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Healthier snacks for youth in Holyoke. A mobile market of fresh food and nutritional education for typically underserved residents of Amherst. Garden-based learning for kids in Pittsfield. Veggie seedlings for low-income and rural residents of Orange. A food pantry stocked with culturally specific items at a domestic violence center in Greenfield. Garden goodies and food preservation tips for families dealing with trauma in Springfield.

Those are the projects and services that will be supported by the first round of mini-grants from the Food is Medicine program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, part of a national Food is Medicine initiative.

The multidisciplinary program at UMass, which aims to advance food security and nutritional education across Western Massachusetts, named six mini-grant recipients — two each from Franklin and Hampden counties and one each from Hampshire and Berkshire counties.

“These programs target a mix of youth, vulnerable adults, low-income individuals and families across various towns,” says nutritional epidemiologist Anna Maria Siega-Riz, professor and dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS), who is leading the effort at UMass Amherst. “They increase access to nutritious food in a variety of ways, help support community members to ensure a steady supply of fresh, affordable food and raise awareness about available resources to address food security.” 

The mini-grant program represents a collaboration among Food is Medicine representatives from SPHHS, the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, the Department of Food Science and UMass Dining Services. “The goal was to identify opportunities to support community partners addressing food security,” Siega-Riz says.

The mini-grants range from $575 to $1,000, based on the application request, and are being funded by proceeds from the inaugural UMass Healthcare Culinary Conference: Bridging Healthcare, Food and Community, held last summer. 

The six grantees, chosen from 22 eligible applications, are:

• Seeds of Solidary Education Center in Orange, which serves low-income and rural residents, will use its $575 grant for agricultural supplies to create vegetable seedlings to distribute at community events. “This mini-grant initiative supports a vital merger of public health and food justice, increasingly needed in these times to support local communities, well-being and local food resilience,” says Deb Habib, Seeds of Solidarity executive director who earned a doctorate in education at UMass Amherst.
• New England Learning Center for Women in Transition (NELCWIT) in Greenfield received a $1,000 mini-grant to provide to its clients of all genders culturally specific and allergen-friendly food, as well as educational nutritional cards and recipes for healthy meals.
• Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Mass, based in Springfield, will use its $900 mini-grant to grow food and promote food preservation education for families dealing with trauma and violence.
• Amherst Mobile Market received a $1,000 mini-grant to provide farm shares and nutrition education at three markets to vulnerable residents and those with chronic disease. “The Mobile Market serves a very special and typical excluded population in Amherst,” says Rani Parker, vice president of the group’s board of directors. “We are grateful for UMass’ support.”
• Kamaar Taliaferro, also known as the Grumpy Gardener, who works with local gardeners and elementary students in Pittsfield, will spend his $759 mini-grant distributing seedlings to gardeners, planting potatoes in community and educational gardens and engaging youth in the hands-on process. “I am extremely grateful to everyone at UMass who envisioned this microgrant program,” Taliaferro said.
• Homework House Holyoke, winner of a $1,000 grant, will provide healthy snacks and nutritional education to youth living in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods who attend the free after-school tutoring program in Holyoke. “This will help us provide our students the opportunity of better snacks, which they very much deserve,” said Gloria Caballero Roca, programs director.