The
Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM) has awarded Lansing-based
Allen Neighborhood Center (ANC) with its Innovator of the Year award in recognition of ANC's efforts to improve the Eastside community’s health, vitality and connectedness.
Always striving to connect residents to healthy food alternatives, ANC has hosted its weekly Allen Street Farmer’s Market for seven years, and was the first in Michigan to accept the EBT card. The center also received a “Cool Cities” grant enabling them to build a greenhouse in a local park, cultivating fresh produce year-round for residents.
“Our ambition is to make a difference on the Eastside of Lansing. To the extent that we document and share our models and successes with people in the region, perhaps [we will] help spark similar efforts elsewhere,” says Joann Nelson, ANC's director. “We ground our strategies in the neighborhood we serve by engaging neighbors in an ongoing conversation about current and emerging issues and by working together to craft 'home-grown' solutions that are custom tailored to conditions on the Eastside.”
The ANC is one of two organizations in Michigan to receive the CEDAM award this year.
”I think this focus on 'place' is really our strength. Really knowing a place is important to doing this kind of work,” adds Nelson.
Source: Joann Nelson, Allen Neighborhood Center
Writer: Suban Nur Cooley
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