Sustainability Awareness
Our programs are designed to address the specific challenges and issues present in our watershed and bio-region. By confronting these challenges, we deepen our understanding of our relationship with nature, prompt us to critically evaluate and reconsider our lifestyles, and urge us to take meaningful action to benefit the wider community of living organisms.
Partners Supporting Critical Food Needs
Have you ever heard of a food desert? It's an area where access to affordable, healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and milk is limited. Unfortunately, this is the reality for many people in Monroe County. They may live more than one mile from a full-service grocery store in urban areas (more than 10 miles in rural areas) and struggle to afford the nutritious foods they need. As a result, they may resort to cheaper, highly processed foods that lack essential nutrients. This, in turn, can lead to obesity, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.
At the Monroe County Community College (MCCC) Ag Farm, we're tackling this problem by growing fresh, organic produce for those in need. We have a number of garden plots where we grow a variety of healthy vegetables such as collard greens, green beans, tomatoes, and more. We also partner with a private farm in Petersburg to grow additional organic vegetables. Our gardens use a drip irrigation system to conserve water, and we fertilize them with compost to maintain organic standards.
In 2021 we harvested and delivered 3,000 pounds of produce to Monroe County Opportunity Program (MCOP) and the Village Market at Oaks of Righteousness. The Village Market opened in 2021 to provide fresh produce to residents living in the Orchard East area, who previously had to travel more than a mile or take multiple buses to reach the nearest grocery store. We're thrilled to partner with the Village Market, Oaks of Righteousness, and MCOP to provide nutritious food to those who need it most in our community.
To help maintain our gardens, we rely on volunteers to weed and harvest the produce. Interested in helping? Contact rriprograms@gmail.com for more information.
This project is partially funded by the Monroe Environmental Fund.
Green Maps
Monroe County Opportunity Program partnered with RRI, Monroe Conservation District, and Kelly Salchow-MacArthur, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Michigan State University to complete the Fresh Opportunity Green Map in 2019, a project funded by Community Foundation of Monroe County.
The Fresh Opportunity Green Map identifies 84 locations for fresh, local, healthy food for the under-served in Monroe County including: 5 Fresh Opportunity Markets, 21 food closets, 4 community gardens, 28 farms and farm markets, and 26 grocery stores selling local foods. The map includes information on where to locate God Works! Family Soup Kitchen where serves free dinners at 6 pm each night and Summer Feed Programs which serves free lunches for youth 18 years old and under.
Kelly designed an icon for year-round and seasonal food availability as well as an icon to identify food deserts. According to the Lexicon of Food, a food desert is an area where there is limited access to affordable fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, legumes and other food that constitute a healthy diet. Six food desert locations are indicated on the Fresh Opportunity Green Map. Residents in these areas are more than one mile from a full-service grocery store in urban areas and more than 10 miles in rural areas.
In 2017, River Raisin Institute began the Resilient Monroe Green Map project with funding from the Monroe County Health Department. The project goals included providing a map of sustainable resources and locally sourced, healthy food options, engaging citizens in identifying local resources to help them live a more sustainable lifestyle and providing students with the opportunity to explore their hometown and learn to make healthy lifestyle choices.
Designed by Kelly Salchow-MacArthur, the Resilient Monroe Green Map identified fresh, local food resources in three municipalities in Monroe County: the City of Monroe, Frenchtown Township and Monroe Township. Information on recycling and composting, creating habitats for pollinators and safe fish eating guidelines was also included on the map. Another outcome of the project was an interactive passport booklet which is a sketch book for drawing your own green map using a sampling of Green Map icons.
Green Map is an online international mapping resource that started in 1995. It is in over 950 communities in 65 countries. Green mapping engages communities in mapping green living, nature and culture.
The Gathering
Our annual Gathering event is a unique opportunity for us to connect with our community, raise funds, and celebrate the beauty and importance of our watershed. On September 17th, 2023, we invite you to join us at the IHM Sisters’ Sustainable Campus in Monroe, Michigan for a memorable experience. Come taste the abundance of fresh and delicious food, browse and purchase mystery box tickets for a chance to win exciting prizes, and network with like-minded individuals who share a passion for environmental education and sustainability. Your support at this event helps us to continue our important work in ecological stewardship, sustainability awareness, and environmental education.
For more information, please contact riverraisininstitute@gmail.com.