News and Stories

Human Milk Institute and Center for Community Health at UC San Diego in partnership with the Childhood Obesity Initiative Announces Additional $45,000 from San Diego Foundation to Expand 2025-26 Community Mini-Grants.

The Human Milk Institute (HMI), in partnership with the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative (COI)—funded by the County of San Diego Health and Human Sercvies Agency- Chronic Disease and Health Equity Unit (HHSA) and facilitated by the UC San Diego Center for Community Health (CCH) housed at the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute (ACTRI)—is pleased to announce an additional $45,000 in funding from the San Diego Foundation (SDF) to support community-based mini-grant projects advancing lactation support and child and family health across San Diego County.

This additional investment, which further amplifies the previous support of the County of San Diego HHSA and Kaiser Permanente, allows HMI and COI to fund all 14 of the top-scoring applicants from the competitive 2025 mini-grant cycle. With these funds, seven additional awards will be made, including three lactation-focused projects and four healthy eating and physical activity initiatives, all led by community-based organizations embedded in the communities they serve.

With this announcement, total 2025 mini-grant funding now reaches $85,000, including:

$10,000 from COI, funded by the County of San Diego HHSA

$30,000 from Kaiser Permanente

$45,000 from the San Diego Foundation

This funding aligns with and directly supports the San Diego Foundation’s Born Well Initiative, which invests in early-life and family-centered strategies to strengthen health outcomes for mothers and infants in San Diego County.

Earlier this year, HMI partnered with COI to expand the mini-grant pool in response to extraordinary demand. The 2025 cycle received 49 applications requesting more than $230,000, reflecting both the scale of community need and the strength of local leadership across the region. With the addition of SDF funding, HMI and COI are now able to ensure that every top-ranked proposal can move forward.

These additional awards will enable community-based organizations to expand lactation and breastfeeding support designed to meet the specific needs of families and communities served, strengthen access to healthy foods and physical activity for children and families, and pilot innovative, community-informed approaches that advance health equity for families with infants and young children.

HMI is proud to support efforts that bring the impact of molecular discoveries in human milk science all the way to the community level—where science meets everyday life and empowers families to flourish.

The Human Milk Institute is deeply grateful to the San Diego Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Childhood Obesity Initiative, County of San Diego HHSA, and UC San Diego Center for Community Health for their partnership and shared commitment to investing in community-driven solutions that help families thrive.