It’s true what they say: there’s strength in numbers. A group of people coming together to achieve their collective goals is how co-ops come to life.
About seven years ago, a group of local farmers had the idea to band together and collectively “cut out the middleman” when it came to marketing their products to consumers in Leelanau, Grand Traverse, and Benzie Counties. Today, they are known as MI Farm Co-op.
MI Farm Co-op sells and distributes fresh produce from 10 local farms wholesale to restaurants, caterers, schools, grocery stores, and other food-related businesses as well as directly to consumers. This includes everything from seasonal fruits and vegetables to fresh bread and meat.
Claire Butler, MI Farm Co-op’s Marketing and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Coordinator, joined the organization as an intern last year. Excited to be working with those invested and interested in the local food community, Butler recently shared what their co-op’s all about and explained why it’s special to our region.
How did MI Farm Co-op come about?
It began as a startup with Nic Welty from 9 Bean Rows, Jim Swantees, Ryan Eby and Jim Bardenhagen from Bardenhagen Farms, with the help of the MSU Product Center, in 2014. The goal was and is to put more money in the pocket of the growers and to allow farmers to have more say in how the business is run. So far, things have been going great!
How does the co-op work?
A board of farmers manages the co-op and makes decisions on how it is run. A couple of member-farmers are then contracted to keep the co-op running smoothly.
Food products are dropped off at 9 Bean Rows on Mondays and are sent out on Tuesdays either as CSA boxes or wholesale orders. In each of our CSA boxes, we have local bread, eggs, salad greens, microgreens, or shoots, and two to four pounds each of vegetables and fruit. We also have add-on packages where CSA members can add chicken or beef to their weekly box, and our pickup options at local farms, restaurants and breweries.
Each CSA member also gets a weekly newsletter with recipes and cooking tips for the items in that week’s box too!
Why should a consumer choose to purchase from MI Farm Co-op?
Anyone looking for local food should consider purchasing from MI Farm Co-op because you are able to support multiple farms with one purchase. It not only makes it exciting to get a CSA box with about five farms’ produce, but due to the co-op model, it provides a bigger payback for the growers involved.
How has the co-op responded to the pandemic?
We added a CSA model in 2019, and since the pandemic started in March, we have directed our efforts to get local foods in the hands of consumers and have grown that program from 30 to 100 people capacity. Our CSA model is a great way for our community of customers to get the essentials in a safe way.
What does the future look like for MI Farm Co-op?
This upcoming year, we have adjusted our CSA schedule to cover most of the year, and we are especially excited about our 16 weeklong Summer CSA, which will run from June 8th until September 21st. We are hoping to expand this program even more in the coming year.
We’re also on the lookout for our own warehouse and distribution site to accommodate our huge growing phase, and we’re excited to continue working with the schools in our area to continue to provide local food for students.
Learn more about MI Farm Co-op at mifarmcoop.org.
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