New Farm Tokens for Education Program Launched

The new nonprofit, Farming for our Future, is launching a creative program that will fundraise for area schools, while at the same time support healthy eating and our local economy. Beginning April 7, the brand new, locally-created Farm Tokens for Education program will be piloted in seven Petoskey and Harbor Springs schools.

Similar to the Boxtops for Education program which offers 10 cents for every box top returned to the school, here is how this program works: Each time a child or family from a participating school visits a participating business and purchases a locally raised or produced food item, the business will give you a wooden token. Those tokens are collected and turned into the schools, each of which has a local coordinator.

Throughout the school year, the tokens will be collected from the school and tallied by Farming for our Future. Farming for our Future will then invoice the farmers for the exact amount of tokens returned and the farmer or store will write a check to the participating school.

"This program was created to generate awareness of the food choices we make every day," said Toril Fisher, Executive Director for Farming for our Future. "Most people understand how important it is to support our local businesses. We are taking that notion a couple steps further by focusing on businesses who sell healthy, locally grown and made products. In addition, we are encouraging an investment in the health of our children. The added benefit seen through the funds raised for the schools is just icing on the cake."

The round, wooden tokens were made possible with a grant from a local family foundation and will be available beginning April 7 at the following businesses: Pond Hill Farms and Cornichons in Harbor Springs and Julienne Tomatoes, The Grain Train, Blackbird Gardens, and Bill's Farm Market (open May 1) in the Petoskey region. One token will be given each time a local product is included in your total sales per visit.

Participating pilot schools include Blackbird Elementary, Shay Elementary, Harbor Springs Middle School, Petoskey Middle School, Central Elementary School, Concord Academy, and St. Francis Xavier School. The program will expand to additional schools in the near future and will continue during the summer. Tokens will be available from participating vendors who attend the Harbor Springs and Petoskey farm markets.

"We know it will take a little while for the token idea to get rolling, but there are endless opportunities for this program to expand," Fisher said. Fisher also noted that she has shared the concept with other school systems who are already interested in modeling it for themselves. In fact, later this spring, Fisher will be a guest speaker at the Jane Goodall Institute in Chicago to share the program concept. A small family foundation and local donations have made Farm Tokens for Education possible this region.

Mike Everts, owner of the Petoskey-based Blackbird Gardens, had two primary reasons for becoming a supporting business for the Farm Tokens for Education program. "In many ways, the industrial food system has failed us," Everts said. "The more people who can start to understand the many connections made when we eat locally produced foods, the better." Everts also noted how he likes the healthy aspect of this program as a fundraiser. "Many times, the fundraising projects that a school undertakes feature foods that are not health giving and that are part of the problem. I like how this program will be an education tool that encourages our children to eat better," Everts said.

For more information about the Farm Tokens for Education program, please contact Toril Fisher at 231.330.1614. For more information about Farming for our Future, please visit www.farmingforourfuture.org.

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