The Bloomingdale
Food Access Project
Restoring food access.
Strengthening community.
Building a resilient rural future.
Bloomingdale is facing a defining moment. The closure of our only grocery store threatens the wellbeing of our residents and the vitality of our rural village. Seniors, families, and neighbors without reliable transportation now face miles of travel for basic necessities — a burden our community cannot sustain.
The Bloomingdale Food Access Project is our response: a unified, community-driven plan to restore reliable access to healthy, affordable food while building a foundation for long-term rural resilience.
Why This Project Matters
For over a century, Bloomingdale has relied on local access to essential goods — not just as a convenience, but as a pillar of daily life. Without a grocery store, our village risks becoming a rural food desert, deepening the challenges our neighbors already face — getting to work, getting to school, getting dinner on the table.
This project exists because food access is not optional — it’s foundational.
It is the first major initiative of the Bloomingdale Development Association, aligned with our mission to revive, rebuild, and reimagine the future of our rural community.
Fred W. & Robert Banks, Dairy Farm, Bloomingdale, MI 1909.
What We're Building
The Bloomingdale Food Access Project is a food access hub — a place where people buy fresh, healthy food and where local economies grow.
A community grocery store — fresh produce, dairy, pantry staples, locally sourced goods. A place for residents to shop close to home.
A producer marketplace — a place where local farmers and makers bring their food to sell. Where the salsa maker, the baker, the meat smoker, the granola toaster find a shelf, a kitchen, and a customer base. Where anyone with a niche and a dream gets the support to build an enterprise around it.
A commercial kitchen — available for rent, for classes, for cooking events, for promotional nights. A space where producers test products, develop recipes, and launch brands.
A food pantry — one of the enterprises that plugs into the hub. A service for neighbors who need it, operating alongside the commercial businesses with the same dignity and quality.
A supply chain connector — linking local producers to school cafeterias, hospitals, restaurants, and businesses. Strengthening the rural food supply chain and reducing dependence on distant county and state infrastructure.
A community center — healthy nutrition education, cooking certification, food education initiatives, entertainment, and events. A place where people come together around food.
One hub. Multiple enterprises. One community.
Our Solution:
A New Model for Rural Grocery Access
Education, Learning & Community Connection
The hub isn't just about buying food — it's about building knowledge. Cooking and nutrition classes, food budgeting workshops, youth programs, farm-to-table education, and community events. A place where people come together around food, learn together, and grow together.
Where We Are Now
The Bloomingdale Food Access Project has moved from concept into active development:
• Cooperative structure — A standalone cooperative corporation is being formed. Support is being sought from Michigan State University's Cooperative Development Program and the Food Co-Op Initiative for startup process and cooperative structuring guidance.
• Building acquisition — A proposal to acquire the former Wagoner's building has been submitted through a community-aligned land contract with the Bloomingdale Area Improvement Club.
• Federal funding — A $465,000 USDA Rural Business Development Grant application is in preparation for an informational review with USDA Rural Development.
• State funding — A Michigan Department of Agriculture equipment grant for $100,000 is being filed for the April 15 deadline.
• Community development finance — Conversations are underway with local and regional CDFIs, including the Michigan Good Food Fund, to support working capital and operational financing.
• Community leadership — A Cooperative Director with 20+ years of nonprofit and enterprise experience has been identified and a letter of intent is being prepared.
• Local support — Letters of support received from the Village of Bloomingdale Council, Bloomingdale Township Council, and the Van Buren County District Library.
• Rural collaboration — BDA is connecting with other rural leaders across Michigan and the region who are working on similar food access and enterprise development projects — sharing strategies, lessons learned, and building a network of communities doing this work together.
• Governance — BDA's board has adopted formal compliance policies, conflict of interest procedures, and financial controls aligned with federal grant requirements.
We're building toward a summer 2026 opening.
Bloomingdale needs all of us now more than ever, the path forward will be shaped by the people who reach out a helping hand. Your support, whether through volunteering, lending your skills, connecting us with partners, or simply spreading the word, fuels the momentum behind this project.
Every hand offered, every hour given, every contribution made becomes part of the foundation we are rebuilding together. This is more than restoring a grocery store; it is reclaiming our community’s strength, dignity, and self-reliance.
By stepping forward, you become part of the story of Bloomingdale’s revival — helping to ensure that our neighbors, our elders, and our children have what they need to thrive. Join us, and let’s build a future worthy of the proud roots we share. Please share this project, share your ideas, and reach out to us if you would like to help.