this week’s
top ten A half-million school kids across state eating local this semester
It was only about a decade ago that northern Michigan’s Diane Conners began nurturing a seed of an idea — to bring fruits and veggies from local farms to local schools — but oh, what a decade can do. One coffee break (with Don Coe, Black Star Farms’ managing partner who sat on the state’s agriculture commission), several extra-long BATA bus rides (with early funding champion and Cherry Republic founder Bob Sutherland), and many large leaps up the legislative ladder, and the now formalized 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids and Farm Program has hit its best-funded year yet. Last week, the Michigan Department of Education announced the 229 recipients of the initial round of grants that would get part of the $5 million in School Aid funding set aside for the program for this school year (more than double last school year’s $2 million). In this first round of grants alone, the program will serve a total enrollment of nearly 554,000 children in K-12 schools, early childhood education, and after-school settings across the state, more than half of whom are eligible for free or reduced lunch. The $5-million funding is a testament to the central strategic value of 10 Cents a Meal, says Diane Conners, senior policy specialist at Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities. “Healthy, locally grown foods help build the minds and bodies of our children,” she says, “while the purchases support family farms and help to build the infrastructure of our local food supply.” What’s more, it works: According to the 2020-2021 10 Cents a Meal Evaluation Results from the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, nearly 64 percent of all grantees (91 of 143) have reported that 10 Cents grants allowed them to try new products in their food service program that they would not have otherwise tried.
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tastemaker Pour’s Sweet Potato Salad
Prep your palettes, cold-weather comrades! Autumn is officially on the menu at Petoskey’s Pour Kitchen & Bar, and we can’t wait to take a taste. Launched in August 2016 and helmed by general manager and sommelier Todd Chinnock, in partnership with executive chef Colin Campbell, Pour’s seasonally rotating menus often combine comfort food and classic technique with a distinctive Eastern Asian twist. “There are a lot of exciting flavors and complexity that I really enjoy,” says Campbell. And while Pour’s autumn offerings are no exception, there’s one addition in particular that already has this duo drooling. Enter the Sweet Potato Salad. A surefire favorite for vegan diners, this sultry starter features a base of caramelly-perfect sweet potatoes. Cooked three times and tossed in savory miso-barbeque, these taters are topped with a sweet autumn salad of julienned carrot, mint, cilantro, and organic pea shoots. Dressed with house coconut vinaigrette and finished with peanuts, spikes of lime, and a kick of chili oil, this sassy salad is a seasonal must. Find it at Pour Kitchen & Bar, 422 E Mitchell St., Petoskey. (231) 881-9800, pourpetoskey.com
4 • october 04, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly
Drop it Like it’s Hot: Frankfort Fall Fest Oct. 9 Check out the crazy Pumpkin Drop during the Frankfort Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 9. Running from 11am to 5pm at the city’s Open Space Park, the festival packs an entire season of fun into a single day. Enjoy the Fall Festival Parade (featuring the famous Scottville Clown Band), enormous car-sized (and car-crushing) pumpkins, locally built floats, the Mutt March costumed pet parade, family games, a corn maze, a craft fair, pumpkin decorating, and much more. Search Frankfort Fall Festival on Facebook.
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Hey, watch it The Big Leap
A network show worth tuning in for, Fox’s The Big Leap is totally on pointe. This scripted dramedy about the behind-the-scenes making of a reality dance show, is not only a clever meta concept but full of heart. From the cynical producers and celeb hosts to the aspiring dancers, the characters all have dreams, they all have a story, and they come together to create a show filled with funny and sweet feel-good moments — not to mention the wonderful dance numbers. Starring TV veterans Scott Foley, Piper Perabo, and a talented cast of newcomers, this uplifting underdog tale set in Detroit is like fun mashup of Glee (before it was terrible), American Idol, and So You Think You Can Dance? Airing Mondays on Fox; streaming on Hulu.
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