County Commission Candidates Answer on the Kent County Food System

Food is a part of our everyday lives and our regional infrastructure: how does our local government envision and prioritize food? The Kent County Food Policy Council advocates for and promotes a local, good food system. We are currently working on a Food System Plan for Kent County.

In order to educate our community about their candidate options, we asked Kent County Commission Candidates to briefly share their vision and what excites them about the food system in Kent County.

The responses below do not indicate endorsement: our intention is to inform our community about food policy. Election day is November 5. All candidates were contacted; we thank those who responded for their time in answering the questions. 

District 6

Stan Stek

When considering the challenges of establishing a strong sustainable and equitable food policy in Kent County it is apparent that Kent County's diversity engages us deeply in most phases of such a policy.  We have strong agricultural production activity across the County which we need to continue to support through our efforts with the MSU Extension Service, our partnership with the Kent County Soil Conservation District and support for the farmland preservation process. We also have processing and delivery systems that we need to assure are strong and sustainable.  And, we have large delivery systems such as Meijer and Spartan Nash who are integral partners in the food delivery process.  To assure equity in the access to food it is also essential that we work with our food support systems including our partnership with Feeding America and our support for direct food distributions especially in our Senior Millage programming where we support direct access to food through the work of Senior Meals, Salvation Army and KCCA and the innovative work of the Community Food Club. Finally, our work through KCCA is essential in helping to meet the food needs of those facing a food crisis and significant food inadequacy.  So, what excites me most about the food system in Kent County is that while we continue to experience significant challenges we have most of the necessary ingredients for a strong sustainable food system and we have the will and the political and economic means to address the needs and assure a strong equitable food policy going forward.

District 7

Sonia Riley

As a Latina woman, the one thing I know about cooking is adding flavor without increasing sodium or eating harmful processed foods, although these are necessary at times.  When I became the caregiver for my parents, I became a grandmother of seven and worked in a food desert. I have seen firsthand how the lack of access and affordability can affect how people eat. I have been on my own journey in changing my own relationship with unhealthy foods. I started growing food in a raised garden and in pots. The soil around my property may have led to it, and I didn't want to risk it. We have grown peppers, potatoes, green beans, and tomatoes. Let me tell you the joy of eating something you yourself have grown with your family is like no other. The taste is absolutely like no food in the store. If I could ask one thing about this plan, it would be to think about the folks in 49507. I worked at Dickinson for 6 years. It has very low sources of fresh vegetables, and even the veggie van stopped coming after the parents complained about the quality of food being brought to them. I  want to know more and how can I help in the mission. Thank you for feeding our minds and bodies. I also want to make absolutely clear that the workers in agriculture and farmers are well taken care of with reasonable access to healthcare, living environment, and support.

Stan Ponstein

I will keep my answer brief. No Farms No Food. The attack on Kent County Family Farmers continues and the lack of safe nutritious food availiabilty will become less and less for our residents. Without a strong policy on protection of Farmland from the Federal, State and local governments, we will see more food deserts, more imported food and family farmers facing bankruptcy. It is that simple, NO FARMS, NO FOOD.

District 8

Chris Herweyer

My first year out of college, I served a year in AmeriCorps VISTA down in Albion, Michigan working on food access and small food business incubation. Ensuring communities have access to healthy, fresh, and affordable food is hugely important to me and the existence of food deserts in many neighborhoods in our community is something that must be solved. 

I am excited by growth opportunities in food access such as the farm market that should be in place in the Godwin Heights neighborhood on 36th near 131 soon. On the county commission, I would support similar food access projects and work to educate the public on the many food access programs that exist at the local, state, and federal levels (including Project Fresh, EBT, WIC, 10 cents a meal, etc.) 

District 10

Roslund Harris

District 12

Monica Sparks

I am excited that we live in a place where helping people maintain the dignity of food in their kitchen cabinets and healthy diets is such an important matter.  Making sure people have healthy, clean food from environmentally friendly practices is also very important. I am part of a Food Co-Op and believe there can be good changes with-in our food system so there is less waste, more healthy foods available and less food desserts in the core city. Kent County has many organizations that share and service  families and individuals needing food. I hope they continue to collaborate and we are all welcome to be part of the process.… 

District 14

Carol M. Hennessy

I am excited by the possibilities. Kent County has begun working toward a comprehensive approach to its food system network with its Food Policy Council, a committee of its long-standing Essential Needs Task Force. This has been a priority of the Health Department’s Comprehensive Health Needs Assessment to describe the problem and list resources – a list which is growing.

The opportunity to eat balanced meals ought to be available to all – with an emphasis on “all.” My hope is that a food system network is created that residents do not experience food insecurity worrying that the food will run out or live in a food desert, a neighborhood without access to fresh, healthy foods. It is particularly vital that young children have balanced, healthy food to enhance their ability to learn, grown and fight off illnesses. (CHNA report) Improving nutrition improves health at every age. Having a comprehensive and complete food system is multi-faceted and also involves making sure our agricultural environment is sustainable. 

District 15

Lisa S Oliver-King

As a Kent County commissioner, I will advocate for more farm-to-school programming in the counties schools; more or continued involvement in the state's 10-cents a Meal program; healthier school breakfast and lunch options; school kitchens that allow cooked-from-scratch meals; limiting or eliminating soda, snack and junk food vending machines; growing school food gardens; and nutrition education that helps students become lifelong healthy eaters via information and media literacy. I support more Michigan Fitness Foundation SNAP-Ed food programming in our schools. And I would like to see culturally relevant,  nutritious foods — selected by parents and families — going home in nonprofit brown bag food programs.

I have long been an advocate for healthy foods in communities and schools. The nonprofit I founded, Our Kitchen Table, has planted food gardens at several GRPS schools over the years including G.R. Ford, MLK, City, and currently at Campus. The gardens not only taught students how to grow food, but also provided healthy snacks at school and had a registered dietitian teach classes about healthier eating, stretching the food budget to include healthy foods, and identifying sources of healthy foods in their neighborhoods. OKT also published a handout , “Brain Equity and Food Justice,” that shares the importance of healthy foods being available to all children, especially those with income challenges.

District 16

Melissa LaGrand

I'm excited about the many great producers in Kent County, and our richness in agricultural land and processing; I'm also excited that we have an active and successful farmland preservation program in place.

District 18

Steve Faber

The part of the food system I'm most excited about, and equipped to address, is around food waste. I see real opportunity for our community to make investments that will make it easier for residents and businesses to compost or turn food waste into renewable energy. Kent County currently lacks a lot of the infrastructure necessary to have a robust solution, but things are aligning at many levels and across the private, nonprofit and public sector. At the end of the day, we need policy that will lead to a significant investment in organic waste processing, whether that's composting, anaerobic digestions or biochar. To tackle the scale of the issue, we'll need to move beyond a piecemeal approach and look at solutions that encourage and incentive people to make choices that reduce food waste and have the technology to process that material if they don't or can't.

District 19

Kris Pachla

I believe that creating a resilient, sustainable, and equitable food system is essential to building a healthier, more connected community. What excites me most is the opportunity for collaboration—across government, community organizations, schools, local farmers, and residents—to shape this system together.

At the heart of this vision is the principle of accessibility. I’m excited about ensuring everyone in Kent County, especially those in underserved areas, has access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. By working together and amplifying the voices of our most impacted communities, we can create solutions that not only reduce food deserts but also improve public health for all.

Supporting our local economy is another key part of this vision. Kent County’s agricultural community is rich with potential, and we can help foster more initiatives that connect local farmers directly to consumers. By investing in small businesses, urban agriculture, and innovative farm-to-table partnerships, we can create good jobs and help our local economy thrive.

Finally, I’m energized by the possibilities for sustainability. As a community, we have an opportunity to lead on environmentally sound practices—reducing food waste, supporting regenerative agriculture, and protecting our natural resources. With the right leaders guiding our vision, we can make meaningful progress on policies that ensure a food system that not only feeds us today but is resilient for the future. Projects like the Sustainable Business Park 2.0 will ensure that our food waste isn't contributing to climate change but instead utilized in a circular and regenerative economy.

By coming together and championing democratic principles of collaboration, equity, and innovation, we can build a food system that benefits everyone in Kent County.

Karen G. Machiorlatti

I have spent the last four years feeding the homeless in and around the Grand Rapids area, I have seen local businesses do a great deal more donating  of food rather than disposing of it, making sure that people without means are being fed. Even five years ago this would not have been the case. I would love to see us have restaurants recover leftover uneaten foods to distribute to those in need and believe that's the next step in sustainability. 

I'm also very excited to see the amount of community gardens popping up within each city and would ultimately love to see more, there is nothing better for our families than fresh produce from the earth they grow themselves. 

Being good stewards of the land we have by growing food and showing children where food comes from teaches them a skill AND feeds them! 

We are on the right path, we just need to keep moving forward doing the next right thing.

As a long time gardener wherever I am planted I know how much benefit there it to be gained by growing your own food, even now, living in an apartment, I grow herbs, tomatoes,  cucumbers, beans, peas, peppers and more.