Public Policy Associates has provided research and strategic consultation services to help clients inform policies to foster economic development, create vibrant communities, develop regional food systems, and improve population health.
In this work, PPA has partnered with public, private, non profit, and philanthropic clients, including small business and health-related statewide associations, and community consortiums. The work is led by PPA senior project manager, Dr. Nancy McCrohan, who brings inter-disciplinary expertise across food systems, public health, community economic development, and workforce development.
Below is a selection of PPA’s healthy communities projects:
In collaboration with the Feeding America national office (FANO), PPA designed and executed a program evaluation that examined Feeding America West Michigan’s (FAWM) Mobile Food Pantry Program. The program operates in 32 counties across all five regions served by FAWM. The study provided a deeper look at the client profile for the program and created … Continued
PPA is in the process of facilitating the development of Michigan’s first statewide housing plan. This plan will guide not only the work of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), but will serve as a call to action for others looking to ensure the state’s housing ecosystem provides healthy, affordable housing for all in … Continued
To aid MSHDA in developing its plan to respond to and promote recovery from COVID-19 effects on housing in the state, PPA designed an approach that drew on existing information, partner organization voices, and expert insights. PPA collected and reviewed a variety of documents from state task forces, associations, government agencies, and others to identify … Continued
PPA provided facilitation and research services for a two-year planning grant to develop a comprehensive, cross-systems strategy to address food security and health in the 15-county Upper Peninsula (U.P.). The initial research phase of work was aimed at understanding both the context of the U.P. region and emergent food as medicine (FAM) innovations nationally. PPA … Continued
PPA conducted an assessment of the local producer-procurement landscape in the rural region comprising the Petoskey (Michigan) foodshed, with an emphasis on farm-to-school and farm-to-food pantry. The assessment entailed the review of existing data and information and facilitating roundtable discussions with stakeholders—schools, food producers, distributors, food pantries, and stakeholder connectors—to identify points in the food … Continued