Meeting Notes

This is a complete list of our meeting notes from all of our past meetings. Click on one of the links below to view notes from that meeting.

 

Farm-to-School Meeting - Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 7pm

Present:

Chris Bedford, Gordy Alderink, Sally Alderink, Spencer Norman, Kim Wood, Doug Wood, Paul Kurdziel, Lisa Middlecamp-Lowder, Lisa Chalker, Kellie Gale-Butto, Tony Gale-Butto, Brian Clincy.

Agenda & Events

1. We viewed a new 4 minute video produced by Chris Bedford on the Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools lunch program. This video is available for viewing on VIMEO at http://vimeo.com/12714576 The video is also available from the Farm-to-School Campaign on DVD for $10, proceeds will go to support the campaign's work.

2. We discussed our school snack and soda initiative. We decided the following.

PROPOSED POLICY

Muskegon County School vending machines shall only offer the following drinks and snacks.

Water

Reduced or nonfat milk (including soy or cow's milk). NO Flavored milks.

One hundred (100%) percent fruit and vegetable juices in single serving containers.

Fruit based drinks containing one hundred (100%) percent fruit juice with no caloric or non-caloric sweeteners added.

All drinks containing non-caloric sweeteners (diet drinks) are prohibited.

All drinks containing caffeine are prohibited.

Snacks sold in Muskegon County school vending machines shall meeting the following criteria.

Not more than thirty-five (35%) percent of total weight shall be from sugar and caloric sweeteners with the exception of fruits and vegetables that have not been processed with added sweeteners or fats.

Not more than thirty-five (35%) percent of total weight shall be from fat with the exception of seeds and nuts; snack mixes and other foods of which nuts are part must meet the thirty-five (35%) requirement.

Not more than ten (10%) percent of calories shall be from saturated fat.

Shall not contain transfats that are added during processing.

At least one (1) item meets the snack criteria in each vending machine shall meet the FDA definition of "low sodium" (less than 140 mg per serving).

The group present agreed this should be our demand.

Paul Kurdziel of Bunker Middle School volunteered to make his school the demonstration school for the new policy. He will work to get his district to agree to this demonstration. Bunker Middle School has 585 students.

3. Community Food Fair - Sunday, August 8, 2010 from 3-5pm at Christ Temple Church in Muskegon Heights.

There will be a planning meeting for this event held at Christ Temple on Wednesday, June 30th at 11am. All people interested in participating in this event are well. Contact Spencer Norman at 231-747-7664 for more information.

4. Love Community Garden controversy

Kim Wood reported that a couple living across the street from the Love Community Garden at 8th and Monroe Avenue in the Nelson neighborhood garden has threatened community gardeners with racial slurs and loud voices in an effort to disrupt the gardening. The campaign is going to investigate the details of this situation and report back to the group.

Such attacks are absolutely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. More late.

The next meeting will be Wednesday, July 7th at 7pm at Orchard View Community Education.

 

 

MEETING: Tuesday, September 29, 2009

7pm -Orchard View Community Education Offices. In attendance:

Doug Wood, Spencer Norman, Dr. Doris Rucks, Tony Gale-Butto, Kellie Gale-Butto, Alecia Hopper, Dawn Auchs, David O'Neal, Chris Bedford.

AGENDA: Alecia Hopper explained the SPLASH Program -- a program from the USDA (funded thru 2012) -- to help schools with 50% or more students receiving free lunches run classroom and community outreach education about good nutrition. SPLASH gives each school building that qualifies $5/pupil to do school wide and community outreach education programs on nutrition. In addition, individual teachers in participating schools can receive $250/classroom to do nutrition education. In a typical Muskegon County elementary school, the per pupil total runs from about $1,200 to $2,500 per school, depending on enrollment.

The following schools in Muskegon County participate in the program. 

Holton:
    Holton Elementary
    Holton High School
Muskegon Public:
    Bluffton Elementary
    Marquette Elementary
    McLaughlin Elementary
    Moon Elementary
    Nelson Elementary
    Nims Elementary
    Oakview Elementary
    Bunker Middle School
Oakridge:
    Oakridge Lower Elementary
    Oakridge Upper Elementary
    Oakridge Middle School
Orchard View:
    Orchard View Early Elementary
Montague:
    RRO Elementary
    NBC Middle School
Reeths-Puffer
    McMillian Elementary

Alecia said some teachers had used their money to serve yogurt parfaits as a snack in their classroom. Schools generally contracted with MSU Extension to present already established "good eating" programs.

In addition, she invited us to attend a student play about "eating disorderly" entitled FULL MOUTH/EMPTY MOUTH that will be presented at the Frauenthal Theatre at 10am on November 10, 2009. The presentation is a collaboration with the Lakeshore Eating Coalition and the Muskegon Health Project. If you want to attend, you must call Alicia at 231-767-7340. 

Alecia said she was open to inclusion of information about local foods and seasonal eating into the SPLASH Program.  If we want to introduce some of our concepts into the SPLASH Program, we must present our proposal to Alecia who will get approval for inclusion from a Lansing based committee in the Dept. of Community Health. 

There are two general opportunities for our outreach: classroom and in the school cafeteria AND into the community. SPLASH is unique in that it has a community outreach component. Our proposal doesn't have to be within a regular school day. It could happen on weekends and at school sporting events. Some parents are already involved in helping do SPLASH events in classrooms. 

SPLASH offers the Muskegon Farm-to-School Project a path into the schools that will allow us to collaborate with teachers and administrators already concerned about good nutrition.

Chris Bedford

 

MEETING: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at Orchard View High School

Present: Gordy Alderink, Floyd Cook, Jr., Kellie Gale-Butto, Tony Gale-Button, John Gork, Charmaine Green, Muhammed Hakeem, Spencer Norman, Doris Rucks, Doug Wood

On Friday, August 21, 2009 Dr. Susan Meston of the MAISD called Chris Bedford to inform him that the proposed DVD/film for Healthy Local Food in Schools Day would not be allowed to be distributed.  Discussion: Where do we go from here following the response from the ISD that the DVD and materials cannot be distributed in September?

The following points were discussed:

  • We recognize the importance of working through the ISD as a pathway into the schools.

  • Going around the ISD straight to superintendents would not be a politically wise move.

  • We should ask Dr. Meston if there is someone who could work with us on the presentation that brings:

    • Resources about the Michigan Health Model that is used in the schools.  Our presentation should enhance that material.

    • That can assist in guiding us through the process of approval.

    • Help us find places in the current curriculum that our message can fit.

  • Our goal is still to find a way to get young people and their families interested in local foods.

  • We need to produce a brochure or poster that could be made available to schools in September that introduces the youth to our group and mission.

  • We should consider inviting a member of the county teacher’s union to our table to join in the discussion and creation of the material

  • We could sponsor a poster or essay contest on local foods.  Some kind of prize should be made available.

  • To be determined:  What role will Chartwell’s continue to play?  Eric will be called to let him know we missed him at the meeting.

Doug will approach Dr. Meston to let her know of the sentiments of the group to collaborate with the ISD in future effolrts.

Next Meeting DATE: Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at Orchard View High School. 

   

Meeting: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at Orchard View High School

Present: Doris Rucks, Diane Miller, Isabel Blake-Evans, Erik Neering, Tony Gale-Butto, Kellie Gale-Butto, Doug Wood, Dawn Auch, Spencer Norman, Floyd Cook, Jr., Chris Bedford.

We viewed a 3 minute FIRST DRAFT version of our September 21, 2009 presentation for Healthy Food in School Day. This presentation, prepared by Chris Bedford, needed decisions from the group before it could be finished. The presentation is targeted at middle school children. Our initial outreach campaign is based on educating children about local healthy food under the general theme of "Eat for Success".

Dawn Auch, a middle school teacher in the Orchard View district, was particularly helpful.  Her input helped us stay on target for middle schoolers. Isabel Blake-Evans, Doug Wood and Erik Neering talked about existing student advisory groups to school food service directors and how our campaign might help and focus this activity. Here is a summary of our decisions.

1. The DVD will focus on the questions students should ask about their food. 

2. We will NOT frame the questions in our terms. We will suggest middle schoolers ask, "Who grew this food?" "Where was it grown?" "Who has touched this food?" "What is in this food for me?" "How was it grown?" "What happens if you DON'T eat right?"

3. Floyd Cook summarized and focused our discussion with the thought that "we are proposing to use food decisions as a way of teaching critical thinking." This insight from Floyd continues our progress towards a campaign that focuses on education and kids, not the nutrition related diseases that are pandemic in schools today. Food is a way to teach critical thinking, to learn about and to refine personal values and community values, and help kids make positive personal decisions.

4. Dawn Auch noted that in Orchard View middle schools, there is a 30 minute period, right after lunch that would be perfect for presentation of the DVD and to begin its accompanying discussion.

5. Isabel Blake-Evans suggested we prepare materials on food and critical thinking for September 21st to send home to parents for the day including what to feed kids before important days like MEAP testing.

6. Erik Neering noted that Chartwell is moving away from canned foods to frozen and fresh in an effort to improve nutrition.

7. Kellie and Tony Gale-Butto noted that middle schoolers are very concerned about appearance. "Zits and frizzy hair". Tony suggested "Eating to look your best" should be included.

8. Kellie Gale-Butto mentioned that her children were constantly offered candy as rewards in school. We discussed making this a separate focus in our campaign.

9. We decided not to specifically mention "humane treatment" in our material. Dawn Auchs suggested middle schoolers will bring it up themselves. It is a hot issue in this age group. 

Other items. "Supersize Me!" has been shown in school (edited version). And Dawn has shown the Appleton Wisconsin video to teachers in her middle school.  

We adjourned at 8:45pm. Next meeting, Tuesday, August 25th at Orchard View High School at 7pm.

 

Meeting, Monday, July 27, 2009

Present: Doug Wood (Orchard View Schools), Doris Rucks, Gordy Alderink (GVSU), Erik Neering (Chartwell/Compass-USA), Spencer Norman, Tony Gale-Butto, Kellie Gale-Butto, Diane Miller (GVSU Intern working with the Campaign), Cynthia Price (Great Grand Rapids Food System Council), Chris Bedford

We met at The Coffee House in Norton Shores from 6:30-9pm. 

Plan for September 21, 2009.

1. We will develop an 8-10 minute video/Power Point for outreach to Muskegon County Middle School students about our campaign and goals. This production will end with the idea of EAT4MEAP. This will be distributed to teachers, administrators, and others through DVDs and on YourTube (a link from this website).

2. Chris Bedford will develop the initial draft for review by the committee by Wednesday, August 12th. He will distribute an outline and the script at various stages of development by email.

3. We will also develop a one-page guide for teachers and design buttons EAT4MEAP to be distributed in September.

4. Doug Wood offered to do an orientation for Community Education Directors in Muskegon County Schools on our program.

As part of a continuing discussion of how we might expand our outreach, Gordy Alderink spoke at length about the relationship between food and sports performance. Decisions.

1. We will help Gordy do a demonstration of food-for-sports performance by arranging a healthy, local food pre-game meal for one Muskegon County sports team during the Winter. 

2. We will use the results of this program to do a workshop/outreach on our campaign for county coaches, athletic directors, and student athletic leaders sometime in the Spring.

Erik Neering described the scope of Chartwell's feeding programs including the fact that in some districts, they feed children three times a day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These programs relate to work Doris Rucks and Spencer Norman are doing. They will contact Erik about cooperation and coordination.

Floyd Cook reminded us our obligation to include performance in all aspects of education, not just sports. We restated our commitment to use the September 21st outreach as a way to ask for ideas and participation from teachers, administrators, and students.

Next meeting will be on Tuesday, August 18th at 6:30pm. LOCATION. Orchard View High School.

 

   

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