Missouri EATs invites communities to strengthen food systems through grant-funded opportunity

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Communities across Missouri can now apply for the next round of Missouri EATs, a grant-funded initiative from University of Missouri Extension that helps communities strengthen their local food systems. One community will be selected to work with MU Extension and the Missouri Rural Food Access Partnership team on a comprehensive planning process.

Part of MU Extension’s Community Development program, Missouri EATs (Engage, Act, Transform) helps communities identify local food system assets and challenges, develop actionable plans to address top priorities and ultimately make lasting changes to their local food systems, according to Bill McKelvey, senior project coordinator for MU’s Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security.

Communities interested in issues related to food access, hunger and health, food and farm business development, or other food system opportunities are encouraged to apply.

Key benefits of the Missouri EATs opportunity

• Community action plans: The selected community will develop a tailored action plan to address their unique food system challenges.
• Partnership building: The community will build partnerships with technical assistance providers to support initiatives.
• Funding preparation: Participants will be prepared for future food infrastructure funding opportunities, helping to develop a pipeline of fundable food retail and food enterprise projects in rural areas with low food access.

Priority will be given to a rural community, but rural-urban partnerships or multicounty submissions will be considered. Missouri EATs will waive the program fee for the selected community through this grant project.

Application process: Interested communities must submit their online letter of interest form by March 20. The form takes about 15 minutes to complete. Following the submission, the team will select applicants for in-depth interviews to determine the next community. Email responses to all applicants will be sent by April 20. A PDF version of the form is available upon request for planning purposes.

“Whether a community is looking for ways to make sure people have the resources they need to access healthy food, such as a grocery store or community garden, or they are thinking more broadly about developing their local food system, our hope is that some really successful projects come out of this Missouri EATs process,” McKelvey said. “These activities can help address long-standing issues of community health and resilience.”

Learn about Missouri EATs and access the interest form, or contact Bill McKelvey at billmckelveyjr@missouri.edu for more information.

Funding for this initiative is provided by the Missouri Rural Food Access Partnership and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.