Funding

Regeneration Midwest, a 12-state regional coalition of farmers, food activists, and researchers, successfully submitted a grant proposal to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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The two-year project was funded in Fall 2019 under the RWJF’s Health and Climate Solutions initiative. Our project is looking to see if we can scale climate and health solutions in agricultural communities across the Midwest. We've been asked to explore various aspects of health and community:

  • Developing and amplifying the evidence around a set of approaches that improve community health and well-being 

  • Advancing health equity, while also addressing climate change adaptation or mitigation 

  • Addressing food and water systems and their impact on health and well-being

  • Highlighting what is working well with the select approach and why 

  • Identifying where there have been opportunities and challenges 

  • Identifying how other communities may learn from this approach to tackle similar challenges

The Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit public interest organization with 501(3)(c) status, serves as the fiscal agent. All personnel associated with this project are paid through the OCA, but each is acting as their own agent and is not employed by the OCA. 

The geographically defined region for this project is six Midwest states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Two counties for each state are selected for site visits based on their place on a continuum of types of agricultural production. We’re aiming to get as wide a picture of the effects of agriculture on the environment and community health as we are able.

RWJF encouraged applicant organizations representing diverse geographic areas, first time-applicants, and communities that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change to apply.

In that spirit, Midwest Healthy Ag is dedicated to listening and learning from farmers and rural communities of all backgrounds, places, and types of agricultural production. The Midwest is a big place and a lot of changes in agriculture, the environment, and community life are underway. We aim to learn as much as we can about those changes and how they’re affecting the Midwest.