10 Cents a Meal Program: Legislative Advocacy
Hosted by: Amanda Brezzell, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities & Ten Cents A Meal Network
Call to Action/Opportunity
Educate members of the legislature about 10 Cents a Meal and its impact, and secure the newly adapted boilerplate language into the state budget.
Strategy Organizing Session
Nutrition, Health, and Food
Legislative
Statewide (Michigan)
Roundtable OutcomesÂ
As a result of participating in this roundtable participants will:
Have a better understanding of yearly advocacy for programs that aren't permanent line items.
Know how to develop a strategic advocacy effort around a particular topic. For example, branding, storytelling, how to schedule legislative meetings, policy cycle timelines etc.
Make connections to others who support the topic and want to stay involved.
The Challenge
The 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan's Kids and Farms Program has been growing as a funded program since 2016. The program has endured changes over the years, and continues to grow to meet accessibility needs, supply chain demands, and more. The program, however, is not a permanent line item in the Michigan state budget. This means that, beyond educating those most impacted by the program about its benefit and implementation, there is a level of political advocacy that must take place every single budget cycle. This is done in order to ensure adequate funding and build capacity for the program within the state budget. This budget season, the program could see a dramatic decrease in available funding, due to the budget recommendations put forth to the Michigan Legislature by Governor Whitmer in February. The challenge this season will be to educate legislators and advocate for the program in order to restore adequate funding and establish necessary programmatic changes.
The Impact
This will impact our ability to streamline farm to institution programs that support our communities. 10 Cents a Meal has been around long enough to have a long, data-supported history of impacting the way nutrient dense food is provided for our children. From growing food, to processing, transporting, and serving it, the program has provided space to analyze what it really takes to sustain a local food system. This program also acts as a compliment to the Universal School Meals program, and other state-funded programs that feed our kids. If this issue is not addressed, we could see a significant funding decrease, which will ultimately impact our youngest eaters and the work being done to strengthen the local food supply chain across the state.