The Community Foundation will use a $2.5 million grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to launch a new initiative called Healthy Food Connect. Through competitive grants and educational programs, the initiative will support collaborative efforts to expand and replicate existing successful food programs and encourage new strategies for improving the health of young people and seniors in southeast Michigan. Grantmaking guidelines are available at cfsem.org/initiative/healthy-food-connect/.

Community foundations across the state applied for funding from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund in the fall of 2015. Grant requests focused on areas such as prenatal care and infant mortality, health services to support adopted and fostered children, healthy food access, wellness and fitness programs, access to mental health services, technology enhancements, health related transportation needs, access to care, and teen pregnancy prevention.

The mission of the Michigan Health Endowment Fund is to improve the health of Michigan residents and reduce the cost of health care. The fund was created as part of 2013 state legislation that allowed Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to become a nonprofit mutual health insurer. Nearly $38 million in grants were awarded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund last year.