MDARD Launches Scratch Cooking Pilot to Put More Michigan-Grown Foods on School Menus

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (MDARD) Farm to Family Program today launched a Scratch Cooking Pilot that provides grants of up to $100,000 to help Michigan schools serve students more meals made from locally sourced foods.

“Healthy, nourishing food is one of the most powerful things we have to help students thrive,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “When schools can cook meals from scratch using fresh Michigan ingredients, we’re not just improving what’s on a lunch tray—we’re investing in students’ well‑being, their readiness to learn and their long-term success. This grant builds on our historic investments in students and schools and continues our work to give every kid the best chance at building a bright future.”

To pursue grant funding under the new pilot, local education agencies (LEAs) must submit a letter of intent to MDARD by 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 24, 2026. MDARD encourages prospective applicants to attend an informational webinar to learn more about the application process on November 10, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. ET.

“We know that incorporating fresh, nutritious foods into school meals improves students’ health and academic success,” said MDARD Director Tim Boring. “The Farm to Family Program’s Scratch Cooking Pilot will give Michigan schools the resources they need to prepare healthier meals while also creating new market opportunities for Michigan farmers and producers. Plus, this investment builds on the holistic approach the state is taking to ensure our students have the best options in the lunchroom. From MDARD’s Good Food for Michigan Project addressing institutional procurement to free school meals being the standard statewide—Michigan is leading the way in cultivating better outcomes for our children.”

The funding for this pilot was created in the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2027 budget, which Gov. Whitmer signed in July.

“Scratch cooking gives schools an opportunity to serve students fresh, nutritious meals while making better use of locally grown Michigan products,” said Rep. Ken Borton (R-Gaylord), chairman of the House Agriculture and Rural Development and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee. “The funding we secured in the budget will help schools increase their kitchen capacity while providing the training needed to prepare more meals from scratch. These efforts will strengthen the connection between Michigan agriculture and our schools while ensuring that our students have access to quality meals that support their health and success in the classroom.”

“As a legislator and father of two young students, I believe school lunch should be the kind of meal we'd be proud to serve at our own kitchen tables,” said Sen. John Cherry (D-Flint), chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee. “By funding the Scratch Cooking Pilot, Michigan is investing in school kitchens and the culinary skills to put freshly grown, freshly prepared food on every tray.”

Scratch cooking refers to preparing meals using fresh, raw or minimally processed foods. When adopted by school food programs, scratch cooking tends to give students access to healthier meals. However, research has shown that school food programs face barriers to scratch cooking, including equipment limitations, insufficient staffing and financial constraints.

MDARD’s Scratch Cooking Pilot addresses these challenges by helping Michigan school food programs invest in:

• Equipment and supplies for efficiently processing locally sourced fruits and vegetables.
• Equipment and supplies that increase offerings of homemade sauces, soups, smoothies, batters and other foods that require blending.
• Equipment and supplies that enhance batch cooking of fresh vegetables, proteins, grains and other foods.
• Equipment and supplies necessary to prepare animal and plant-based proteins for consumption.
• Personnel focused on implementing long-term scratch cooking programs.
• Other innovative means of enhancing scratch cooking programs, such as implementing software systems that facilitate procurement of local foods.

The Scratch Cooking Pilot is open to LEAs in Michigan that purchase and serve local agriculture products. Interested LEAs should review the grant guidelines on MDARD’s Scratch Cooking in Schools Pilot web page.

The application process for the Scratch Cooking Pilot will proceed in two stages. In the first stage, prospective applicants will use an online survey to submit letters of intent to MDARD. MDARD will review all letters of intent received by November 24, 2026, for relevance to the goals and eligibility requirements outlined in the grant guidelines.

In the second stage, MDARD will invite qualified applicants to submit a full grant application via the MiAgGrants web portal by January 22, 2027. MDARD will then assess applications and announce the recipients in March 2027.

The Scratch Cooking Pilot builds on the Farm to Family Program’s transformative efforts to give Michiganders more access to locally grown foods while giving farmers and food producers more opportunities to sell in their communities. The program’s inaugural food hub and farm stop grants spurred $3.4 million in local food sales while its Good Food for Michigan Project has delivered more local foods to Michigan students, seniors and hospital patients. Moreover, the program has helped deliver new market opportunities for beginning farmers and helped farmers and small food businesses across Michigan address transportation gaps.

The Farm to Family Program was first proposed in Gov. Whitmer's Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget. Learn more about its work on the MDARD website.

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