Center for Good Food Purchasing

05/14/2026

The Good Food for Michigan Project will help ensure more fresh, Michigan food gets to seniors in the Upper Peninsula!

Thank you Chippewa-Luce-Mackinac Community Action Agency for joining our Good Food mission to connect Michigan institutions with Michigan food.

Read about our new program: https://goodfoodpurchasing.org/clmcaa-upper-peninsula-mi-award/

Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development - MDARD
Center for Good Food Purchasing
MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

05/14/2026

Sign up for the Good Food for Michigan Newsletter!

https://goodfoodpurchasing.org/good-food-for-michigan/ -mi)

You can learn about our efforts to get Michigan grown food into Michigan institutions. Center for Good Food Purchasing Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development - MDARD MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

05/14/2026

Students can be healthier and more ready to learn with bellies full of fresh Michigan food!
Thank you Bendle Public Schools for being among the first recipients of a new grant program focused on getting more locally grown food to schools, hospitals and other institutions that feed thousands of Michiganders through the Good Food for Michigan Project.

Learn more: https://goodfoodpurchasing.org/bendle-public-schools-mi/
Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development - MDARD
Center for Good Food Purchasing
MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

05/13/2026

🍊 The Center for Good Food Purchasing and Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) are collaborating on an upcoming free online webinar series all about good food! CA institutions and food producers are invited to join us on 5/26 during our first webinar in the series to explore how to get more local fruits and vegetables in institutions when kitchens are set up for pre-processed produce.

🗓️ Tuesday, May 26, 2-3 PST
📝 Register at bit.ly/GFCA-Spring26Webinar

🥬 Are you a food service director who wants to source local lettuce, but don’t know how to get it chopped?

👩‍🌾 Are you a farmer who wants to sell to schools, but the district is asking for pre-processed tomatoes instead of fresh?

💡 Hear from Dré Maher from Nevada City School of the Arts, Michael Jochner from Morgan Hill USD, and Barbara Jellison from West Contra Costa USD about their unique approaches to solving these challenges: bit.ly/GFCA-Spring26Webinar

04/15/2026

Get to know Michigan Impact Manager Melanie Tran and learn more about the Good Food for Michigan Project by checking out her Q&A with May Tsupros of MSU Center for Regional Food Systems!

To stay in the know, follow Good Food for Michigan Project and sign up for the project mailing list via our website ➡️ https://goodfoodpurchasing.org/good-food-for-michigan/ -mi

Meet Melanie Tran, Michigan Impact Manager at the Center for Good Food Purchasing and learn more about the Good Food for Michigan Project.

Focused on expanding local, values‑based food procurement by Michigan institutions, the project strengthens community health, supports local farmers, and advances the Michigan Good Food Charter. In March 2026, May Tsupros of CRFS connected with Melanie to discuss the work ahead and their continued collaboration across Michigan’s food system.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/q-a-with-the-center-for-good-food-purchasing

04/07/2026

📢 GOOD FOOD OPERATORS LEARNING SESSION: THURS. 4/16, 1PM PDT

Good Food Operators are invited to join the Center for a free online learning session on Thursday, April 16, to chat and workshop about storytelling. We’re looking forward to digging into the stories you want to share with the world, what’s working for you (and what’s not), and how we can spark interest and drive engagement together.

🍊 For more info and to sign up, please contact Jon Polley, Senior Program Manager.

04/07/2026

Welcome to the Center, Tiana Josephine Zuniga! 🎉

Tiana has joined the Center as Operations Assistant, providing essential administrative support to our core mission team and staff and enabling smooth day-to-day functioning of the organization. Please join us in giving Tiana a warm welcome!

03/06/2026

The Fresno Unified Nutrition Services Team recently welcomed the Center for Good Food Purchasing and local partners to celebrate their Good Food Leader: Silver status achievement. The event featured a tour of Fresno’s nutrition center facility and an opportunity to try new school menu items served to Fresno USD students. In addition, the offices of State Senators Anna M. Caballero and Shannon Grove presented certificates of recognition to the Fresno USD Nutrition Services Team on behalf of the State of California Senate.

Fresno USD’s Good Food Leader: Silver status recognizes the district’s investment of $3.9 million in food sources within 50 miles of Fresno in support of local vendors and farmers providing high quality and nutritious food, as well as $1.7 million spent with suppliers or distributors with a union contract, representing a nearly 5% increase from the district’s previous program assessment. The district also continued to meet the program’s nutrition target, based on efforts including making fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and whole or minimally processed foods available; implementing community health and nutrition education programming for students and staff; and working with vendors to offer reduced sugar versions of products. Fresno USD's purchasing efforts were supported by state funding from California Department of Education’s School Food Best Practice Fund and Kitchen Infrastructure and Training (KIT) Grant and California Department of Food & Agriculture’s CA Farm to School Incubator Grant Program, and federal funding from USDA’s Local Food for Schools.

Read more ➡️ goodfoodpurchasing.org/fresnousd-silver-celebration
Photo credit: Fresno Unified School District

03/04/2026

Welcome to the Center, Melanie Tran! 🎉

Melanie has joined our team as primary liaison with Michigan institutions implementing good food purchasing strategies through our new Good Food for Michigan collaborative project. As Michigan Institutional Impact Manager, Melanie provides project management for this statewide initiative to facilitate collective action and program implementation across institutions, as well as to build and support a productive changemaking ecosystem.

To check out the Good Food for Michigan project and join the Good Food for Michigan mailing list, see goodfoodpurchasing.org/good-food-for-michigan

03/02/2026

Congratulations to Fresno Unified School District Nutrition Services for outstanding achievement as a Good Food Leader: Silver institution!

03/02/2026

Welcome to the Center, Christina Conell! 🎉

Christina has joined the Center as Chief Program Officer, a key member of our senior leadership team who guides our programmatic vision, oversees the development and ex*****on of our core work, and ensures that the Center’s programs remain high-impact, responsive to partners, and aligned with our organizational values and equity commitments. Please join us in giving Christina a warm welcome!