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Through its partnership in Be Healthy Berrien, Corewell Health South is living out their vision of a community with collaborative partnerships working together to improve health outcomes and promote health equity.

Nicki is a seasoned public health professional with a focus on narrowing racial health inequities, building resilience of communities in the face of historical trauma, improving food access, and advancing the capacity of local health departments to effectively respond to upstream root causes of poor health outcomes. Nicki shared, “As a public health professional, I’ve seen firsthand how our health is a result of the influences in the places we live, work, play, and pray. It is my life’s work to be part of ensuring people have equitable access to the life conditions that lead to good health.”

Be Healthy Berrien’s success wouldn’t be possible without the support of the area’s leading health care organization.

Southwest Michigan Planning Commission (SWMPC) is transforming how community planning intersects with health.  Through their commitment to the Be Healthy Berrien partnership, SWMPC has built a connection between those who work to improve health in our community with those who plan how our community is built.  The built environment includes all of the physical parts of where we live and work (e.g., homes, buildings, streets, open spaces, and infrastructure). The built environment influences a person’s level of physical activity. For example, inaccessible or nonexistent sidewalks and bicycle or walking paths contribute to sedentary habits. These habits lead to poor health outcomes such as obesity.

John Egelhaaf, Executive Director at SWMPC has served on the Be Healthy Berrien Steering Committee for nearly 10 years, providing expertise in the relationship between the built environment and health outcomes.   John has incorporated Be Healthy Berrien’s shared vision into Southwest Michigan Planning Commission’s work by leading key projects, providing expert staff advisors, and teaming up on grant applications.

Learn more about the Be Healthy Berrien Team and how we are working together to build a healthier Southwest Michigan at https://behealthyberrien.org/meet-the-team/.

The Southwest Michigan Local Food Council is a collective of advocates that takes evidence-based actions toward the development of an equitable regional food system that values local farmers and entrepreneurs.

Our Goals  – Joy for Our Food • Abundant and Fair Economy for Our Food • Growing Infrastructure for Our Food

We need volunteers to join our Working Groups! 

The Joy for our Food Working Group invites those interested in sharing food & culture and growing a local food movement in Southwest Michigan to join our team!  Our strategies focus on creating innovative ways to share, celebrate, and promote foods grown or produced in Southwest Michigan.  

The strategies of the Abundance and Fairness of Our Food Working Group center around supporting beginning farmers and increasing the amount of locally-produced foods served in schools, hospitals and other institutional food service operations.  We are seeking members who have energy and access to resources to support beginning farmers and/or farm-to-institution initiatives. 

 The Growing Infrastructure for Our Food Working Group is about improving resources that support a local food system.   We are looking for committee members who have an interest and knowledge about food incubators, processing, aggregation, & distribution. Key strategies include assessing the viability and need for an incubator kitchen, aggregation/distribution facilities, and conducting a market analysis of local food sourcing by local restaurants, grocery stores and institutions. 

 To Join a group, contact us here