Who we are

Our Approach

Community-Led Development

We believe that rural communities know what they need — and that solutions are strongest when shaped by those who live here. Every initiative we take is grounded in local voices, local history, and local leadership.

Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)

Rather than focusing on what is missing, we focus on what Bloomingdale already has: committed residents, deep agricultural roots, strong families, local knowledge, and a landscape that has sustained our village for over a century.

Collaboration & Partnership

Revitalizing a rural community requires cooperation across residents, farmers, schools, libraries, nonprofits, municipalities, and regional partners. We work to bridge these groups to create meaningful, lasting change.

Long-Term Vision

The Food Access Project is only the beginning. Our long-term goals include economic development, agricultural support, local entrepreneurship, rural infrastructure, land revitalization, and expanded community services.

Our Story

The Bloomingdale Development Association was founded on November 26, 2025 — just weeks before the closure of Wagoner's, the only grocery store in our village. On December 27, 2025, the doors closed for the last time, and Bloomingdale became a food desert overnight. Nearest grocery store: nine to eighteen miles away.

The timing wasn't planned. But the response was.

In the weeks that followed, BDA moved fast. A board of directors was seated. A USDA Rural Business Development Grant application was drafted. A building acquisition proposal was submitted. A cooperative structure was designed — community-owned, community-governed, built to last.

What began as a focused effort to restore food access revealed something larger: Bloomingdale deserves a sustainable development organization dedicated to protecting and building its future. Not a temporary fix. A permanent foundation.

Today, BDA serves as that anchor — bridging community needs, local strengths, and regional resources. From food access to affordable housing to cooperative enterprise development, we're building an ecosystem of opportunity rooted in the values that sustained this village for over a century.

The story isn't finished. But the chapter that matters — the one where Bloomingdale decided to save itself — that one's already written.

Who We Serve

• Bloomingdale residents and families

• Local farmers and producers

• Seniors and individuals facing food or transportation barriers

• Small businesses and local entrepreneurs

• Community institutions and service organizations

Our work supports the entire Bloomingdale area — strengthening the social, economic, and agricultural foundations that allow rural communities to thrive.

Leadership

Kurtis Dickerson — Executive Director

Kurtis is the founding Executive Director of BDA and the driving force behind the Bloomingdale Food Access Project. He is a sixth-generation direct descendant of August Haven, one of the founders of the Village of Bloomingdale — a legacy that grounds everything he does in deep roots and a long view of what this place can become.

Kurtis grew up in the area and graduated from Gobles High School, just one town over. He earned a BA in Marketing with a concentration in Music Business from Anderson University in Indiana (2013). After graduation, he spent five years in Nashville, Tennessee, working as a booking agent, day-to-day manager, and Director of Marketing for a boutique agency in Franklin, working with artists including Jars of Clay and Michael Gungor. He later moved to Colorado and started his own agency.

After starting a family, Kurtis felt the pull to come home. He returned to southwest Michigan and shifted back into the carpentry trade skill he'd grown up learning — choosing a simpler, more grounded life. He founded Timber & Tool, LLC, a carpentry and historic restoration business rooted in the same community where his family has lived for generations.

His commitment to community extends beyond Bloomingdale — Kurtis also serves as Secretary and Board Member of Land of Light (landoflight.us), a nonprofit organization in Paw Paw, Michigan, dedicated to holistic health, consciousness, and community wellbeing. It's part of a broader belief that building a village means more than buildings — it means caring for the people who live in them.

“Every blessing ignored becomes a curse. I knew this was where I wanted to lay my roots and grow my family. And I knew that if I wanted a legacy to leave my children, I needed to get involved.”

Taylor Dickerson — President, Board of Directors

Taylor Dickerson is a homesteader, permaculture designer, and community activist who has spent her life building systems that actually work for people.

She obtained degrees in Sociology and Social Systems Design from Bloomsburg University and the Permaculture Women's Guild, and she contracts as a permaculture designer — bringing both theory and field experience to her role as President of BDA. Taylor has lived in Bloomingdale with her husband Kurtis for the past two years, where she is raising her stepdaughters Aurora and Genevieve with an education built at home and out in our community. She home grows organic food, stewarding a small piece of land in the village for the benefit of all the beings who inhabit it.

Taylor's commitment to community development strengthened in college, where she studied how systems fail people and what it takes to build better ones. Since then, she's been in the work — organizing, advocating, designing, and showing up. She knows that strong communities aren't built from the top down. They're built from the ground up, with good soil, shared knowledge, and people who refuse to wait for permission.

At BDA, Taylor leads with a focus on regenerative agriculture and food access — because she believes a community that can't feed itself isn't free.

Thomas A. Dickerson — Treasurer, Board of Directors

Thomas Dickerson is a lifelong Bloomingdale resident, a builder by trade, and a man whose family has been part of this village for generations.

With over 35 years in residential construction, Thomas has built more homes than most people could count — running a framing company and raising six children in the same community where he grew up and went to school. His parents were actively involved in village life, and that legacy of service has carried forward through Thomas and his family.

His commitment to Bloomingdale extends beyond his work. Thomas serves as a Commissioner on the Bloomingdale Parks & Recreation Commission and has served as a Village Council Trustee — positions rooted in a deep understanding of what this community needs and what it takes to get things done.

Thomas is married to Pam Dickerson, who is also deeply involved in community life. Together they have six adult children, with families of their own.

As BDA's Treasurer, Thomas brings the steady hand and practical judgment of someone who has spent a lifetime building things that last.

Patrice Kaufman — Vice President / Secretary, Board of Directors

Patrice is BDA's resident nutritional expert — a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, massage therapist, and transformational teacher with decades of experience in health education, community building, and organizational leadership.

After earning her BA in Political Science from Wayne State University, Patrice spent years in higher education leadership, co-founding American Medical Careers in Flint, Lansing, and Detroit. She built the company's entire operational infrastructure — HR, admissions, financial aid, career services, education departments — managed growth across branch locations, oversaw development of nine healthcare training programs, led the team to successful institutional accreditation with ACCET, and received the 2007 Service Business Award from the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce.

In 2015, Patrice pivoted fully into holistic health and nutrition. She became a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and founded Cause Your Life LLC, developing curriculum and teaching transformational courses on wellness, meditation, and personal growth.

She's grown, packaged, and sold microgreens and gluten-free baked goods at farmers markets across southwest Michigan, and has managed large-scale dining operations at The Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, where she supervised teams serving hundreds of people daily.

Today, she teaches healthy eating classes at senior centers and community organizations across the region — Portage, Paw Paw, South Haven, and Kalamazoo through Western Michigan University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Mary Ann Scott — Board Member

Mary Ann is the Executive Director of Land of Light, a nonprofit organization in Paw Paw, Michigan, dedicated to holistic health, consciousness, and community wellbeing. She brings a rare combination of corporate leadership, health education, and energy medicine expertise to BDA's board.

Mary Ann holds a BS in Biology and Health Education from Grand Valley State University, where she also played basketball. She went on to hold various coaching positions from high school to collegiate level before spending over 22 years in the life sciences industry, taking on leadership roles and completing continuing education at Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Chicago.

After facing health challenges that Western medicine couldn't fully address, Mary Ann turned to the science of natural healing — a path that ultimately led her to energy medicine and a profound personal transformation. She is now a Certified HeartMath Coach, Certified TRTP practitioner, and has completed extensive training in the Energy Medicine field.

Sarah Matthews — Board Member

Sarah and her family moved to Bloomingdale for its trail access, proximity to the lake, rolling hills, and small-town charm. An active household of three, they can usually be found skiing, biking, or exploring wherever nature takes them.

Sarah is a part-time homeschool mom and creative entrepreneur with a background in the salon and spa industry. She is currently developing educational programs for youth focused on emotional intelligence and social development, and works to help people take purposeful, digestible steps toward building a life and career rooted in their passions.

"Living with passion is the framework for living with love."

What Comes Next

BDA isn't waiting. Here's what's happening right now:

Bloomingdale Food Access Project — A community-owned grocery, food pantry, and enterprise hub. A USDA Rural Business Development Grant ($465,000) is in preparation, a Michigan Department of Agriculture equipment grant is being filed, and a building acquisition proposal has been submitted. Target: open by Summer 2026.

Bloomingdale Cooperative Grocery — A standalone cooperative corporation being formed with support from the Michigan Cooperative Development Program. Community-owned, member-governed, built to serve Bloomingdale and surrounding Van Buren County.

The Food Access Project is just the beginning. Once it's running, BDA will turn its attention to affordable housing, vocational training, and renewable energy development — building an ecosystem of opportunity, one foundation at a time.

Join Us

Revitalizing Bloomingdale requires all of us. Whether you're a resident, a farmer, a business owner, or someone who simply cares about rural communities — there is a place for you in this work.

Become a founding member. Join the cooperative and help shape its governance, store layout, and community programming.

Share your skills. We need people with experience in construction, food systems, business, grant writing, and community organizing.

Farmers & producers. Interested in selling through the food hub? We're building our producer network now.

Spread the word. Tell your neighbors. Share our posts. Help us grow.

Have an idea? Reach out — we're listening.

Together, we are restoring the heart of our village and building a future worthy of Bloomingdale's proud roots