On May 18-19, 2026, NCRCRD Director, Dr. Maria Marshall and NCRCRD Research and Extension Specialist, Renee Wiatt attended the annual Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) Food Shocks Project “All Hands Meeting” at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. The SAS Food Shocks meeting brought together the transdisciplinary team of researchers, educators, and Extension experts involved with the 5-year project that is focused on developing more resilient food systems for coping with multiple natural disasters. This project aims to advance scientific understanding and develop sustainable practices that ensure food security in the face of increasing global uncertainties.
Attendees of the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Food Shocks Project “All Hands” meeting held May 18-19, 2026 in East Lansing, Michigan.
The SAS Food Shocks Project is led by Michigan State University and funded through the Sustainable Agricultural Systems program of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For this grant, NCRCRD along with other entities at Purdue University, are developing and testing a curriculum to help farmers in the Midwest better prepare for multiple natural disasters.
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The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) is one of four Regional Rural Development Centers in the United States. NCRCRD’s work links the research and educational outreach capacity of our region’s 34 land-grant universities with rural communities to help address a wide range of development issues unique to our 12-state region.
The Center’s work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.