to share ideas, concerns, and problem-solve together to increase healthy, feasible menu options that appeal to the community.
“Building a Farm to School Logistics and Pricing Model for the Great Lakes Region”
Wisconsin Food Hub
Partners: School District of Mellen, Wausau School District, UW-Madison: Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, Cattail Organics LLC, & Olden Organics
Our project will continue to support local farmers by expanding and improving the sales and distribution of their products to school food programs in rural and underserved areas of the northern and northwestern parts of the state. It will enable the hiring of staff who will collaborate with farmers and school food service teams to form a cooperative buying group along the distribution route. Together, we will develop a pricing and distribution model that improves access to local produce in rural and low-income schools. A key focus will be filling a refrigerated truck with the right mix of products—balancing volume, value, nutrition, and cost—to ensure distribution remains affordable for schools while supporting farmers’ livelihoods.
“School Nutrition Culinary Innovators of Tomorrow”
REAP Food Group & Wello, Inc.
Partners: Madison Metropolitan School District, Green Bay Area Public School District, Seasonal Harvest, LLC, Rooted, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, & Madison College
This project will develop and implement a college-level paid School Food Stage (SFS) traineeship aimed at growing the appeal of school nutrition careers among culinary students. This is a regional collaboration approach, co-lead by REAP and Wello, that will build the SFS traineeship based on the specific needs and aspirations of the school nutrition programs at Madison Metropolitan School District and Green Bay Public Schools while leveraging the expertise of the professional culinary programs at Madison College and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) in Green Bay. The traineeship will also provide the opportunity to learn from Rooted and Seasonal Harvest to better understand how to move local foods from the field to the school cafeteria.
“Bringing Fresh Salad Greens to Schools in Wisconsin”
Hundred Acre, LLC
Partners: Wisconsin Food Hub & TransCenter for Youth/Escuela Verde High School
Our goal is to grow leafy greens hydroponically year-round and provide them to schools throughout the entire school year, in partnership with the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative, which will handle distribution. We will also collaborate with TransCenter for Youth, an independent school district in Milwaukee, to expand our Edible Learning program at Escuela Verde High School. We will allocate resources to support Escuela Verde’s Café Manager and FACE teacher in the first year, helping to secure this essential role within the school and ensuring it can be fully funded by the district in subsequent years. Additionally, we will offset labor costs, allowing us to offer greens to schools at a low price as these products gain traction in school lunch programs and fit within school food service budgets. This project will strengthen our partnerships and support the successful launch of these programs.
“Introducing Hmong Cultural Food to the School System”
NEW Hmong Professionals
“Growing for Schools”
Rooted WI, Inc.
The Growing for Schools project aims to create a regional support system for farmers and food service staff in the Madison, Wisconsin area to increase the availability of locally-grown, culturally relevant foods in school meals. This involves conducting listening sessions with small-scale growers, organizing workshops and educational programs to facilitate collaboration between growers and schools, and engaging families to gather feedback on school meals. These efforts are designed to strengthen connections, enhance growers’ capacity to supply schools, and ensure that school meals reflect local and cultural food preferences.
“Growing Capacity and Connections for Hmong-Focused Farm to School”
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Partners: UW-Madison Division of Extension: Community Food Systems Program, UW-Madison Division of Extension: FoodWIse Program, & AmeriCorps Farm to School Service Member
“Growing Capacity and Connections for Hmong-Focused Farm to School” is a network and capacity building project that increases readiness for Hmong-focused Farm to School by engaging with farmers, food service directors, and students. This work occurs primarily in two focus geographies in Wisconsin (La Crosse County and Eau Claire County) through location-specific Hmong farmer needs assessments, in-person farmer trainings, and direct education for students. The project also includes the development and dissemination of statewide outreach materials and opportunities for statewide Hmong-focused F2S network development.
“Lowering Adoption Barrier to Regionally Sourced Foods in Chicagoland Schools: Exploring Manufacturing, Food Service Operations and Acceptability of Regional Black Bean and Beef Blended Products in School Cafeterias”
The Common Market Great Lakes
Partners: McCann Meat Company & Proviso Township High Schools District 209
This project will enable assessment of both supply chain viability and acceptability of a regionally sourced, pre-cooked beef and black bean product in Chicagoland region schools. In practice, this project will be focused on R&D activities on the producer side (McCann Meats) as well as supplying the resources necessary to enable a series of taste tests with Proviso Township High Schools District 209 food service team and student cohorts. Our goal is to learn what needs to be true from a producer, student likeability and food service operations perspective for more local and plant forward products to be added to school food menus in the region.
“Planting Farm2School in Southeastern Illinois”
Greater Wabash Food Council
Partners: Edwards County CUSD #1, Grayville CUSD #1, & Allendale CUSD #17
“Rooted School Indy Food System Hub Strategic Planning”
Rooted School Indy
Partners: Side Street Food Service & TechServ Corporation
“Rooted School Indy Food System Hub Strategic Planning” supports a food system hub centered around increasing student access to nutritious, culturally relevant foods. This one-year project engages a community-centered planning team, connects with students and families, engages with local producers, develops an Action Plan, and addresses immediate kitchen needs to move towards incorporation of fresh ingredients and scratch cooking. The focus area is the eastern edge of the 46218-zip code on the near-east side of Indianapolis. The priority school is Rooted School Indianapolis, a charter school serving 7-12th grade students; a local Pre-K-6th grade school and community center will also engage in the project, promoting a community-wide food system hub, working collaboratively towards improved childhood and family nutrition. Given that 89.1% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, Child Nutrition Program meals are key to food access and there is opportunity to reimagine these school meals in ways that nourish students, engage local producers, and celebrate the community.
“Workshops to Expand Local Purchasing in Schools”
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
ValleyHUB at Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) plans to develop and pilot a series of skill-development workshops for Food Service Directors, with the goal of increasing the volume of local purchasing and improving nutritional content of meals in ValleyHUB partner school districts in Southwest Michigan. Six in-person workshops will take place at KVCC’s facilities between October 2024 and October 2025, and will align with online content and ongoing technical assistance throughout that same period. Participants in the workshops will be food service directors and managers from Southwest Michigan school districts that are already making local food purchases through ValleyHUB, and will focus on seasonal menu development, procurement, and planning that can reduce barriers. Participants will receive stipends for participation. Evaluation and lesson-sharing will be embedded throughout the workshop series and amplified by the production of a simple podcast for broader sharing. If the pilot is successful, future funding will be sought to expand the pilot workshop series until it can be a self-sustaining fee-based professional development offering, or to share the curriculum to other partners.