Michigan State University Wins Grants to Improve Food System

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Latino families are more likely to live in areas without access to fresh, affordable foods, putting them at risk for diet-related diseases like diabetes. Food experts in Michigan are hoping that some recently acquired funds will help jump-start some solutions to food access issues in the state.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded two grants to Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems to give more Michiganders access to healthy, sustainable, affordable food.

The first grant focuses on expanding access to fresh food, advancing local food purchasing and supporting Michigan farmers. The project will build on existing work assisting schools, school districts and early childcare programs with farm-to-school initiatives, which connect students with local foods and farmers and build understanding of where their food originates. It also will expand the Hoophouses for Health program, which increases families’ access to produce and enhances local farmers’ production capacity.

The second grant focuses on bolstering the Michigan Good Food Charter, a roadmap to creating equal, sustainable and thriving economies through good food in Michigan.

The project also will build capacity among new and established food hubs – businesses or organizations that manage the aggregation, distribution and marketing of, typically, local or regional food products – to increase the supply of good food in low-income communities.

Read more about the grants here.