The local Board of Health (BOH) continues to be a focus of concern. Recently, the BOH imposed a requirement that all grant applications must have BOH approval prior to applying for the funds. This was a departure from the grant process that had been in place for over 50 years and hinders the Health Department (HD) from acting quickly to obtain program funds that make up a large portion of the (HD) budget.
In a recent subcommittee meeting of the BOH, two of the four commissioners voted against a private grant that provides $500,000 over 2 years for schools in Antrim, Charlevoix and Emmet counties. The grant involves schools using locally grown produce in their lunch programs and funds other healthy nutrition HD initiatives such as classroom nutrition education. Participating schools receive 10¢ for each lunch purchased that included local produce, resulting in thousands of dollars in revenue for the school. The deadline for applying for this grant is May 4th - just two days after the next BOH meeting.
There’s still a chance that this program can be funded. The full BOH meets on Tuesday, May 2 and grant application will be on the agenda for approval or rejection. Here’s what you can do to help:
Attend the BOH meeting on May 2 and tell them you want the program approved. There are two opportunities for public comment: before and after the agenda items. The meeting will be held at the Shirley Roloff Center at 13513 Division St., Charlevoix.
Contact the commissioners on the BOH by phone or email and encourage them to approve the grant. Updated contact info for 2 commissioners: Otsego - Henry Mason 989-619-7611, hmason@otsegocountymi.gov -Jonathan Turnbull 912-655-4550 turnbull@otsegocountymi.gov All others are correct.