Michigan Pilots Scratch-Cooking Grants for Schools: Up to $100,000 Per School Using Locally Sourced Food
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) announced on October 29 a scratch-cooking pilot under its Farm to Family Program, offering schools grants of up to $100,000 to serve meals cooked from scratch in school kitchens using locally sourced foods. Letters of intent are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on November 24, 2026, and the department will hold an informational webinar at 1 p.m. ET on November 10.
The pilot offers tiered grant packages — chopping and blending packages of up to $25,000, a batch-cooking package of up to $50,000 and a partnering package of up to $75,000 — with invited full applications due through the MiAgGrants system by January 22, 2027, and recipients to be announced in March 2027. Priority goes to districts with high shares of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch and to schools that have signed the Good Food for Michigan pledge. The pilot is funded by the bipartisan fiscal 2027 budget Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed in July.
MDARD Director Tim Boring said scratch cooking gives students fresher, more nutritious meals while opening a stable market for Michigan farmers. The department noted that the Farm to Family Program has previously spurred $3.4 million in local food sales, and said the pilot pairs local purchasing with kitchen capacity-building so more Michigan schools can cook meals from scratch.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 小学生品尝学校餐食（资料图）。公共领域，USDAgov摄，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Elementary students tasting new school foods (file photo). Public domain, by USDAgov, via Wikimedia Commons.
