How Blue Cross Supports Food Access Across Michigan
Lindsay Knake
| 4 min read
Lindsay Knake is a brand journalist and project plan...
Key Takeaways
- Blue Cross is expanding healthy food access across Michigan through partnerships that have provided refrigeration grants to more than 260 organizations since 2022, helping about 120,000 residents access nutritious food each month.
- The Food Pantry Grant Program addresses food insecurity and chronic disease prevention by investing more than $1.2 million in 269 organizations across 65 counties, enabling food pantries to offer fresh dairy products, fruits and vegetables that require refrigeration.
- Blue Cross also supports healthier habits in schools through its Building Healthy Communities program, which has reached more than 615,000 students in 1,400-plus schools since 2009, increasing access to healthy foods and encouraging physical activity.
It might seem simple. A refrigerator can help a food pantry stock perishable items like milk and produce. But a unit like this can be very expensive, something that is typically out of the range of the budget of many small food pantries.
That’s where partnerships like the Food Pantry grant program, supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, can help. Since 2022, Blue Cross and partners have provided grants to more than 260 organizations to install refrigeration units, which help 120,000 Michiganians access healthy food every month.
Why? Because nutrition is part of the foundation for health.
Why Blue Cross supports food access in Michigan
About half of people in the United States deal with chronic diseases that are linked to poor diet and an unhealthy lifestyle, per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chronic diseases such as heart disease and Type 2 diabetes cost about $1 trillion in healthcare and lost productivity.
But a healthy diet requires access to healthy foods. About 1.5 Michigan residents, including 400,000 children, struggle to get enough to eat, according to Feeding America.
This is why Blue Cross focuses on nutrition and healthy food access across the state. By building partnerships with other organizations, schools and food pantries, Blue Cross has helped hundreds of thousands of Michiganians with increased access to healthy foods.
“Positive eating habits develop through repeated exposure and everyday experiences. When nutritious choices are consistently available in the places where people live, learn and gather, those choices can become a natural part of daily life,” said Tiffany Albert, senior vice president of Community Relations and Chief Inclusion Officer.
Access to nutritious food, including fruits, vegetables and fresh dairy, helps everyone in Michigan. In the Great Lakes State, 75 cents of every health care dollar is spent on chronic diseases. And healthcare costs are rising faster than the rate of inflation. When more people can have a healthy diet, we can lower the rates of expensive chronic conditions.
Food pantry grants
One partnership Blue Cross has is with the United Dairy Industry of Michigan (UDIM). This partnership, along with Blue Cross Complete of Michiganand Superior Health Foundation, provides support to food pantries to expand access to fresh dairy products and produce that requires refrigeration.
The Food Pantry Grant program has invested more than $1.2 million in 269 organizations in 65 Michigan counties by offering refrigeration units, technical support, nutrition education resources and funding to purchase dairy products.
Love Thy Neighbor food pantry in Battle Creek received a Food Pantry Grant in December 2025 and now offers 40 gallons and 27 half gallons of milk each week. Milk is a hit as more than 90% of patrons to the food pantry take the fresh milk.
Cereal has long been a popular item at food pantries, says Cortney A-Boes Freeland, vice president of Outreach & Engagement at UDIM. The protein, vitamins and calcium in fresh dairy make breakfast cereal a complete meal.
Flint’s North End Soup Kitchen saw another benefit after receiving their refrigeration unit in 2024. The donations they receive from community businesses and organizations started to include more fresh fruits and vegetables and lunch meat. This allows North End Soup Kitchen to give away thousands of refrigerated items every year.
Building Healthy Communities
Schools are another important part of Blue Cross’ efforts for a healthier Michigan. Since 2009, Blue Cross’ Building Healthy Communities (BHC) has impacted 615,000 students in more than 1,400 schools across Michigan through assisting schools in offering healthy foods and encouraging students to be physically active.
The program helps schools by providing equipment and resources to improve their ability to offer healthy options throughout the school day including breakfast carts, refrigeration units for school food pantries, and training to support food service programs with recipes, menu templates and resources to offer meals with lower added sugars and more protein to align with national nutrition standards.
Teachers and staff throughout school buildings can incorporate health into their classrooms, the gymnasium, recess and the lunchroom. And it’s working. Students in the BHC program eat 40% more fruits and vegetables than the national average and get an average of 35 minutes of increased activity each week. This can lead to improved health outcomes and better learning.
“Kids are eating better, they're getting more sleep, they're outside…” said Jill Larkins, principal of Memorial Elementary School in Garden City, which is part of the BHC program. “I just think it's a great whole child program.”
