How Michigan Shaped the Field: The National Impact of Michigan’s 10 Cents A Meal Program

The cover of the report features an image of two students cheersing with apples in a school lunch room.

How Michigan Shaped the Field: The National Impact of Michigan’s 10 Cents A Meal Program

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May 6, 2026 - Cassandra Bull, Colleen Matts<matts@msu.edu>, May Tsupros<tsupros1@msu.edu>

Arising from an agenda priority in the 2010 Michigan Good Food Charter, 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids and Farms (10 Cents a Meal) launched as a regional pilot in 2016. It was one of the first state-funded local food purchasing incentive (LFPI) programs to be adopted across the country. The grant program reimburses 50% of the cost of fresh or minimally processed Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and dry beans used in meals and educational activities for children in sites, such as schools, childcare sites, other non-school sponsors, that participate in USDA Child Nutrition programs. After nine years of programmatic evolution and growth, 10 Cents a Meal was not included in the State of Michigan budget in October 2025.

To understand the impact of this program, the National Farm to School Network and Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems partnered to launch a national survey in November 2025 for advocates and practitioners to share how the program had impacted farm to school-related work and policies in their states. This survey collected responses from individuals in 16 states who represented state agencies, school nutrition departments, and both national and advocacy organizations. These survey responses provided insights into how 10 Cents a Meal affected LFPI development and policy approaches across the country.

Through this new brief, How Michigan Shaped the Field: the National Impact of Michigan’s 10 Cents a Meal Program, readers can explore these insights as organized into key themes:

Design Inspiration
Advocacy
Evaluation
Program Implementation
Early Childhood Education

Suggested Citation

Bull, C., Matts, C., & Tsupros, M. (2026). How Michigan Shaped the Field: The National Impact of Michigan's 10 Cents a Meal Program. Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems and National Farm to School Network. https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/the-national-impact-of-michigans-10-cents-a-meal-program

This work was conducted through funding support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

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Center for Regional Food Systems 10 Cents a Meal