NW Michigan Food and Farming Network Report to the Community 2015 Report to the Community | Page 52

Food and Farming network

Benzie Sunrise Rotary Club’s
Food Security Study in GT Area
Region has resources
to ensure food security

The Benzie
Sunrise
Rotary
Club’s Food
Security
study
concluded
that
although
roughly 72
percent of
individuals
visiting
area
pantries
and meal
sites in
the area
are food
insecure,
resources
exist in the
five-county
region to
create a
food secure
community.

By Kris Thomas
Benzie Sunrise Rotary Club
From June through December
2014, the Benzie Sunrise Rotary
Club of Beulah led a study in the
Grand Traverse area (Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and
Leelanau counties) to increase the
understanding of the food security
environment in the region and to
identify opportunities for increased
collaboration and support for hunger
relief organizations.
The club’s vision was to use the
study to assist the community in
the development and implementation of a Food Security Plan for
the area. The plan would provide
the foundation to increase food
security for residents and to align
the efforts being made to address
individual food security with a larger
vision of community food security.
The Food Security Plan would also
include both near-term and longterm strategies to enhance individual
and community food security.
The club issued its report on Dec.
3, concluding that although roughly
72 percent of individuals visiting
area pantries and meal sites in the
area are food insecure, resources
exist in the five-county region to
create a food secure community.
The vibrancy of a local food system
clearly affects the area’s ability to
create a food-secure community that

supports the food needs of its low
income residents.
The club is currently working with
organizations that promote food
security to determine what actions,
if any, the community would like to
take as a result of the study. As a first
step, the club suggests establishing
a Food Security Council comprised
of people and organizations that are
working to address individual and
community food security. The club
also suggests that the council develop
a Food Security Plan for the Grand
47

Traverse area and advise on its implementation. The club believes that
it would be beneficial to identify a
lead entity from the Food Security
Council to address food security in
the Grand Traverse area, whose mission would include implementation
of the Food Security Plan.
To learn more about the study,
please visit www.benziesunriserotary.
org to download the report, or contact Kris Thomas at kristhomas95@
aol.com.
www.benziesunriserotary.org