BENTON TOWNSHIP — Lake Michigan College has been awarded three grants totaling $525,000 to expand student support services and combat food insecurity across its Benton Harbor, South Haven and Bertrand Innovation Center campuses.
The awards come from two grant programs administered by the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential and one from the Ohio-Michigan Basic Needs Initiative.
The funding package includes a $400,000 Barrier Removal – Growing Institutional Capacity grant, a $75,000 Hunger-Free Campus Activities grant, and a $50,000 OH-MI Pathways Together Initiative grant. Together, the awards will allow LMC to launch new mental health resources, establish a centralized Community Resource Center, install smart food pickup lockers, expand its campus food pantry and snack shack network, create a meal-kit program, and build a more comprehensive infrastructure for identifying and responding to student basic needs.
“When students are struggling to meet basic needs, finishing a degree becomes much harder,” LMC President Ken Flowers said in a news release. “These grants allow us to build the kind of proactive, connected support systems that help students stay enrolled and succeed.”
The awards reflect LMC’s sustained commitment to student success beyond the classroom. Utilization of the College’s Red Hawk Refuel Pantry and Red Hawk Snack Shacks has grown 34 percent year over year, underscoring the urgency of investing in systems that keep students stable, enrolled, and on track to complete their degrees.
“For many students, the biggest threat to graduation isn’t academics – it’s life circumstances,” said Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea, MiLEAP director. “This funding helps colleges like Lake Michigan College put stronger systems in place so students can stay focused on their education and complete their degrees.”