Springfield Community Gardens and founding executive director recognized as food industry visionaries

By Alyssa Roney, for the Springfield Daily Citizen

According to a press release, Springfield Community Gardens (SCG) will receive $210,000 from the Missouri Foundation for Health. The donation is in recognition of Maile Auterson, founding executive director of SCG.

“I am honored to have 15 years of hard work recognized, not only by myself, but by the volunteers and community members who share the vision of a community where everyone has access to healthy, local food,” Auterson said in the press release.

Auterson’s recognition as a food justice visionary is based on her efforts to support food production on family farms, regenerative agriculture, and a “food as medicine” model.

The grant will be used over a two-year period in line with the Missouri Foundation for Health’s 20-year Food Equity Initiative, which “focuses on strengthening local food systems to create thriving communities where all Missourians have the food they need to live active and healthy lives.”

SCG’s efforts to improve local access to food have been incorporated by the city into its comprehensive plan, Forward SGF, which emphasizes relocalization of the food economy.

Learn more about the Missouri Foundation for Health’s Food Justice Initiative on the MFFH website.