Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyles Program

Purpose: The Michigan Health Endowment Fund's Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyles program supports projects that improve the health of Michigan residents, with emphasis on children and older adults, by increasing access to healthy food, strengthening food systems, expanding opportunities for physical activity, and advancing healthy built environments. The initiative centers community voice and equity and aims to reduce health disparities by addressing social determinants of health in four focus areas: food access, food systems, physical activity, and the built environment. Additional applicant eligibility: Eligible applicants include nonprofits recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt, federally recognized Tribes, local units of government, and the State of Michigan. Applicants must serve Michigan residents, have a current certified audit or independently reviewed financial statements, and have at least 1 full-time equivalent staff member. Requests may not exceed 20% of the applicant's annual operating budget. The Fund does not support clinical research, loans, emergency response, capital projects or construction, litigation, ongoing program operations/staffing, lobbying, or tuition/fees, and will not fund organizations that discriminate. Project eligibility: Projects should propose new or expanded programming aligned to the four focus areas. Built environment proposals are limited to planning, design, and pre-engineering (no capital or construction). In 2025, Food Is Medicine implementation models (such as produce prescriptions or food boxes) were not competitive; the Fund prioritized systems-level work (e.g., Medicaid-aligned approaches, food system infrastructure, equitable access). Application process: Concept papers (strongly encouraged) were accepted by email by March 20, 2025, followed by full applications submitted via the Health Fund's Fluxx grant portal by 5:00 p.m. ET on May 1, 2025. Applications were reviewed by staff and external experts; awards were announced on September 3, 2025, with the earliest project start date of October 1, 2025.