Contact: Diane Chapeta, Senior Program Director, Seven Generations Ahead, [email protected], or Colleen Feeny, Senior Operations and Program Director, Seven Generations Ahead, [email protected]
Illinois Organizations Receive Funding to Strengthen Local School Food System through Innovation Hub
Oak Park, IL — The Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub today announced the 2026 grantees from Illinois who will lead collaborative projects to bring more local, nourishing food to K–12 schools. These projects are part of a multi-state effort to strengthen connections between Midwest farmers, industry partners, food producers, and K–12 schools. Each grantee team will receive up to $200,000 per year to expand access to food that reflects the region’s rich agricultural heritage and supports local economies.
“We’re thrilled to see Illinois organizations stepping up to build stronger food pathways between our farms and our schools,” said Gary Cuneen, Executive Director at Seven Generations Ahead, the Innovation Hub’s Illinois partner. “These projects are about making school meals more local, more delicious and more connected to the communities they serve.”
The 2026 grantee teams from IL include:
Common Threads: “Culinary Education for Stronger School Food Systems,” partners – The Common Market Great Lakes
Pilot Light: “Classroom to Cafeteria – Elevating Awareness of Midwest-grown Foods through Integration of Sourcing and Impactful Student/Parent Education,” partners – Proviso Township High Schools District 209, The Common Market Great Lakes, Ketapanen Kitchen
Southern Illinois Hospital Services d/b/a Southern Illinois Healthcare: “Southern Illinois Healthy Schools,” partners – Sustainable Food Institute of America, Regional Office of Education #30, LEAF Food Hub
Basil’s Harvest: “Resilient Operations & Outcomes for Transforming School Food Systems (ROOTS),” partners – Tulip Tree Gardens, The Farms of Illinois, Central Illinois Farm-Fresh Enterprise Development Cooperative, Inc.
The Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Administration as part of its Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative.This is the second year of grantmaking by the Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub, which supports projects across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Grants are awarded to teams that may include farmers, industry partners, schools, food hubs, community organizations, suppliers and other partners working to improve how local food reaches students.
“These are practical, community-driven ideas that will make a real difference—not only for
students, but for our food producers and local businesses as well,” said Cuneen.
A full list of 2026 grantees can be found at InnovateSchoolFood.org.
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Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub nurtures community-driven collaborations that reimagine students’ meals. By working together, we’re building pathways for local, nourishing food to reach more schools across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. We offer funding, training and other help to collectives of schools, school districts, organizations, farmers, producers, suppliers and distributors who are transforming our school food system to better serve our communities. Organizations leading the initiative include Seven Generations Ahead (Illinois), Michigan State University’s Center for Regional Food Systems (Michigan), NWI Food Council (Indiana), Kids Forward (Wisconsin), healthTIDE (Wisconsin) and Action for Healthy Kids. The Lake Michigan School Food Systems Innovation Hub is funded by USDA.
