DEARBORN — Dearborn Public Schools has received a $460,565 grant and support services to serve more Michigan-grown and produced food in the more than 3 million meals it provides students each year.

Officials from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and the Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Nutrition Services visited the district Wednesday, September 23, to highlight its work through the Good Food for Michigan Project. The project aims to use the purchasing power of schools, hospitals and other institutions to create more dependable markets for Michigan farmers and food producers.

Dearborn Public Schools is Michigan’s third-largest school district, serving approximately 20,000 students at more than 30 sites.

At a press conference at Henry Ford Early College, MDARD Director Tim Boring said supporting Michigan farmers requires dependable markets for the food they grow. When schools, hospitals and other institutions purchase Michigan-grown food, he said, they create demand for farmers and support local businesses.

Boring was joined by Dr. Deanne Kelleher, director of the Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Nutrition Services; Melanie Tran, Michigan impact manager at the Center for Good Food Purchasing; and Dearborn Public Schools Superintendent Mike Esseily.

“We have a great opportunity to look at our food purchasing practices through a different lens and see where we can offer more Michigan-grown and produced food,” Esseily said. “Good nutrition is the foundation of a great education. With the help of the Good Food for Michigan Project, we are taking a big step toward offering more locally grown and produced food.”

The grant will help the district increase the amount of Michigan-grown and produced food served across its schools and strengthen its relationships with regional farmers and food suppliers.

The district will also work with Southwest Food Excellence, a company specializing in culinary services for schools, to increase the volume of Michigan food in student meals and expand its connections with farmers.

The Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Nutrition Services works with schools and child nutrition programs to provide healthy meals and connect them with Michigan farmers and suppliers. Its Farm to Program Directory helps those programs identify sources of Michigan-grown food.

“School meals are an important part of the school day for Michigan children, and school nutrition professionals play an essential role in making sure students have the food they need to learn, grow and thrive,” Kelleher said. “When schools buy more Michigan-grown food, they support that mission and connect students with local farmers and food producers.”

The Good Food for Michigan Project reaches beyond Dearborn, connecting schools, hospitals and other institutions with grower networks established by MDARD and the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems.

This summer, the project introduced the Good Food for Michigan pledge, which allows institutions to publicly commit to purchasing practices suited to their capacity and goals. Since its announcement, 32 schools, hospitals, community organizations and other institutions across Michigan have signed the pledge. That figure refers to pledge signers, not grant recipients.

“With more than two dozen organizations signing the pledge, we are seeing a high interest in taking steps to buy local food from local producers,” Tran said. “We are excited to continue taking steps toward putting more Michigan-grown food on tables across the state.”

The project maintains a map showing pledge signers across Michigan and plans to update it as more organizations participate.