Food Systems + Health
Dr. Seguin served as the Director of Community Health at the Portage Health Foundation located in Hancock, Michigan from 2019-2022. In this role, she led a comprehensive food initiative aimed at reducing hunger and poor nutrition across four counties in rural Upper Michigan. Through innovative collaborations and a holistic approach, this work resulted in the creation of 11 new community & school gardens, a collective CSA program serving low-income families, expansion of SNAP and food assistance programs at area farmers markets, and the development of a virtual culinary medicine video series in partnership with a local library.
Learn more about these innovative programs below.
Community Gardens
Learn how the development of community and school gardens in the Western U.P. are creating increased access to nutritious food and fostering community resilience.
Farmers Market + SNAP
Through a series of funding opportunities, investment in farmers market infrastructure and capacity building has resulted in the expansion of food assistance programs, including SNAP, at farmers markets across the Western U.P.
In 2020, the Mainstreet Calumet Farmers Market saw a 699 percent increase in SNAP benefits dollars spent.
Collective CSA Program
Developed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this innovative partnership connected 20 families at-risk for food insecurity with local produce boxes. Farmers were paid a fair price for the produce, a volunteer corps provided home deliveries for families in quarantine, and a community health educator developed a suite of recipes and educational resources to correspond with the seasonal produce.
Read more about the program and outcomes here.
Western UP Food Systems Collaborative
Learn how Dr. Seguin partnered with researchers, planners, ecologists, and more to strengthen the foodways and food system of the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan through her involvement in the Western U.P. Food Systems Collaborative.
Hunger Action
Dr. Seguin’s work to reduce hunger disparities in Upper Michigan was recently featured by the NMU Center for Rural Health for Hunger Action Month in September 2021.
Therapy Gardens
In addition to providing a source of fresh veggies and attractive foliage and flowers, therapy gardens can act as a potent antidote to stress and trauma. Learn more about this collaborative project to bring therapy gardens to social service and educational programs in Upper Michigan.