Battle Creek Community Foundation Announces $1.7 Million in grants from the Mars Snacking Foundation including $500,000 to Strengthen Equitable Well-Being and Food Access
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (June 2026) The Battle Creek Community Foundation (BCCF) is honored to announce a transformative $500,000 contribution from the Mars Snacking Foundation Better Community Fund to strengthen the Equitable Well-Being and Food Access Fund, a permanent community endowment dedicated to supporting food access, basic needs, and community resilience across the greater Battle Creek area. The endowment gift is part of $1.7 million in total grants from the Mars Snacking Foundation to programs serving Battle Creek and Calhoun County.
The Equitable Well-Being and Food Access Fund was created to help ensure that all residents have access to healthy food, essential hygiene products, clothing, and other personal or family care necessities. Grounded in the Social Drivers of Health framework, the Fund seeks to address the underlying conditions that influence health, well-being, and quality of life for individuals and families throughout the community, with dignity, compassion and respect. Through grantmaking, public advocacy, and education, the Fund supports efforts that strengthen food security and meet other basic needs across the region. The Mars Snacking Foundation investment represents an important step toward creating stable, sustainable annual funding for organizations addressing food insecurity and related needs in the community. The contribution from the 2026 Better Community Fund will be invested as a permanent endowment, allowing the Foundation to increase annual grantmaking in this area by approximately $20,000 each year while preserving and investing the original gift to provide lasting community benefit for generations to come.
Food insecurity continues to affect many families throughout Calhoun County and the greater Battle Creek region. According to recent community data, food insecurity rates in Calhoun County remain above state and national averages, while many area households continue to struggle to consistently afford essentials such as food, housing, transportation, and health care. These challenges highlight the growing importance of coordinated, long-term investments that strengthen both immediate supports and broader systems of care.
“Access to nutritious food and essential household necessities plays a critical role in health, educational success, financial stability, and overall quality of life,” said Elizabeth Schultheiss, Executive Vice President. “This Fund is about more than addressing immediate needs, it is about building a more resilient community where all residents have the opportunity to thrive.”
The Fund is intentionally designed to support both urgent needs and long-term community solutions. Grantmaking may support programs such as emergency food assistance, fresh food distribution, mobile markets, senior nutrition programs, hygiene and household necessity supports, outreach efforts, and other strategies that improve equitable access to food and essential resources across the region.
“At Mars, we believe stronger communities are built through partnership, local leadership, and long-term investment,” said Anne Vela-Wagner, Executive Director of the Mars Snacking Foundation. “The Mars Snacking Foundation is proud to support the Battle Creek Community Foundation’s efforts to strengthen equitable well-being and food access in the region through sustainable, community-centered solutions that help families and communities thrive.” While the Equitable Well-Being and Food Access Fund will provide meaningful and sustainable annual support, community leaders recognize the scale of need across the region is far greater than any one organization or funding source can address alone. Lasting impact depends on coordinated community responses and the collective efforts of nonprofit organizations, philanthropic partners, businesses, donors, and residents working together to strengthen equitable access to food and essential supports.
“No one organization can address these challenges alone,” said Mary Muliett, President and CEO. “This Fund represents an important long-term investment in equitable well-being and food access, and it is only one part of the broader community response needed to support families across our region. We are grateful for partners throughout the community, including organizations like United Way of South Central Michigan and South Michigan Food Bank, whose work alongside many others helps strengthen the network of support available to residents every day.” Additional 2026 Better Community Fund grants have also been awarded from the Mars Snacking Foundation to the United Way of South Central Michigan and South Michigan Food Bank in the amounts of $910,000 and $200,000 respectively, providing a total investment of $1.6 million to address food insecurity and basic needs.”
BCCF hopes this investment will inspire additional community support and seeks philanthropic partnership from our community to help expand the region’s collective ability to respond to food insecurity and other essential needs. And in another demonstration of long-term investment, the Mars Snacking Foundation provided a $120,000 grant to Battle Creek Unlimited to expand the capacity of the START Kitchen and Café at the Battle Creek Innovation Hub. This will support local entrepreneurs and the broader community for many years to come.
The Battle Creek Community Foundation invites individuals, families, businesses, and organizations to join this effort collectively, for our community by contributing to the Equitable Well-Being and Food Access Fund which will help to strengthen equitable access to food and basic necessities across the region, for children, individuals and families.
