MDARD Awards Nearly $400K Through New Farm-to-Family Program

Food Hubs and Farm Stops Grants reinforce state’s focus on meeting producer, community needs across Michigan

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) today announced the first grant recipients in the state’s first-ever program aimed at strengthening Michigan’s middle-of-the-supply-chain agri-food systems.

The new Farm-to-Family “Food Hubs and Farm Stops” grant program was announced earlier this year and made possible by Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s bipartisan Fiscal Year 2025 budget. The funding will help deliver locally produced and healthy food to Michiganders while creating economic opportunities for Michigan farmers. Today’s grant awards invest in Michigan food hubs, while farm stops awards are expected later this summer.

“We heard overwhelming feedback about the need to support local food systems during our listening tours across Michigan, so these grant awards are a tangible way we’re responding to those needs,” said MDARD Director Tim Boring. “This funding will go a long way in supporting our farmers and nonprofits that work hard to provide access to healthy food, plus we’re creating economic opportunity for producers looking to reach more Michiganders. It’s a win-win from the farm to the fork and serves as an example of what bipartisan investment can deliver for our communities.”

Today’s food hubs grant awards show the state’s commitment to further supporting apples, asparagus, blueberries, cherries, peaches, plums, an array of vegetables and local meat production across the state. The recipients are:

“Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Farm-to-Family Program is demonstrating the responsiveness it has set out to achieve,” said O’Nealya Gronstal, Executive Director of Lakeshore Food Hub based in Ludington. “Investing in local and regional agriculture economies are one of the best actions Michigan can take to keep our farmers farming and get healthy food into the mouths of Michiganders in need,”

“Farm-to-Family’s investments in Michigan’s food economy infrastructure couldn’t come at a more needed time,” said Brian Schorr, Executive Director of Flint Fresh Food Hub. “Food access remains a challenge in so many of our communities and the dollars and partnerships supporting the work of food hubs further builds resilience throughout our agricultural supply chains. The power of collaboration in the food space is paying off for Michigan farmers and Michigan consumers when they need it most.”

MDARD’s Farm-to-Family Program seeks to further economic prosperity across Michigan, maintain and expand diversity of the state’s agricultural production and support climate smart and regenerative agriculture value chains. More details are available on MDARD’s website.

BACKGROUND ON FOOD HUBS

By offering a combination of aggregation, distribution and marketing services at an affordable price, food hubs make it possible for many producers to enter larger-volume markets that boost their incomes and provide opportunities for scaling up production.

According to Sustainable America, food hubs are a crucial, but often invisible, part of the local food system. They help small farms grow by offering a combination of production, distribution and marketing services.

There are over a dozen food hubs in Michigan, according to Michigan State University. Food hubs often include physical spaces, while occasionally, some are virtual only or partially, but all are concerned with connecting the dots between farms and forks.

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