The Marquette Food Co-op’s new refrigerated grocery truck is scheduled to make its first trip to K.I. Sawyer on Wednesday, May 22, to deliver and sell fresh food and groceries to the community.
The Co-op Grocery Truck, as part of a project to combat food insecurities in K.I. Sawyer, improve community health outcomes and reduce health inequity, will visit Sawyer weekly, offering affordable fresh food options for purchase. The truck will be at the K.I. Sawyer Elementary School, 411 Scorpion Street, from 4-6 pm every Wednesday. All forms of payment — cash, credit and debit cards, Bridge cards, and Double Up Food Bucks vouchers —will be accepted.
Marquette Food Co-op Outreach Director Sarah Monte will also be teaching several free community cooking classes utilizing budget-friendly ingredients. Classes will be held from 6-8 pm each Wednesday (May 22-June 26) at the elementary school following the grocery truck. Classes are limited to 20 participants each and are open only to residents of K.I. Sawyer. Pre-registration is required — please
contact Bea at 906-225-0671 x701 to register. The full listing of classes is attached.
“Our store was started on the notion that everyone should have access to fresh, wholesome food,” said Monte. “This project is the perfect opportunity to extend our reach to an underserved community, moving us all toward a healthy future.”
Other initiative related activities in K.I. Sawyer include:
• A 10-week prescription food program to promote healthy eating habits in conjunction with the grocery truck deliveries. Elise Bur, Administrative Director of the Upper Great Lakes Family Health Center in K.I. Sawyer, will administer this part of the initiative.
• Short gardening “curriculum” for students at K.I. Sayer Elementary for 3 classes based on teacher interest, started April 9. MSU Extension’s Rebecca Krans, Consumer Horticulture Educator and Extension Master Gardeners Elizabeth Slajus and Lisa Johnson will teach the classes.
• Gardening learning sessions for adults on various topics taught by MSU Extension and local Extension Master Gardeners, starting end of May/June. These will be held at the Sawyer Community Garden.
Leadership training for members of the Sawyer Communityy Alliance, consisting of four individual, hands-on sessions, provided by MSU Extension under the direction of Brad Neuman, Senior Extension Educator.
The entire project is led by Dr. Sabine Martin, CTOR Solutions, who is a leader in Culture of Health Leaders, a national leadership program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The leadership program fosters collaboration between people from all fields and professions that have an influence on people’s health. Together they create solutions that improve health equity and move their communities and organizations toward a Culture of Health. http://cultureofhealth-leaders.org/ The K.I. Sawyer initiative is supported by this program.
