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Accomplishments

Some of MIFFS’ projects and success include:

• Promoting the Multicultural Farmers Program, which has reached more than 300 limited resource farmers (or 30% of African American and Spanish-speaker owned farms), helping 60% of them to improve their farming operation, economic viability and resource connections through accessing FSA loans, and NRCS and MDA programs.
• Developing the Michigan Farmers Market Associationwith more than 100 farmers market members and more than 125 farmer/vendor members, which helps farmers markets thrive as marketplaces for local food and farm products.
• Initiating two kitchen incubators in Hart and Bad Axe, which have helped some 100 agripreneurs develop new products and businesses.
• Educated nearly 875 farmers on food safety verification at 12 Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) workshops, seminars and webinars since 2009.
• Establishing the Food & Agri Innovation Center with 50 partners in 2004, which grew into the MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources has served 1,600 customers and aided 164 new ventures, creating or retaining 1,100 jobs and increasing first-year annual sales by $310M.
• Co-hosting the "Farmers Markets at the Capitol", which 50 vendors and thousands of attendees to the Capitol lawn to purchase Michigan products. Farmers earned more than $80,000 total in 2010.
• Coordinating the Meet the Buyers event, where in 2010, more than 300 Michigan growers met with retail and wholesale buyers to initiate new or expanded Michigan produce supply chains.
• Participating in and facilitating discussions about state policy and informing legislative decisions on family farms, sustainable agriculture and local food, e.g. egg law, Cottage Food law, access to fresh, unprocessed whole milk, poultry/meat processing and farmers market rules.