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We are entering the holiday season and everything that comes with it- traditions, family gatherings, special worship services, and the biggest season of giving of the year.  Recently our Good Food Team partnered with the Congregation Connections Team to host a Lunch ‘n Learn, focusing in on Understanding Food Access and what that looks like this time of year in particular. Historically our charitable food system has perpetuated many inequities in black and brown communities through programs, acts of “kindness”, and holiday giving (for example, food and toy drives). The intent has been good, but these activities detract from opportunities […]

JUNETEENTH EVENTS, RESOURCES, AND CELEBRATIONS  This week we are celebrating Juneteenth, and Access will be taking a day off to commemorate this important historical day and holiday.  “Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation â€“ which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to […]

We interviewed our Harvester and Grower sponsors to learn more about who they are and why they believe investing in a good food system is important. Thank you to all our sponsors of the Walk for Good Food for their investment in a good food system for all! Please describe your company/organization’s mission and role in our community.  SpartanNash is a Fortune 400 grocery retailer and distributor. We own and operate D&W Fresh Market, Forest Hills Foods, Family Fare and Ada Fresh Market supermarkets in West Michigan. Our vision is to have a best-in-class business that feels local, where relationships matter.   We […]

We interviewed our Harvester and Grower sponsors to learn more about who they are and why the believe investing in a good food system is important. Thank you to all our sponsors of the Walk for Good Food for their investment in a good food system for all! Please describe your company/organization’s mission and role in our community. For more than a century, Egan has had a hand in constructing some of the most well-known buildings in West Michigan, such as the Amway Grand Plaza, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, JW Marriott and DeVos Convention Center. You can find our crews […]

Honoring Black History Series: As a part of our commitment to honor black history, Access team members will be sharing about businesses, books, literature, stories, podcasts, films, songs, or pieces of art created by black authors, leaders, entrepreneurs, and artists that have impacted us. Christina Swiney, Co-Executive Director shares reflections on The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration written by Isabel Wilkerson.   The Warmth of Other Suns is a spectacularly written narrative of individuals and families who traveled west and north to escape the Jim Crow south, and found a more nuanced, big brother “James Crow” […]