Recipient Organization
SAGINAW COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC
1 TUSCOLA ST STE 100
SAGINAW,MI 48607
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
This project will help launch the Saginaw Food Club. Serving an area of very high need in mid-Michigan, this food club is a new project that will mimic a grocery store, but operate on a nonprofit membership model. The food club will allow for greater affordability and accessibility of nutritious food, in an area which had previously been a food desert. It will also serve as a place where extra local produce can be distributed to the public, and therefore where the community will have more healthy options. It will also feature a commercial-grade community kitchen, where nutrition and culinary education programming will take place to expand the healthy food options people consume. It will also help incubate local food businesses.The project will collect important individual and family-level data about nutrition consumption and how to promote healthy choices, while also providing greater insight into the regional food supply chain. It will bring together partners from across a number of segments of the local food economy, including producers, nonprofits, health organizations, and educational institutions. This project will improve regional food access, particularly for the most vulnerable (including youth and seniors), while also building momentum for broader plans around system change for food security.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The major goals of this project include improving regional healthy food access, particularly for the most vulnerable (including the young and seniors) and promoting a stronger regional food system by bringing together a cross-sectoral food team (including nonprofits, educational institutions, health providers, local business, growers and distributors) to launch a concrete project and promote further synergy.Measurable objectives include:Provide individuals in food deserts and those who are of low-income improved access to high quality and fresh healthy foods (regional food access).Provide nutrition and culinary education to expand the food options people consume (regional food access).Expand food-related economic opportunities, particularly for diverse entrepreneurs, workers and community organizations by enhancing existing programs and increasing synergy through the successful launch of the Saginaw Food Club (stronger regional food system).Build and begin implementing broader plans that bring further system change for food security and quality combining successful models, expert technical assistance, and local knowledge to bring sustainable system change through ongoing engagement during the grant period (stronger regional food system).
Project Methods
This project will further strong multi-sector collaboration and include authentic community engagement to foster a strong regional food system. This project will be a catalyst for system improvement in the City of Saginaw and inspire efforts across the 14-county region. This covers a broad landscape from growers on one end to food as medicine on the other. This project will also provide a central location for community food efforts, which will broaden and strengthen collaboration across Saginaw's food sector. It could also stimulate additional redevelopment adjacent to the project, such as affordable housing.While Saginaw has critical gaps throughout its local food system, it also has considerable assets-including the strong team of collaborators bringing this project to life. In August 2021, the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance (MiHIA)-a core partner in this project-received a grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to promote food system improvement in Saginaw County and the adjacent Bay County. This will "...involve strategy efforts including regional food-related production, distribution, processing, consumption and use processes and related policies and taking the steps to create a thriving, equitable and sustainable food economy."This project is a core component of the broader regional efforts, and it serves the expressed needs of the City's residents. For example, the Saginaw County Community Health Assessment 2020-2023 brought together nine key agencies, plus a community advisory board which led broad engagement efforts and prioritized the voice of vulnerable and marginalized populations.Community members gathered and reviewed available regional food needs assessments, related metrics, connected with emergency food services and projects addressing food insecurity, interviewed individuals in various components of the local food system supply chain and identified ongoing work in urban agriculture, community gardens, and food entrepreneurial activity. The associated partners have engaged in years of dialogue, resource mapping and brainstorming with local neighborhood associations and individual residents. They distributed surveys, collected feedback and gauged interest in the concept. Staff at Great Lakes Bay Health Centers have asked patients about their needs and garnered feedback. There has been a strong level of interest and buy-in. Community members are enthusiastic about the need for the concept, and how it will provide food security across the service area.This project will create a community food club where those who need food assistance will have the ability to access healthy foods they choose at a price they can afford. This will immediately address acute food insecurity and provide the opportunity for food as medicine approaches which will reduce risk factors and poor health among the population, especially those most vulnerable.Those using the community food club will increase the amount of fruits and vegetables they eat. Much of the produce distributed through the food club will be based on seasonal offerings from local producers, which will promote healthy eating and reduce food waste. During Michigan's agricultural down periods, the food club will offer any rescued food from stores or restaurants they cannot sell.The food club model will include ongoing surveys of members. These surveys will be completed at the time of registering as a new member and every six months following registration. The food club would be defined as successful when residents in Saginaw report eating healthier choices, see an improvement in their overall health outcomes, and when the need for emergency food assistance reduces.The food club model is being replicated from a food club that has been up and running for several years in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. They have seen strong positive outcomes in the data they have collected so far. In terms of healthy eating, fruits and vegetables make up 50% of the items members select-this is about three times the proportion of produce distributed through conventional grocery stores. In terms of consistent meals, after six months of being involved, 33% of members say they skip meals less frequently, and 32% say that they have not needed to use an emergency food resource. In terms of household stability, 23% of members say they are better able to meet basic needs-such as housing, healthcare, and childcare-since joining that food club.The evaluation results will be used to determine the improving health of area residents along with the locations that the members are coming from. Evaluation results would also be used to look at gaps in the service model. Beyond the scope of the grant, it is anticipated that there may be a need to then take the food club model mobile to reach the rural portions of Saginaw County, along with surrounding counties of Bay, Midland, and Tuscola.Evaluation will also look at how this project has advanced the broader efforts to promote a community food system. This project has robust information gathering and learning opportunities involved, and will collect data on both health and well-being impact as well as community economic benefit. It is anticipated that the project will indicate improved health outcomes based upon strengthening and improving the regional food system and also improved community beneficial economic impact such as increased regional revenue, increased food sector jobs, new entrepreneurial advancement in food sector jobs and similar impact.There is currently limited baseline information available, but MiHIA has received separate support to complete a comprehensive assessment and characterization of the regional food supply chain and ecosystem. This will provide more clarity on the market size of each segment of the regional food supply chain and the jobs profile. Understanding the regional economic value in these areas is a powerful lever in advancing access and quality of food to achieve health and well-being outcomes concurrently.The food club project will assess: what percentage of products at the food club come from regional growers, producers and processors; what percentage of regional residents have easy access to affordable, fresh, healthy food; what percentage of regional residents have easy access to food from regional sources.In terms of the broader regional food picture, the partners will collect information related to: Distribution: the number of growers and distributors contributing to the project; demand/consumption: the individual demand/consumption in the project area and the needs that are currently going unmet; economic analysis: A look at the food supply chain and what is produced locally and how it flows.