Michigan Good Food Fund receives $3 million USDA grant to expand healthy food access

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The Michigan Good Food Fund (MGFF) is expanding its reach to improve food access across the state after being awarded $3 million by the Reinvestment Fund through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Partnerships Program.

Of this award, $2 million will provide innovative credit enhancements to help the Michigan Good Food Fund’s lender network finance food retail and supply chain businesses in underserved communities. The resources will support a wide range of healthy food projects across Michigan through June 2027.

_{Funding helps local businesses like Battle Creek’s Uproot Market & Eatery. Photo Credit: Uproot}

Uproot Market & Eatery: Building community ownership

In downtown Battle Creek, one business exemplifies how programs like MGFF can support community-driven efforts to increase food access. Uproot Market & Eatery, managed by Stacy Niemann, is a community-owned cooperative designed to bring healthy food options to an area identified as a food desert.

“We are a co-op, which means we are community-owned,” Niemann says. “There’s not one owner at the top writing in all the profits. We are owned by over 350 of our community members.”

Members can join Uproot with a $200 lifetime membership, which grants them a vote in board elections and a voice in decisions about how profits are used. The store remains open to the public, but members receive additional benefits such as product discounts and special ordering options.

“Our goal is really to circulate the local economy,” Niemann says. “We also have a lot of local vendors in our store. Our ultimate goal is to be about 70 percent local products, local being Michigan.”

Located in a renovated historic building on W. Michigan Avenue, Uproot plans to feature more than 25 local vendors—from farmers to soap makers—alongside a café offering gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options.

“There’s a decent part of our population who maybe can’t get all the way out to where our main stores are,” Niemann says. “Not everybody drives. We’re right on the bus line, within walking distance for a lot of people.”

Variety of local items for purchase at uproot — _{Uproot helps boost the local economy by offering selections from local vendors. Photo Credit: Uproot}

About the Healthy Food Financing Initiative

The Healthy Food Financing Initiative is a national program that supports projects addressing food insecurity in underserved areas. Michigan Good Food Fund is one of 16 recipients of the HFFI Partnership Program’s latest $40.3 million funding round.

This investment will help Michigan Good Food Fund expand financing and support for food retail and supply-chain businesses across the state, advancing its mission to invest in food and farm businesses so they can grow, thrive, and increase access to healthy food. Specifically, the HFFI grant will enable Michigan Good Food Fund to:

Expand access to flexible capital for eligible Michigan food retail and supply chain businesses that have historically been excluded from traditional financing, especially BIPOC- and women-owned enterprises.
Provide innovative financing tools — such as loan guarantees and working capital grants — that reduce risk and unlock new investment for high-impact, community-rooted businesses.
Increase support for healthy food retail in underserved communities, helping ensure all Michiganders can access fresh, local, and culturally relevant food close to home.
Strengthen regional food infrastructure by supporting processors, aggregators, distributors, and other eligible supply chain businesses essential to getting local food to local tables.
Deepen technical assistance offerings to help entrepreneurs build financial resilience, navigate growth, and sustain operations in a changing market.
Accelerate statewide economic impact by investing in businesses that generate local jobs, build community wealth, and contribute to a thriving Michigan food economy.

By leveraging innovative food financing tools, HFFI funding helps to mitigate risk, ease financial paths, and address challenges like fluctuating interest rates, helping entrepreneurs repay loans more feasibly and focus on the important work of feeding our communities.

About Michigan Good Food Fund

In addition to credit enhancements provided through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, Michigan Good Food Fund offers year-round lending and technical assistance to all Michigan food and farm businesses across the state, including early-stage funding for businesses that are developing or expanding in their communities.

Food and farm business applicants can learn more about available support by visiting the Michigan Good Food Fund website. Businesses have partnered with the Fund to access financing for startup costs, renovations, equipment, and other critical expenses that bring healthy, affordable food to their communities.

In addition to capital, the Michigan Good Food Fund offers a range of resources, including technical assistance and expert guidance on financial management, operations, and long-term business growth.

Filling a gap in Battle Creek

_{Uproot fills a gap in food accessibility in the Battle Creek area. Photo Credit: Uproot}

For Niemann, support from lenders, including Michigan Good Food Fund, Fair Food Network, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), among others, has been critical in bringing Uproot to life. The co-op’s location fills a downtown gap where no full-service grocery store operates within a two-mile radius.

“There was a lot of work that went into renovating our building and getting everything up and running,” Niemann says. “We have gotten grants and financing from a lot of different nonprofits and food funds with the idea of bringing something to an area that is needed.”

The support helped cover infrastructure, equipment, and renovation costs that are often higher than expected in older buildings. Uproot also participates in community events, such as the local farmers’ market, which has helped spread awareness and excitement.

“We are so happy to be open,” Niemann says. “People were ready for us.”

As Uproot nears its full opening, its presence embodies what Michigan Good Food Fund’s mission strives for—a self-sustaining business that enhances food access, supports local producers, and empowers the community to take ownership.