In May 2025, the Americana Foundation awarded a $25,000 grant to the Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology to pilot a peer-based support network for small-scale livestock producers in northwest Lower Michigan. This initiative aligns with our goal of transforming regional food systems through ecologically sound, locally rooted strategies that center the needs of growers,
Food Hub Planning Project This grant will enable Grow Jackson to complete a plan and strategy for developing a regional food hub in Jackson County to strengthen the local food economy and fill a critical infrastructure gap in South Central Michigan. The planned food hub will include a year-round farm stop (a locally sourced, consignment-based
Grow Jackson – $20,000 Read More »
Strengthening Small-scale Livestock Producers in Northwest Lower Michigan Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology will use this grant to support a pilot initiative designed to strengthen small-scale livestock farming systems in Northwest Lower Michigan. The initiative will create a business-to-business collaborative of livestock farmers that will work to identify and overcome barriers to small-scale livestock
Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology – $25,000 Read More »
Water Rangers Program Expansion: Supporting Rural and Native Communities in Michigan The Socially Responsible Agriculture Project (SRAP) will use this grant for outreach to and engagement with residents of rural Michigan to combat pollution caused by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). CAFOs in Michigan have been shown to pollute the environment, threaten public health, destroy
Socially Responsible Agriculture Project – $25,058 Read More »
Partnership to Expand the Farm Stop Model Farmers, consumers, policymakers, and others are interested in learning about and expanding the farm stop model. Farm stops are everyday farmers markets where farmers own and price their products but importantly can return to the farm while their products remain on sale daily and year-round. Argus Farm Stop
Argus Farm Stop / Fair Food Network – $15,000 Read More »
The Oxbow and Suwanee Lagoon Mycoremediation Demonstration Project With this grant, The Henry Ford (THF) and the Mushroom Conservatory (TMC) will work together to pilot a water quality restoration project grounded in “mycoremediation” – a developing field of environmental restoration that utilizes the biochemical properties of certain fungi to extract contaminants from water and sediment.
Edison Institute – $25,000 Read More »
Friends of the Muskegon River Conservation projects that preserve, protect, restore, and sustain the Muskegon River are most efficient, impactful, and economically sustainable when local communities and stakeholders are actively engaged. This grant will enable the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly to create up to four “Friends of the Muskegon River” groups to facilitate local community
Muskegon River Watershed Assembly – $25,000 Read More »
Protecting Local Water Quality Through Permanent Land Protection This grant will provide the final 5% needed to permanently protect 35 acres of critically important property in the Stony Creek region of the Huron River Watershed in southeast Michigan. The property is mostly wooded with extensive wetlands and 3,000 feet of frontage on a tributary to
Legacy Land Conservancy – $15,900 Read More »
Increasing Capacity of Northern Michigan Environmental Groups Northern Michigan (Northern Lower Peninsula and the Upper Peninsula) contains some of the state’s most pristine and sensitive water resources – cold water trout streams, untouched Great Lakes shorelines, and high-quality inland lakes. Because critical decisions that impact water are made at the local level, community engagement in
Freshwater Future – $25,000 Read More »
Reducing Plastic Waste in Ypsilanti Live Zero Waste, Inc. will use this grant to extend a successful plastic reduction campaign in Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti. The ultimate goal is to reduce plastic use along the Huron River, which has more microplastics than any other Great Lakes tributary. Live Zero Waste will use education and outreach
Live Zero Waste, Inc. – $10,000 Read More »
