The Kresge Foundation has named nine national experts from fields such as sustainable food development, creative placemaking and community development to the advisory committee for the Fresh, Local & Equitable: Food as a Creative Platform for Neighborhood Revitalization initiative. The program, known as FreshLo, is a joint effort of Kresge’s Arts & Culture Program and Health Program to strengthen economic vitality, cultural expression and health in low-income communities across the United States.

The foundation recently announced 26 organizations and coalitions selected to receive $75,000 planning awards through FreshLo to design neighborhood-scale projects demonstrating creative, cross-sector visions of food-oriented development.

“As the first national funder to think about integrating food, art and community in this way, we knew that developing an advisory committee of leading and diverse experts was essential,” said Helen Davis Johnson, program officer at The Kresge Foundation. “I am confident that this committee will provide guidance as we develop this initiative further and that their expertise will be helpful to our grantees as they engage in the planning phase of their projects.”

The FreshLo advisory committee members are:

• Virginia Clarke, executive director, Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funders
• Lyz Crane, deputy director, ArtPlace America
• Michael Fleming, executive director, St. Clair Superior Development Corporation
• Jim Krieger, executive director, Healthy Food America
• Livia Marques, president, Food Driven Strategies, LLC
• Jay Salinas, cofounder, Wormfarm Institute
• Steve Saltzman, director, Healthy Food System Finance at Self-Help
• Ricardo Salvador, director, Union of Concerned Scientists
• Kolu Zigbi, program director, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation

As part of the FreshLo advisory committee, these experts will provide content expertise to both grantees, foundation program officers and DAISA Enterprises, the initiative’s national program office, as well as provide resources and direct technical assistance to grantees. The committee will also be instrumental in providing guidance as the FreshLo initiative transitions from the planning phase into implementation.