Eating healthy foods, including fruit and vegetables, is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle. Below, you can find great links to help connect you to fresh, local, healthy food.
Eat Local Berrien
>eatlocalberrien.org
This website is the place to find healthy, fresh, and local food in Berrien County, Michigan. Our region has a wide variety of great tastes to offer, so come explore all the good ways to eat well in Southwest Michigan! This website is set up to allow you to view, search, and discover places to purchase local produce near you. You are able to select the local produce vendors you’d like to visit and even save, print, email or share a “shopping cart” list. You’re also able to view the locations on one map, get directions to each and every place listed and add your farm if we missed you! So start discovering and find new fresh produce locations near you!
Southwest Michigan Local Food Council
Our partners across the county are beginning a conversation about how we can work together to connect the great food that’s grown in Berrien County to the people who live, work, learn, and play here. We are gathering information about how food is grown, sold, and eaten in our community and hope to find solutions to the challenges we face. If you would like to get involved in the Food Access Team, please contact us!
From our Fields to our Tables
>behealthyberrien.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/From-Our-Fields-To-Our-Tables-.pdf
Be Healthy Berrien and Berrien County Health Department embarked on a project to learn more about food in Berrien County. This report tells the story of food in our community – how we grow, sell, buy, and eat food, and what our community has done to address food challenges.
How to accept SNAP benefits at your Farmers Market
>mifma.org/snap/
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program, is the nation’s largest nutritional assistance program. The program is managed at the federal level by the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and requires that food vendors be licensed with FNS before accepting SNAP benefits for approved food items. Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA) has compiled a resource manual titled “Accepting SNAP Bridge Cards at Michigan Farmers Markets” to help farmers market managers learn everything they need to know about accepting SNAP benefits including information on (1) designating a responsible party, (2) completing the USDA FNS application, (3) obtaining a point of sale device, (4) setting up an alternative redemption system and (5) implementing the program at your farmers market. This resource is available for purchase through the MIFMA Store and is also available as a free PDF download to current MIFMA Members.
Be Healthy Berrien Mobile Farmers Market
>augardens.com/mobile-farm-market/
The Be Healthy Berrien Mobile Farm Market is a farmers market on wheels that delivers fresh local produce throughout Berrien County. The Mobile Farm Market runs from early July to mid August. Check back in 2017 to learn about our upcoming schedule. If your farm would like to become involved with our Mobile Farmers Market, please contact us!