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Incentives for farm-to-school purchasing in limbo

Community food leaders are urging lawmakers to continue supporting Michigan’s 10 Cents a Meal program and the benefits it brings to local economies.

Michigan State University community food systems educator Garrett Ziegler has been supporting local food procurement efforts for more than a decade. 

“We’re only scratching the surface in terms of the purchasing power that these schools and other institutions have, and the ability to shift that locally,” he says. “Programs like 10 Cents have done a lot to incentivize local purchasing, and serving local healthy food to kids, for both the schools and for our local farmers.”

The state legislature has not come to an agreement as to how school funding will be appropriated in fiscal year 2026. While Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Senate’s proposed budget includes a $4.5 million line item for grants incentivizing purchasing local foods, the House version eliminates the program.

Michigan State University Product Center’s Clarence Rudat manages the FARM Accelerator and Muskegon Food Hub. He tells Brownfield the 10 Cents program has made significant traction in improving logistics.

“Getting local food to schools in a form they need, whether that happens to be washed or cut, or prepared,” he says the program promotes. “Some of the stuff that’s in season, the challenge’s not only getting there but making sure that they have the right storage and that it’s used in a timely fashion.”

The nonprofit Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, which helps to administer 10 Cents, is asking lawmakers to maintain funding for the program and support Michigan farmers and schools.

Ten Cents a Meal has been funded by the state since it first launched as a pilot nearly 10 years ago and has supported schools statewide that buy Michigan-grown, minimally processed fruits, vegetables, and dry beans.

Brownfield interviewed both as part of the Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference.