What are you having for dinner? Imagine trying to answer that question if you couldn't get to a grocery store all week.
That's the reality for more than 23 million Americans who live in "food deserts." According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a food desert is a low-income area where at least 33 percent of the population has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store. In urban areas low access means living more than a mile from the nearest grocery store, in rural areas its 10 miles. (Check out the USDA food desert locator map here).
Many people living in rural food deserts don't own a car nor have access to public transportation. The closest place to buy food is typically a convenient store or small shop where fresh fruits and vegetables are in short supply.
But with the right strategies, food can grow in these deserts, drastically improving quality of life. Farmers' markets are one example. More than 7,000 farmers' markets currently operate in the U.S.—more than double the number from a decade ago.
Michigan has 250 farmers' markets. However, those in poorer, rural communities often lack the facilities required to provide and sell a variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy. And area residents are often unaware that affordable healthy food is available right in their own neighborhoods.
Although the Fund primarily focuses on land conservation—over the past 15 years, we've saved 30,000 acres of farmland and natural resources in Michigan—we understand that for conservation to last, farmers and local communities need to benefit economically and socially. That's why we're helping to bring healthy food to rural communities in Michigan.
With a $400,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we are helping minority farmers with small- and mid-size farms increase crop production and get their goods to farmers' markets. We'll also be providing small grants to community groups so they can develop educational demonstrations and activities at rural farmers’ markets. These activities will aim to encourage young people and families to eat healthier and make the right food choices.
Our Midwest Director, Peg Kohring, who lives in one of the counties, was inspired to launch this project by the need in her own community—where many kids and families cannot walk to a supermarket. “In order to get more healthy options from the fields to the families in need we have to provide practical solutions to the challenges facing growers, sellers and communities. Many minority farmers in Michigan do not have the resources they need to grow more produce and improve their profitability. This project will better equip farmers and farmers’ markets to become a vibrant part of the local infrastructure and ultimately provide a robust selection of healthy food options.”
The Fund will use the Kellogg grant money to assist rural farmers, markets and communities in Allegan, Berrien, Monroe, Bay, Lenawee, Van Buren, Cass, Oceana, Kalamazoo, Muskegon and Washtenaw Counties.
How were these counties chosen? Our Midwest team set out to create a set of maps to determine which counties had the greatest need. These maps illustrate the variables that determine greatest need, such as the locations of food deseerts and minorty-owned farms. Together, they provide the information needed to determine the best places to disperse grant money. Click on the maps below for more information:
Access To Healthy Foods By County
Minority Farms By County In Michigan
Farmers Markets And Priority Counties For Grant Money In Michigan
By ANN RICHARDS
November 04, 2008
Since 2001, the Mott Foundation has granted $7.5 million to capitalize the Great Lakes Revolving Loan Fund. Created by The Conservation Fund to provide short-term financing for the protection of ecologically significant freshwater sites in the U.S. portion of the Great Lakes basin, the revolving loan fund has made almost $21.5 million in loans to date. These 18 loans have helped to protect more than 20,500 acres valued at more than $62.3 million. Under the provisions of the revolving loan fund, short-term loans are made to public agencies and nonprofit land trusts. Funds are available for two primary types of transactions: direct loans to land trusts or advance purchase of land on behalf of public agencies or nonprofits. Over the past few months, the revolving loan fund has helped three local conservancies in Ohio and Michigan protect more than 150 acres of property and retain public access to these sites in perpetuity.
“We’ve put $3 million into three great projects,” said Michael Kelly, who has managed the fund since its inception. Because the average wait for public funds or private fundraising campaigns takes 18 to 24 months, the bridge funding provided by the loan fund can make a tremendous difference, he continued. Prior to heading up the revolving loan fund, Kelly worked for The Conservation Fund administering the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network and other regional programs.
Kelly is supported by a team of environmental, legal and financial specialists located at The Conservation Fund’s main office in Arlington, Virginia. All loans ultimately must be approved by the Fund’s board of directors. “The Great Lakes Revolving Loan Fund is one of our first geographically dedicated funds,” Kelly said. “It was specially designed to provide loans to land trusts, and the model can be replicated elsewhere in the country where funding is made available.”
Recently, Kelly spoke with Mott Foundation Communications Officer/New Media Ann Richards from his office in Bay City, Michigan, about how the fund works and why it is such an important tool to conservancies throughout the Great Lakes states.
Kelly: The landscape around the Great Lakes is changing at a dramatic pace. From development that threatens critical habitats along the Great Lakes shorelines, to wholesale divestiture of forest land by major timber companies -- not to mention land use activities that threaten important headwater streams -- the region faces threats to the ecosystem that are unparallel in recent history. Fortunately, there exists a broad regional network of land conservation organizations that are working to protect these special places. The missing piece -- the critical piece of the conservation puzzle -- is funding. How do organizations raise short-term funds to acquire these properties? That is where the loan fund plays an important and unique role.
Mott: How does the fund work? How much time do you spend investigating the request? Is there a limit to the amount of money the fund can lend and how quickly must participating conservancies repay the loan?
Kelly: The fund works much like a bank. That is, in its simplest form, an organization makes application to the fund and we deliver the financing for a qualifying project. Typically, the process begins with a conversation with me or a representative of our national loan team. From that initial conversation, we can usually determine if a project will qualify; the property must be located in the Great Lakes basin and loan funds must be used to protect high quality natural habitats. From there, a relatively simple application is submitted, along with a variety of supporting material, organizational background, appraisals and so on. This packet of material moves on to our loan committee for a final decision. We can typically do most projects in about 30 days. Sometimes less, if it is particularly urgent...and some are.
We can generally lend up to $2 million and conservancies are given up to two years to repay the loan. We typically make loans at 70 percent of the prime rate.
Mott: Can you provide some examples of large and small loan investments and their outcomes?
Kelly: A good example of a small loan was one that we did along Michigan’s Saginaw Bay with a great partner -- the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy. A $40,000 loan was used to acquire some important coastal wetlands along with some upland areas. Those uplands were under threat of development and there was some concern that development there would adversely affect the wetland areas. The conservancy was able to negotiate a purchase, but it had to be done quickly. That was when they came to us.
A good example of a large loan was a recent project with the Leelanau Conservancy in Michigan. A property at the very tip of the Leelanau Peninsula became available, but had to be acquired quickly. A $2 million loan to the conservancy made that project happen. The acquisition of land will result in a significant addition to the Leelanau State Park.
Mott: Is there a land acquisition or conservation easement deal that has been particularly exciting or complicated, or has there been property of extreme environmental value saved?
Kelly: A couple...one that comes to mind is the acquisition of North Bass Island in Ohio. Situated in Lake Erie, North Bass had been used as a vineyard for a number of wine companies since the 1800s. After many years of consolidation, the new owners of the island decided that they were in the business of making wine, not growing grapes -- it was more efficient for them to buy grapes on the open market from other states -- and they decided that North Bass was not a piece of real estate that they needed. The State of Ohio was interested in acquiring the 400-acre island as an addition to their Lake Erie Islands State Park system, but they didn't have the funding available. The owners wanted to move quickly, and another buyer had designs on developing the island. The state came to us and we used the Great Lakes Revolving Loan Fund to acquire the island, hold it for a year, and then transfer it to the State of Ohio when funding became available.
We worked on another exciting project with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. We made a loan to them to acquire a magnificent piece of property along Lake Erie from a power company that was divesting its land holdings. It was a highly desirable property for home development. But, using the loan fund, the Conservancy was able to acquire the property and later transfer it to the Pennsylvania State Park system. It now is Pennsylvania’s newest state park -- Lake Erie Bluffs State Park.
Mott: In general, are these deals difficult to negotiate? How much time is spent negotiating?
Kelly: We have a saying at The Conservation Fund -- "every deal is like a snowflake." It just means that every deal is different. But overall, the negotiating process does take some time. Helping land owners structure the deal is a critical part of all of the acquisitions. There often are tax considerations, estate planning issues and other financial decisions that need resolution. Because we work within the marketplace, we deal with land conservancies that sometimes are in competition with private buyers. Thankfully, we have an excellent team of professionals that can usually develop a win-win situation for us, our partner and the seller. As part of the revolving loan fund package, we also provide whatever support we can to our land conservancy partner to help them get their deals done -- and to build their long term capacity to do more deals.
Mott: What has been the most surprising or gratifying experience for you as the loan fund administrator?
Kelly: We've worked with our partners to protect -- in perpetuity -- some spectacular and one-of-a-kind properties. But, as loan administrators, we often work in the background on many of these deals. Nevertheless, it is extremely gratifying to see our partners pull together both simple and complex deals that result in some extraordinary conservation. It’s a good feeling to know we've helped them conserve property and at the same time, build their own capacity for future work. Anytime that we can strengthen the land conservation movement in the USA while at the same time protect and conserve important lands, we feel extremely proud.
This article originally was published by the C.S. Mott Foundation on www.mott.org.
The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network is a collaborative effort of communities, conservationists, foundations and businesses that work to enhance the natural resources of the Saginaw Bay Watershed and create a more sustainable future for all its inhabitants. The Fund administers WIN, which, since 1998, has provided more than $4 million to nearly 200 projects across the Saginaw Bay region.
Covering 22 counties, Michigan's Saginaw Bay Watershed feeds America's largest contiguous freshwater coastal wetland system with more than 175 inland lakes and 7,000 miles of rivers. It is also home to 138 endangered or threatened species.
With help from the Fund, Saginaw Bay WIN identifies issues, sets priorities and develops projects designed to steward natural resources, strengthen local economies and nurture agriculture and nature-based tourism in the region.
Funding is provided for projects that create opportunities to connect people, resources, organizations and programs. Priority is given to projects that are innovative, cross governmental boundaries and attempt to balance the environment, economy and the community. WIN grants have been matched by more than $6 million.
Ten area foundations and corporations work together as a network to support WIN projects: Bay Area Community Foundation, Consumers Energy Foundation, Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation, Midland Area Community Foundation, Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, Saginaw Community Foundation, The Dow Chemical Company Foundation, The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, S.C. Johnson Fund and the Cook Family Foundation. These foundations and corporations contribute $300,000 per year to support WIN investments.
Blanding’s Turtle Conservation and Stewardship Program
West Branch Community Supported Stormwater Mitigation Project
Edenville River Trails and Tittabawassee River Landing
Fish Passage and Wetlands Restoration in the Shiawassee Flats
Flint River Land Conservation and Landowner Connection Program
Shiawassee River Canoe and Kayak Improvements
For a relatively small city, Ann Arbor, MI, is a happening place—urbane and collegiate, but also earthy and unpretentious. Downtown denizens can drop into any number of bookstores or listen to live music at one of the city’s annual festivals. Along the Huron River, University of Michigan students unwind between classes, while others jog and throw Frisbees.
You need a farm infrastructure to run a viable business, and as farms disappear, the market for farm equipment dealers and suppliers shrinks. Farmers here fear falling below a critical threshold that’s needed to keep that infrastructure in place.
The Fund is working with the city of Ann Arbor to assist in implementing a unique and vital greenbelt program. We will continue to work with our partners, including The McKnight Foundation, to provide project management support, stewardship planning and outreach with local landowners.
In recent years Ann Arbor has slowly become a victim of its own success. Suburban sprawl has threatened much of the rural heritage that gives southern Michigan its charm, while also jeopardizing the city’s distinct downtown character.
In response, the Fund is helping to implement the Ann Arbor Greenbelt Initiative, a far-reaching project designed to protect and link city parks, natural areas and working farms throughout the city, while curbing the growth and effects of sprawl.
Over the next three decades, the initiative is expected to raise $80 million through taxes and state and federal incentive programs, which will be used to purchase land and development rights both within and outside the city limits. To date, the Ann Arbor Greenbelt Initiative has received more than $1.7 million in federal matching funds from the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program to purchase the development rights from five working farms.
The initiative has spawned other conservation efforts as well. In addition to the city of Ann Arbor, four out of the eight townships within the Greenbelt District have voted to protect farmland and open space inside their borders, thus allowing the jurisdictions to leverage their investment in the initiative for even greater returns, both economic and environmental.
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