Food System Economic Partnership

Highlights of the past few months

• FSEP was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in September
• Established agreement with Washtenaw County to serve as fiscal agent for FSEP organization
• Buy-in and participation of all five counties (Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe, Washtenaw and Wayne), farm organizations, food business organizations, and resource providing institutions
• Strategic planning session held Nov 2 at The Henry Ford – values, mission, vision
• Monthly leadership team meetings held at MSU’s Hidden Lake Gardens (Tipton, MI), SYSCO Detroit region distribution center (Canton, MI), and DuRussel Potato Farm (Manchester, MI).
• Launched website: www.fsepmichigan.org
• Hired full-time staff: M. DiRamio as Deputy Director and part-time staff: M. Score as Sr. Director (in-kind through MSU Extension)
• Developed scope of research and technology development, and engaging expert input from diverse institutions (at MSU, UM, others), Yr 1 research budget: $70K
• Current project revenue: $120K for Yr 1 and over $90K for Yr 2
• Working with grant development consultant to secure additional funds needed for work program; working with organization development consultant to facilitate strategic planning 
• Developing pilot project plans: farm-to-school, local meat processing, a local farms hub for institutional food procurement, food buyer cooperatives, restaurant market opportunity assessment, local grocery/food market opportunity studies of low income urban areas, grain market opportunity assessment

Read on below for more detail on these recent developments!

WOW: from idea to visionary partnership in one year
It has been just over one year since the idea of a regional urban-rural food system partnership in Southeast Michigan was born, and seven months since the March 2005 regional agricultural economic development conference. I am really amazed when I think back and ask myself what I had expected when we began a year ago. I knew we had a good idea, but I did not imagine we would be where we are today: a diverse team of community leaders committed to creating solutions and new opportunities for farming and food system economic development in the region. This seems less improbable a result when I think about how this project was really many years in the making.

It began with the call of farmers in the region for a more promising future and customer base. It began with a call by communities for preservation of what makes our land in this region unique and beautiful. It began with a call for improved access to local food – i.e., we appreciate where our food comes and want to improve our health and well being. Victor Hugo once wrote, “There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.” An urban-rural partnership in Southeast Michigan devoted to local food system development and enhancing community viability is just such an idea.

Assembling the stakeholder leadership team
People and a shared purpose are at the center of this initiative. With the support and participation of community leaders from rural and urban communities and diverse sectors of the food system, there is no goal out of reach for this initiative. To date we have received buy-in and commitment for two-year (minimum) participation by executive’s from all five participating counties, including Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe, Washtenaw and Wayne. On top of this we have firm support and representatives from several major farm business organizations including Michigan Farm Bureau, Organic Growers of Michigan, Corn Marketing Program of Michigan, Michigan Coalition of Black Farmers and Michigan Farmers Union. We also have participation from food businesses and institutions such as The Henry Ford, McClellan Produce Sales and Distribution, Select Michigan, Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association, and SYSCO. In addition we have commitment from community associations such as Slow Food and Michigan Organic Food and Farming Association. Resource providers that have stepped up in strong support of the project include the Michigan State University Extension, MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources, MSU C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems, the Washtenaw Land Trust and we are building bridges at the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and elsewhere. These representatives have been meeting together each month as a “leadership team” since April at rotating locations around the five-county Southeast Michigan project region.

Building the organization
The partnership officially incorporated as a Michigan nonprofit organization in September of 2005. We are currently developing paperwork to file for tax exempt federal 501c3 status. It often takes several months for development of the paperwork and approval at the federal level. The decision to establish a nonprofit was based on the need for the partnering organizations to have authority over and administer the project. As a legal collaborative entity, partnering organizations are now poised to pool resources and guide the project to meet the needs of the region.

On November 2nd a strategic planning session was held at The Henry Ford (Museum and Greenfield Village). Twenty three participants from the various participating organizations came together and created a core set of shared values, refined the project mission and began to develop a new vision for the regional food system. The next step will be to further develop the vision and chart out the goals and implementation plan that will guide the work of the organization.

Recognizing the need to staff the project and ensure its advancement effectively and swiftly, the FSEP leadership team made some hiring decisions. Specifically, they hired Michael DiRamio as full-time Deputy Director and established an agreement with Michael Score as part-time Senior Director of the new organization (M. Score’s position is a responsibility he can fulfill through his existing MSU Extension appointment. This is an in-kind contribution to the project). FSEP made the decision to hire Carol Anderson and Associates to ensure FSEP’s swift and productive development of a strategic plan and assist with organizational agreements.

Researching for opportunities
Developing a solid knowledge of the current functions, products and participants in the regional food system will be vital to the effectiveness of the initiative. Current information on the food system is scattered, incomplete, often inaccessible and generally aggregated at the national scale. Comprehensive information on participants and products in the region is virtually unavailable. This makes any effort to link local supply and demand significantly more difficult. In response, FSEP research partners and leadership team are currently developing scopes of work to fill this knowledge gap and develop tools that will aid “non-experts” in their efforts to develop businesses and make informed policy decisions that will impact our region.

Funding the work ahead
Many different resources are needed to implement t he work of the project. Financial resources, of course, are needed to fund the specific projects of the FSEP initiative. To date FSEP has a budget of $120K for fiscal 2005-6 and $90K for fiscal 2006-7. These revenues are primarily from contributions by project partners.

To complete funding for the initiative, FSEP has engaged a grant development consultant with a track record of securing large grants for community initiatives. We have also begun to approach area foundations for partnership and financial support.

Pilot projects
There are many pilot projects in the works. Many of these projects are in the planning phase, while others are significantly more advanced. FSEP partners are working on these projects to begin on the ground impact and test models for wider application and replication across the region. These include a farm-to-school proposal in development with the Henry Ford and other partners, a local meat processing facility being supported by MSU Extension that is currently in the feasibility study stage of development, food buyers’ cooperatives in the Chene-Ferry Detroit neighborhood and in Ypsilanti, a restaurant market opportunity assessment in partnership with MSU Extension and the MSU Product Center, and a grain-based product market study.

Most of these projects were initiated by a group of folks contacting FSEP and its partners asking for support. It is the intention that FSEP become a center for supporting entrepreneurs and communities interested in making positive change in their food system and/or launching a new local food system business. We expect the broader research of the project will both inform and be informed by these pilot projects. However it is the on-the-ground projects that make a difference in the community. It is these projects and their stakeholders that are the “clients” of the FSEP initiative.