Advocacy

Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) is a coalition of organizations dedicated to building strong, sustainable local and regional food systems.

Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is a non-profit, non-partisan research and public policy working to eradicate hunger and under-nutrition in the United States.

The Hunger Site is the first on-line activism site on the Web. The staple food it funds is distributed to those in need in the United States by America’s Second Harvest and worldwide by Mercy Corps.

Community Resources

Allen Neighborhood Center (ANC) serves the Eastside of Lansing.

Capital Area Community Voices (CAC) site provides information to Mid-Michigan residents about events, community news and on-line forums.

NorthWest Initiative (NWI) site has information on programs, community resources and events in Northwest Lansing.

Southside Community Coalition (SSCC) site brings information, news and events to the South Lansing community.

Food Information

Allrecipes is devoted to a community of home cooks, providing over 20,000 recipes, newsletters, step-by-step tutorials and more.

Lansing Dietetic Association (LDA) provides the community with information, tools and resources to foster healthy eating habits.

Michigan State University’s The Food Domain, A Comprehensive Resource is designed to be a comprehensive resource on food, food safety and nutrition with much Michigan-specific information.

Michigan Steps Up is a State of Michigan site that assists residents with creating a personal health plan and assessing health risks as well as providing motivation to step up to a healthier lifestyle.

Gardening

American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) is a national organization devoted to urban and rural community gardening projects.

The Cook’s Garden is Ellen Ecker Ogden’s site for “cooks who love to garden and gardeners who love to cook.”

GardenGuides Links Directory is The GardenGuides.com’s Search Engine Page.

Model Projects

Empty Bowls is a project developed by a high school art teacher in Michigan in 1990. Since then Empty Bowls events have been held throughout the world to provide support for food banks, soup kitchens and other organizations that fight hunger.

The Food Project. The mission of this organization is to produce healthy food for residents of the city and suburbs and provide youth with leadership opportunities. It has built a national model of engaging youth in social change through sustainable agriculture.

Michigan Integrated Food & Farming Systems (MIFFS) supports community-based models that demonstrate the feasibility of new sustainable food and agriculture ideas and technologies.

Organizations

Feeding America, the Nation’s food bank network (formerly America’s Second Harvest), is the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States.

Food Bank Council of Michigan (FBCM) is a statewide organization that gathers food and funds to help stock Michigan’s food banks.

Michigan Food Policy Council (MFPC) was created by Executive Order 2005-13 by Governor Jennifer Granholm to recommend programs and policies that improve Michigan’s food future.

Teacher Resources

Healthy Schools, Healthy Students provides information on the Mich. Dept of Community Health’s two on-line programs to help schools assess their healthy school environment.

JMGkids Online Junior Master Gardener (JMG) is an international youth gardening program of the University Cooperative Extension network.

KIDS Can Make a Difference (KIDS) is an educational program for middle- and high-school students on the root causes of hunger and poverty that includes a teacher guide, newsletter and website.

The kinderGARDEN page on the Texas Agricultural Extension Service’s website contains ideas for gardening with kids.

kNOhunger.org is a ready-to-use 6-unit social studies curriculum that can be used on-line or downloaded free of charge. It meets the specifications of the National Council on Social Studies and is based on the most recent research on hunger and poverty.

Volunteer Sites

Capital Area United Way Volunteer Center, one of the Volunteer Centers of Michigan, connects volunteers with opportunities to serve in non-profit organizations, schools and community events in the Mid-Michigan area.

Kids Korps USA’s mission is to teach America’s youth the spirit of giving. In partnership with Michigan State University, it has established a Kids Korps Center for Research and Leadership Education that will develop educational materials and provide community service opportunities for youth in the Lansing area.

Updated September 2008