Food Security: Access To Fresh and Healthy Foods

THE MICHIGAN EXAMPLE Michigan Food Policy Council Report of Recommendations

The Michigan Food Policy Council, created by Governor Granholm in June of 2005 to bring diverse food-related stakeholders together to develop integrated policy recommendations through the monetary support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, has released its report of recommendations to the Governor. Read the full Michigan Food Policy Council Report here. A brief summary of recommendations found in the report follows.

Accessing Fresh and Healthy Foods

While the majority of Michigan residents do not worry about where their next meal is coming from, approximately 1.1 million people experience food insecurity to some degree. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines “food security” as access by all members of a household at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life, including the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods and an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways. It is important to note that food insecurity is not necessarily the same as hunger. Research has shown that food insecurity is directly linked to increased incidence of illness and disease.

There are many programs in Michigan that, at the very least, temporarily alleviate the pressures of food insecurity including the services of the state-level emergency food provider network and federal programs such as the Food Stamp Program5 ; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infacts and Children (WIC); Project FRESH and Senior Project FRESH; and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). While the council does not want to see an increased need for these programs, the effectiveness of these programs and others can be improved to ensure more Michiganians have access to fresh and healthy foods at all times. To that end the council considered recommendations covering direct market opportunities in underserved areas; community, school and urban gardens; the federal Food Stamp Program and SFSP; nutrition education; and emergency food needs.

Direct markets, which include farmers’ markets, roadside stands, mobile markets, cooperative

buying programs and others, are opportunities for underserved, food desert communities to

increase access to fresh and healthy foods locally. Increasing direct market locations in

underserved neighborhoods and communities can provide economic, social, and health benefits to residents, and a relatively untapped market opportunity for farmers.

Many programs, such as the Food Assistance Program (FAP), Project FRESH and Senior Project

FRESH, are critical links between at-risk populations and direct markets. While Project FRESH and Senior Project FRESH coupons are specifically for fresh produce purchases at direct markets, the FAP’s transition from paper food stamp coupons to the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card has inadvertently made recipients unable to redeem their benefits at most farmers’ markets as they are typically cash-only operations. The Project FRESH and Senior Project FRESH programs provide economic benefits both to recipients and to vendors as purchases totaled $477,000 and $68,000 respectively in 2004. To this end, there is much room to improve the capacity of direct markets to accept food stamps (via EBT cards) for fresh produce purchases.