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A New Food Access Council Starts Up in Cook County

The Cook County Food System Network held a pub­lic meeting on November 20, 2024, to introduce what it is calling a “county-level Food Access Council.” This new program aims to increase com­munity access to affordable, healthy food.

The meeting’s purpose was to develop a shared vision for the council, create a visual map of food resources, tell a cohesive story about access to healthy food, and decide the council’s future agenda.

The Cook County Food Sys­tem Network is a partnership with the Northwoods Food Project, Cook County Univer­sity of Minnesota Extension, Cook County Public Health and Human Services (CCPH­HS), and the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership “SHIP.”

The Northwoods Food Proj­ect was established in 2008 as a non-profit organization by a group of volunteers in Grand Marais, MN. Its mission is to support local food producers and consumers in Cook Coun­ty. It sponsors the Grand Mara­is Farmers Market, held in sea­son at the Community Center.

Cook County Extension is an outreach arm of the University of Minnesota. It provides re­search-based educational out­reach in urban, suburban, and rural communities in all 87 Minnesota counties.

CCPHHS is a department of the Cook County Government. With 34 employees, it serves a wide range of public health services.

SHIP is a program of the Carlton-Cook-Lake-St. Lou­is County Community Health Board (CHB).

It supports community-driv­en solutions to expand op­portunities for active living, healthy eating, commercial to­bacco-free living, and well-be­ing.

CHB began under a Joint Powers Agreement in 1977 and was established after the passage of the 1976 Commu­nity Health Services Act. Its board has nine members, three from St. Louis County and two from Carlton, Cook, and Lake counties. Each county has at least one county commission­er member in its delegation. The other representative is typically a local county pub­lic health advisory member. The CHB meets approximately bi-monthly with its administra­tive offices in Duluth.

Food insecurity is a pub­lic health threat. The State Health Assessment released by the Minnesota Department of Health in April of this year says that food insecurity oc­curs when access to nutrition­ally adequate and safe food is limited or uncertain. It can be temporary or persist over time. Income and life circumstances can make it difficult for people to choose healthy foods, espe­cially when such foods are not readily available or affordable.

The report continues to point out that 5.5 million people vis­ited food shelves in Minnesota in 2022, up from 3.4 million in 2017. This is likely due to rising food costs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation impacting the supply chain.

Kristina Campbell Mattson, State Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) Coordina­tor at Cook County, was con­tacted for this story, but as of the deadline, we are still wait­ing to hear back. If you’re in­terested in contributing to this important initiative or want further information. you may email her at kristina.mattson@co.cook.mn.us or call her at 218-302-1342.

Steve Fernlund
Steve Fernlund
Columnist Steve Fernlund is a retired business owner living in Duluth. He published the Cook County News Herald in Grand Marais at the end of the last century. You may email comments or North Shore news story ideas to him at steve.fernlund@gmail.com. And see more at www.stevefernlund.com.
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