Causecast

by CLAIRE GRINTON, Contributing Writer

The Kellogg Foundation, a morning staple of American families since 1930, has just announced that they will be giving away $32.5 million in grants to support local food initiatives. The nine projects that will receive the funding range from urban farming initiatives to mobile food stands. The main focus of the foundation, however, is empowering children to make healthy food choices, particularly by getting local foods into schools. Programs like the National Farm to School Network and School Food Focus help to get healthy, fresh, local food into schools, as these are often the main source of food for many students. The Kellogg Foundation’s support of these programs will allow them to impact schools nationwide and expand the scope of their local food initiatives. This new grant money raises Kellogg’s total support for food and farming projects to $80 million since the mid-1990s.

What Kellogg hasn’t done, however, is lead by example. Though they are supporting programs that are dedicated to increasing the availability of local food, they have not made any changes in their own business practices to reflect this mission. While their hearts are in the right place, the folks at Kellogg have missed an opportunity to make a huge impact on the food industry. Until someone like Kellogg finds a way to change their business structure to use only local ingredients and sell in dedicated markets without long-distance shipping, the food industry on the whole will continue to wait until someone steps up to make the large-scale move. All the same, Kellogg is poised to continue their mission by reflecting it back on themselves. So for the time being, we’ll set judgment aside and celebrate the Kellogg Foundation’s support for local food programs, hoping they improve their own business practices as well.

If you’d like to eat locally, read our tips on how to make easy changes in your life to get fresh, local foods to your table, or join the Eat Local Challenge for help and motivation. Support local initiatives and show big businesses that you’re willing to put your money behind companies that stand up for what they believe in.

Photo by Augapfel, flickr.