#inform-video-player-1 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

#inform-video-player-2 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

The holidays have arrived, and good food is at the center of many celebrations. In northwest Lower Michigan, Groundwork connects and supports local farmers, emergency food providers, schools, community centers and other organizations who collaborate to increase the amount of healthy locally grown food available in our community year round. This work has proven that local food procurement is positive for the regional economy and does in fact succeed in increasing the amount of healthy food in the community, especially for our neighbors in need.

Several health-related problems occur in communities that experience lack of access to healthy food, including increased rates of diabetes, obesity, nutrition insecurity, stress-related problems and others. By comparison, when people who face food insecurity have increased access to healthy food in schools, community centers, food pantries, etc., studies show their health improves. It might sound obvious, but alleviating food insecurity clearly improves health and lives and is worthy of our investment.

Groundwork aims to better understand and support local farmers who wish to grow food for emergency food providers — which then enhances the farmers’ abilities to grow food for this purpose, and increases the amount of healthy food available in the community. The more demand there is for local food from all kinds of markets, the more food farmers can produce and sell and the more they can invest in their businesses. Likewise, the more capacity expands within food pantries and other providers to distribute and/or serve food, the more demand there will be. The overall result is a stronger regional food economy and an increase in the availability of healthy, local food for everyone, and in particular, for vulnerable and food insecure community members. Their rising health will itself give back to the community in so many ways.

Our emergency food provider partners in the Northwest Food Coalition have made great progress in increasing the amount of local food purchased and distributed to their members, as well as in expanding the diversity of products. These partners hope to purchase food from at least 45 local farmers through their Farm2Neighbor program by the end of 2024 — a 300% plus increase from 2018 when the program first began, and our partners worked with 14 farmers. Groundwork will be there every step of the way to facilitate those connections and support farmers, food pantries and meal sites in increasing healthy food access in our community.

Expanding local food access creates long-lasting advances in our community’s ability to provide nutritious foods for vulnerable individuals while also building the local food economy. By increasing the amount of healthy food in our community, people — particularly food insecure people — now have access to the healthy food they need to successfully manage their illnesses, contribute to better health and start a foundation of good health so they can thrive.

#inform-video-player-3 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }