Increase access to healthy eating

All people should have access to healthy and affordable foods without barriers.

We work to make healthy eating possible for all communities, especially those facing the greatest health challenges in our state. We believe that all people should have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible.

Food Access Funding Initiative

The Food Access Funding Initiative supports communities working to overcome barriers to good health. Funded projects are implementing strategies to improve health and uplift the needs of those most impacted by food insecurity.

Funded projects promote leadership and decision-making by people most impacted by food insecurity. Blue Cross awarded $1.2M in funding per year for up to three years to 12 Minnesota nonprofit organizations. Organizations that have been awarded funding are: American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO), Appetite for Change (AFC), Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization (CMCEO), Dream of Wild Health, Foundation For Essential Needs (FFEN), Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA), Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, Inc., Minnesota Seeds of Justice (MNSOJ), Prairie Rose Agricultural Institute for Research, Innovation & Education (PRAIRIE), Sharing Our Roots (SOR), University of Minnesota Morris, and Urban Roots MN.

Food Access Goals

• Increase access to healthy and affordable foods.
• Ensure underserved communities help shape Minnesota’s food systems.
• Reduce food insecurity by addressing root causes and investing in community-identified solutions.

 

Food Sovereignty Funding

Community-led efforts to reclaim Indigenous foods are vital to improving health and addressing disproportionately high rates of diet-related illness in Indian Country. American Indians experience some of the worst health outcomes in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Indians and Alaska Natives have a greater chance of having diabetes than any other  group, and are almost three times more likely than white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes.

Food Sovereignty Funding supports Tribal Nations and Indigenous-led organizations in improving community health by increasing access to and consumption of traditional foods. Traditional foods are interconnected with tribal culture, language, and spiritual health. Traditional Indigenous diets are extremely diverse, but tend to be localized, low-glycemic, and high in wild protein and essential fatty acids.  The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the White Earth Nation are the first recipients of Food Sovereignty Funding.