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Dear readers: This upcoming event may be of interest to you. WHAT: Farm-to-School pre-bid informational meeting in Manistee WHEN: July 18, 2008 at 3:30 pm WHERE: Manistee High School Conference Room, 525 12th St., Manistee, MI Farmers and vendors are invited to attend a farm to school pre-bid meeting in Manistee. This farm to school project is a collaborative effort of the school food service directors of Manistee Area Public Schools and Kaleva Norman Dickson/Bear Lake Schools in Manistee County. These school food service directors are primarily interested in purchasing apples, apple slices, and potatoes for their school meals programs next school year, but they are open to learning more about the availability of other fruits and vegetables available from growers and vendors in northwest lower Michigan. All interested farmers and vendors are invited to attend this informational pre-bid meeting or contact the food service directors directly to learn more about this exciting market opportunity! Please see the letter copied below for more details and contact information. As the letter notes, this meeting is for informational and planning purposes ONLY. An official bid notice will be released later in the summer, prior to the start of school. All school districts are interested in fresh fruits and vegetables to serve as part of the National School Lunch Program beginning with the 2008/2009 school year. We will release an official notice for price quotes in August, for purchases beginning in September. This pre-bid meeting is for informational and planning purposes only. We are primarily interested in procuring apples, apple slices, and potatoes. Please visit http://www.michiganorganic.msu.edu/Portals/organic/FarmToSchoolPreBidPricing .doc for a sample product availability and pricing form, and note that varieties, sizes, and pack of products listed here are potentially flexible until we award contracts, depending upon available products and the food service directors’ needs. Also, please make us aware of any additional products you would like us to consider, along with their specifications, pricing, and availability. All districts reserve the right to award multiple contracts to multiple vendors, and do not guarantee any specific ordering volumes but we will be happy to discuss our anticipated use. Additionally, successful vendors may be asked to host school field trips and/or visit schools within the districts and present their products to students and staff as an educational tool and hands-on method for introducing local produce within the school or cafeteria. If you are interested in partnering with these school districts, please attend the meeting on July 18th. If you have additional questions, please contact Kathy Gutowski, Director of Nutrition Services, Manistee Area Public Schools at 231-398-3695 or [log in to unmask], or Jenice Momber, Food Service Director, Kaleva Norman Dickson/Bear Lake Schools at (231) 477-5353 ext 304 or [log in to unmask] Hope this was of interest to you! - Vicki Morrone and Kate Leitch If you would like to access previous postings to the Mich-Organic listserv you can copy and paste the following URL into your browser address bar http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich-organic.html