policy & Engagement Specialist
10 Cents a meal

amanda.brezzell@groundworkcenter.org | (231) 941-6584 x724

A thing to know about Amanda Brezzell is that she is a part-time flower farmer, and she cuts bouquets for neighbors and friends for no real reason other than it gives them joy—and gives her joy too. “People ask me, when I am so busy, how do I stay so calm, but if you wake up and spend hours with flowers, it’s a very relaxing gig,” she says.

That same spirit of giving and understanding the power of one-to-one relationships will shape Amanda’s work at Groundwork. As the Policy Engagement Specialist for 10 Cents a Meal, she understands the immense importance of a single child eating nutrient-dense locally grown food. But she also understands the transformative policy and cultural implications of a million children doing so. In her studies and work, Amanda has focused on getting food resources to people at the community level. And now, working with policy, she says, “I will be focused on how we can make policy most relevant to people in communities. I have a lot of ideas about how that can be done and look forward to working with our partners to explore more into that.”

Amanda is a Detroiter. She has seen food apartheid first-hand and has worked to help solve it. In 2021 she won an award from the Detroit Food Policy Council highlighting the work she’s done to break down barriers to food access in the Motor City. As she moves ahead to apply her insight and talents statewide, this flower farmer, maker-artist, activist, policy specialist looks forward to dismantling even more barriers and opening ways to even more opportunity.

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