Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Farmers, school nutrition officials tell House panel eliminating Michigan's 10 Cents a Meal hurt local producers and students
Summary
Farmers, food-service directors and state education officials told the House Appropriations Subcommittee that cuts to the 10 Cents a Meal program reduced purchases of Michigan-grown produce, disrupted local supply chains and weakened school nutrition and education efforts; presenters urged lawmakers to restore funding.
LANSING ' Farmers, food-service directors and Michigan Department of Education officials told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and the Department of Education that eliminating the 10 Cents a Meal program disrupted local food purchasing, weakened school meal quality and cost Michigan farmers sales.
At a committee hearing, Rebecca Park, legislative counsel for the Michigan Farm Bureau, framed the program as farmer-driven and said the Farm Bureau's members supported the program from its pilot stage. "When the 10 Cents a Meal was started as a pilot program back in 2016... we have been supportive of this notion," Park said.
The program reimbursed participating child-nutrition sponsors 10 cents per eligible meal to encourage purchase of Michigan-grown produce. Farmers who testified said…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
