Photo above: by Gareth Hubbard Asparagus brought me to Northern Michigan eight years ago, and the promise of using local food to improve public health and personal wellness continues to hold me here. In 2008, I was living in Pittsburgh, and my then boyfriend invited...
Testimony: Reflecting on National Disability Independence Day
Today, July 26, 2024, is National Disability Independence Day, the day when our country commemorates the 34th anniversary of the passing of the Americans With Disabilities Act and honors the individuals whom the act aims to protect and support for better lives. As...
What’s Ahead for NMC’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute?
A conversation with Director and Chef Les Eckert. (Pictured above at Lakeview Hill Farm, Leelanau County.) We invited Chef Les Eckert, director of the Great Lakes Culinary Institute since June 2019, to give us a sense for how the institute is evolving and how the next...
Reflecting on the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health
On Wednesday, September 28th, I participated in the White House conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. It’s been more than 50 years (longer than my entire professional life) since these deep-rooted issues have received this level of attention. It’s the first time...
Connecting local food to our regional healthcare providers is the goal for Groundwork’s Farms, Food & Health program
From the earliest days of our Farms, Food & Health program—with its emphasis on culinary medicine methods—we have worked closely with physicians and other medical professionals to spread the word about the importance of cooking and eating nutritionally rich,...
Dinner With Your Doctor
If we embrace the centuries-old adage “let food be thy medicine,” a cooking class at the physician’s office makes all the sense in the world.