Cook Family Foundation

How can we locally come together to address the most basic of needs in our community? The Cook Family Foundation seeks innovative local solutions to hunger needs and fresh produce access in Shiawassee County through collaboration, building the capacity of food providers, and direct assistance to the many nonprofit organizations that seek to address hunger.

In December of 2024, the Cook Family Foundation gave six local nonprofit organizations grants of $1,000 to help their efforts to help address hunger in Shiawassee County in tandem with a County food workgroup committed to food access efforts. 

The recipients of those grants included:

• Durand Area Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry
• Elsie Area Food Pantry 
• Catholic Charities of Shiawassee & Genesee 
• Angel’s Hands Community Outreach
• Perry Food Bank 
• Shiawassee Council on Aging

In 2025, the Foundation continued their efforts to work with community organizations, volunteers, churches, and public agencies that strive to reduce poverty and food insecurity – pairing them with a local fresh food source help residents in need. It was truly a win-win-win collaboration:

• Local food pantries were able to obtain fresh food from a local grower. The food was delivered directly to the pantries.
  
• Local food grower was paid for their services, helping subsidize their very valuable contributions.
• Local residents had the opportunity to receive healthy food, along with classes on how to prepare it, to supplement canned/dried food sources available at the pantries. 

The distribution of produce began in early summer with lots of leafy greens. Throughout the summer, pantries received tomatoes, summer squash, greens, beans, eggplant, cabbage, and more. On occasion, deliveries included fresh flowers, bringing a smile to everyone involved. Thus far, approximately 2,000 pounds of produce were made available over five months.  It is projected that the program will continue to provide fresh food until the third week of October.

Owosso Organics owner, Pooh Stevenson, was the grower who participated in this pilot project, offering local organic produce to the pantries.

“Providing food for our local food pantries has been a deeply rewarding experience for all of us at Owosso Organics,” said Stevenson. “We feel we are making a positive impact in our community and the pantry organizers are very grateful for each delivery.”

Local pantries were thrilled to be able to offer locally-grown, fresh produce to their patrons.

“Fresh produce is one thing our clients have always wanted, but we were never able to obtain enough to serve our 100+ families due to its perishable nature and cost,” said Diane Pelky of the St. Mary’s Outreach Food Pantry in Durand.  “Our clients  have been thrilled when we were able to add the beautiful fresh produce to their food choices. Their faces just lit up when we told them we had fresh produce.”

Although very encouraged by this initial collaboration, The Cook Family Foundation continues to be concerned about current and future food insecurity among so many area residents.

“This is not a faceless crisis,” said Rachel Osmer, Associate Director of the Cook Family Foundation. “These are our friends and neighbors. The Foundation is committed to addressing this county-wide need and to help facilitate efforts among our many partners so that our entire community is stronger – together.”

For more information, and to learn about opportunities for local growers to provide food for distribution locally, contact Rachel Osmer at rachel@cookfamilyfoundation.org.

From left to right: Yvette Collard (Director of Scholarships), Laurie Platner, Jeana Travis, Rajvinder Kaur, Luke Henige, Haylee Luft, Quinn Skarich, Claire Agnew, Anna Owens (Co-Executive Director), & Rachel Osmer (Associate Director).

Each summer, the Cook Family Foundation partners with local nonprofit and government agencies to provide meaningful internships for current University of Michigan students from Shiawassee County. The Cook Fellows have been operating since 2013. The experience bolsters relationships with our nonprofit partners, who are in need of support, by providing funding for them to employ high caliber interns from Shiawassee County who want to give back to their community. The beauty of the Cook Fellows program is that it allows local students the opportunity to have an impactful experience while also providing services to local agencies. Nonprofits get to have some of the leaders and best working for them over the summer, and students get to dip their toes into the professional water. The Foundation sees this initiative as a win-win-win: for the Foundation, for our students, and for our community. 

Health Department Director, Larry Johnson, and Claire Agnew

This summer the Foundation funded seven Fellows across the county. Each student interviewed and was hired at their placement through the partners’ process. The partners were able to interview students to find the best fit for their organization. We had Fellows at the Shiawassee Health Department, DeVries Nature Conservancy, Memorial Healthcare, and more. Each location provides a unique experience. Not only do the students get firsthand experience at their placement, they also get the opportunity to network with the Foundation and other Fellows throughout the summer. This networking provided the chance to share placement experiences and build connections that can continue back at the University of Michigan. At the end of the experience, all participants were surveyed to share insights about their time working in Shiawassee County. One hundred percent of 2025 Fellows would encourage and recommend this program to their peers. An additional insight from the survey showed that some students had their future plans affirmed from their experience this summer, while others found themselves wanting to explore different paths after their summer employment. This dichotomy is exactly why the Foundation does this work. Students get professional experience in a low risk environment; this helps students learn earlier if their current path is correct for them, or if their passion lies elsewhere. 

Luke Henige and Memorial Researcher Monica

In addition to valuable professional experience, many of our Fellows report that the work they got to do was meaningful for their soul. One student stated that, “I realized that even while dentistry is my career path, art and creativity still have so much value in my life. Continuing to nurture those aspects of myself will be critical to find balance and fulfillment in my life.” This statement emphasizes the importance of empowering students to explore their passions, while also encouraging their professional growth. We recognize that each student’s journey is unique, and we plan to continue to help them explore their passions and grow professionally as the Cook Fellows program continues year after year. 

This summer the following organizations had the opportunity to host a Fellow: 

• The ARC Mid-Michigan – Laurie Platner

• DeVries Nature Conservancy – Haylee Luft

• Memorial Healthcare in Owosso – Luke Henige

• Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership – Rajvinder Kaur

• Shiawassee Health & Wellness – Jeana Travis 

• Shiawassee Arts Center – Quinn Skarich

• Shiawassee Health Department – Claire Agnew 

Thank you to all who contributed to make this a meaningful experience this summer!