The goal of the Benton Harbor Farmers Market is to make fresh food available to all residents, particularly low-income people who might not have access to healthier choices."Injustices in the food systems are abundant, and this means that not everyone has the same access to affordable, healthy foods they need to live their best life," Nikki Britton, the Berrien County Health Department's epidemiologist, said in a press release.
Britton refers to neighborhoods without full-service grocery stores as "food deserts," where it is easier to get a bag of corn chips than an ear of corn.
This consumption of junk food can lead to diabetes and other illnesses.
Another entity trying to link small farmers to customers looking for healthy foods is the Conservation Fund. The organization recently announced that it had received a $400,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to help black and Hispanic farmers increase their production. The produce can in turn be sold at farmers markets.
"They are really the unsung heroes of local communities," said Peg Kohring of Sawyer, the Conservation Fund's Midwest coordinator and a member of the Berrien County Board of Health.
The grant will benefit farmers and markets in 11 southwest Michigan counties, including Berrien, Van Buren and Cass.
www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2011/07/20/local_news/5713273.txt
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