Farm to School Spotlight: Ann Arbor Students Eat Produce “From Our Own Backyard”

October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate and highlight what’s possible when we build stronger connections between our local farmers and school cafeterias and classrooms. One Michigan school district, Ann Arbor Public Schools, is showing what’s possible with bringing local food into the lunch line and beyond.

Through The Common Market Great Lakes, Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) serves items like Michigan-grown apples, pears, and peaches to students across the district. For Mike DeVries, Food Service Director for AAPS, the reason is simple.

"I think it's great to support and use the food that is grown in our state in the food for students during their school meals. Our official state flower is an apple blossom. We should be eating apples from our own backyard!"

Farm to School Month at Bryant Elementary School

Farm to school goes beyond the lunch line. This Fall, Bryant Elementary welcomed local farmers and fresh produce to campus for its first farmers market of the school year. Every student took part, moving through the market to choose fresh produce and talk directly with the people who grew it.

Team member Andrea of The Common Market Great Lakes was there representing our Michigan farm partners. Students went home with hand-picked fruit from Hildebrand Fruit Farms (Berrien Springs, MI) and carrots from Victory Farms (Hudsonville, MI).

The event was designed to strengthen students' connections to the farmers in their community, help them understand where food comes from, and encourage them to try new fruits and vegetables.

"The students loved learning about the importance of eating fresh fruit and vegetables and got to take a bag of produce home," said Sandra Short, assistant director with Chartwells School Dining Services K12, the food service management company that runs the school food program at AAPS. She added that the Bryant community loved seeing the support for local farmers.

Getting More Local Food to Schools

For school food programs, local sourcing only works if it's consistent. Menus are planned weeks in advance, and thousands of meals go out every day. That's where The Common Market comes in. As a nonprofit regional food distributor, The Common Market aggregates products from family farms across the region and delivers them to institutions like schools, ready for wholesale.

"The Common Market gives our students more reliable access to local foods," said DeVries. “Looking back on the year, the highlight wasn't one meal. It was just the consistency of apple availability.”

Many small and mid-sized farms grow high-quality food but aren't set up to sell to large institutions. Wholesale distribution requires logistics, food safety documentation, and pricing that many farms don't have in place.

"Many local produce suppliers we use don't have systems or pricing set up for wholesale distribution," DeVries explained. "The Common Market removes those barriers and competes with broadline pricing on many items." That's the advice DeVries offers to other districts considering a partnership: local food can be both accessible and affordable.

A Win-Win for the Community

As the school year continues, AAPS and The Common Market Great Lakes are keeping Michigan-grown apples, pears, and peaches on the menu. They have plans to expand their local food procurement to include local frozen blueberries.

A win-win for the community! Students get fresh, local food on their trays, and Michigan farms get a reliable market close to home. Here's to more support of local farms and more students who know exactly where their food comes from!

Interested in bringing local food to your district? Let's chat!
Learn more and connect with us at hello@thecommonmarket.org.