TRAVERSE CITY -- Governor Snyder is in northern Michigan, taking a closer look at the area's economy.
The Governor will be speaking at the Regional Economic Summit starting at 9am Friday. The focus is on the state of Michigan's economy as well as the Traverse City area.
After the Economic Summit, Governor Snyder will stop by Traverse Heights Elementary in Traverse City to sample its lunch menu. The menu includes Farm to School items, which means getting more fresh, healthier, homegrown choices to children.
The governor also will hear from area education, agriculture, and nonprofit organizations about their regional pilot project that will test one of the 25 recommendations of the Michigan Good Food Policy Charter-expanding farm to school purchasing to benefit children's health and the state's economy with a small boost in support for local purchasing. The title of the pilot project: "10 Cents a Meal for School Kids and Farms."
In 2011, Michigan schools served 141.4 million lunches. So, 10 cents a meal would put $14 million into the state's economy, and could spur job growth in food businesses to meet school needs, for activities as basic as washing, drying, and bagging locally grown lettuce.
Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District, the Michigan Land Use Institute, and other members of the Northwest Michigan Food & Farming Network will seek public and private sector grants, community funds, and other resources for the 10 Cents a Meal pilot. The project mimics a similar pilot in Oregon that provided 7 cents a meal to two public school districts to purchase locally grown food.
The program significantly affected the local economy, according to researchers: Its $160,750 investment leveraged additional local purchasing by the schools for a total of $461,992.
"We are asking the governor, legislators, and state agencies to watch this project closely, help where they can, and monitor its results to help inform possible expansion in the region, to additional pilots in other parts of the state, or statewide," said Diane Conners, senior policy specialist in food and farming for MLUI.
More than 40 schools in northwest Lower Michigan are now purchasing at least some locally grown foods.
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