02-12-2020 B&B Grocery gets grant for produce cooler; Kute Kid; 2020 Census––Be Counted! Coloma

THIS KUTE KID IS… Cypress Jay Herman, welcomed into the world in December 2019. He is the first born of proud parents Joanna and Chad Herman of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Sandy and Robert Herman of Coloma are Cypress’ loving grandparents. Merlin and Jackie Hauch of Watervliet are excited to announce he is their 17th great-grandchild!

B&B Grocery gets grant for produce cooler

By Teresa Smithers When Papa Scott’s Market, formerly Watervliet Harding’s, closed its doors in Watervliet several years ago, residents were left without a place in town to get fresh groceries and produce. Enter B&B Grocery Outlet, originally on Main Street.

IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE… Beth Wagner displays the new produce cooler at B&B Grocery Outlet. The cooler was purchased with the help of a grant from “Be Healthy Corner Stores Initiative.” (TCR photo by Teresa Smithers)

This grocery store owned and operated by husband and wife team Ben and Beth Wagner, quickly became the place where many Tri-City area residents buy their groceries. Success moved B&B to a larger building at 337 E. St. Joseph Street (Rookies) where they were able to sell even more discount groceries and fresh produce. But fresh produce doesn’t help anyone if no one knows you have it. Although they kept produce in a cooler, B&B needed one that allowed the selection to be more readily visible to customers. The trick was affording the upgrade. Efforts are underway here in Southwestern Michigan to help neighborhood stores like B&B to find resources and distributors in order to provide healthy food to customers. In order to help make this possible, Be Healthy Berrien has gone into a partnership with the YMCA and United Way to form the “Be Healthy Corner Stores Initiative.” Last year, in an effort to get the better coolers, B&B Grocery applied for help with “Be Healthy Corner Stores Initiative”. After nearly a year of surveys, assessments and field studies, B&B Grocery Outlet was approved for a grant. This grant has allowed them to buy new and better coolers. It may also help with future projects once those needs have been identified. B&B was also able to purchase an upright cooler for their stock of Coloma Frozen Foods, “Nature Blessed”. B&B Grocery is now the only local retail outlet for Coloma Frozen Foods, drawing customers from as far away as Chicago.

2020 Census––Be Counted! Coloma Public Library offers census education

Be counted and help boost community funding–don’t risk losing millions

By Nancy Albright

The 2020 Census is underway and it’s more important than ever to participate. The Coloma Public Library (CPL) is doing its part. The count begins on April 1 and the bottom line is that communities all across America depend on census numbers for federal funding.

Take your school-age kids to the Coloma Public Library, 151 W. Center St., on Wednesday, March 18 at 6 p.m. to learn about the census as part of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) exploration program, designed by CPL Assistant Director Alicia Ford.

“We are encouraging every family in our community to participate—the motto is ‘Be Counted Berrien’,” said CPL Director Mary Harrison. “Our library staff is also attending training provided by Be Counted Berrien to learn how to help people complete the census form at the library.”

The program is funded with a $1,730 mini-grant from the Berrien County Community Foundation, allocated exclusively for census-related programming.

Volunteers from the Coloma High School National Honor Society will conduct hands-on technology demos on Wednesday, March 18 to introduce kids to Google Cardboards, virtual reality, invisible ink, merge cubes, and Bristlebots. The M (math) part of the STEM program includes a segment on estimating populations to introduce kids to the census.

CPL census outreach program

Remember, M (math) on March 18 is just part of the census programming being offered by CPL.

“Part of the reason we sought special grant funding is to try to reach community members who may be more often under-counted: immigrants and migrant families,” said Harrison. “We have geared several of our special programs toward nurturing these connections.”

To encourage the area Hispanic community to get involved and to promote the importance of participating in the census, CPL invites all ages to attend the Bilingual Story Times Series (Spanish and English), Wednesdays, April 15, 22, and 29 at 10:30 a.m. Christina Velasco of I Heart Spanish will read stories and help with translation.

Tuesday, April 28 brings Coloma Counts, Census Day. People can fill out their census forms online all day and be entered into gift card drawings and register for CPL’s Cinco De Mayo celebration. Participants must come to the library on April 28 to register for the party. A reminder to residents is that they can complete the census online at the library on any day.

The Cinco De Mayo party is on Tuesday, May 5, 6:00–7:30 p.m. and all ages may attend with registration. Guests will be entered into prize drawings and enjoy a dance performance from the Mexican Heritage Dance Team and tacos from El Asadero. “We hope that most will have already completed the census,” said Harrison, “But that evening, those who haven’t yet filled out their census forms can do it at the library.”

Don’t risk losing millions

Federal funding covers everything from education, school lunches, WIC, SNAP, farm subsidies, transportation, bridges, roads, highways, childcare, and employment programs, to the state children’s insurance program, health centers, Medicaid, Medicare, and many other federal programs.

The risk of not filling out the form is high. There are an estimated 126,862 residents in Berrien County to be counted and 29,951 will be difficult to count. According to the State of Michigan, federal programs affected by census dollars amounts to $1,800 per person per year. That could equate to a loss of $44 million annually, or $440 million of census-based funding over a ten-year span.

Those that are hard to count are immigrants, people of color, children under five, lower-income households, the homeless, mobile individuals like students and young people, and people with limited access to the internet.

It’s important to know that there are no citizenship or income questions, and census information is confidential for 72 years. Citizens are asked nine questions, including information like name and gender. There are no questions about citizenship on the survey. Government and law enforcement agencies, immigration, DHS, FBI, CIA, IRS, ICE, and landlords do not receive census information.

What the census means for Coloma

Here’s what the numbers break down to for the City of Coloma and Coloma Township. In 2010, the total population was 6,635; 18.7% – or 1,240 people – were not counted. Coloma Area Census Tract 102 lost $11,943 annually – or $119,430 over the past ten years.

The Census Bureau will mail forms March 12–20. April 1 is Census Day, meaning that residents will count everyone living in their home as of April 1, 2020. Residents can complete the form online, or by mail or phone.

City officials are asked to distribute flyers and talk with residents about the importance of being counted.

For more information about the CPL STEM program and completing the census at the library visit colomapubliclibrary.net or call (269) 468-3431. For more information about the 2020 Census and Be Counted Berrien visit 2020census.gov and becountedberrien.org.