Making Fresh Food Connections

EMILY ROW, Content Creator

EMMA BEAUCHAMP, Editor in Chief

Fresh Food Connections (FFC) works to make local food more accessible for Michigan residents who are eligible for SNAP benefits. SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provides benefits to low-income individuals and families through an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card that is used like a debit card. In Michigan, this card is often called the Bridge Card. SNAP is the largest and most widely used assistance program in the country, but currently can only be used to purchase food online through select retailers, such as Amazon, Walmart, and Aldi.

The Vision of Fresh Food Connections

This project, championed by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Taste the Local Difference (TLD), supports the foundation for online SNAP sales at more locations, particularly ones offering fresh and locally grown food. Additionally, it fosters relationships by connecting low income communities to farmers and farmers markets with convenient online ordering.

The Impact

Washtenaw and Wayne counties had the first six participating sites in 2021. A mix of farmers markets and farms in Detroit and Ypsilanti received training and funding to implement online sales and food access programming tailored to their individual business. Each model was different, but examples included accepting SNAP, offering more flexible payment options, or following a sliding scale model.

City Commons is a participating multifarm CSA in Detroit. Through the FFC project, they increased their reach to more folks receiving food assistance.

“FFC provided us with technical support for our website and funds to purchase more packaging,” Alice Bagley, a collaborative farmer with City Commons, says. ”We also purchased items for our farmers market display where we were able to serve many folks receiving SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks.”

The Difference

Unlike many other food access programs, this initiative does not subsidize the cost of the food. Instead, this project’s long term success is dependent on creating digital infrastructure for farms and strengthening relationships between farmers, consumers, and community organizations. Additionally, this program is not prescriptive. Consumer and farmer feedback is essential in determining the methods used to accomplish the project’s goals which are unique to each community.

“FFC is great because it allows farms to try different ways to increase food excess,” Bagley says. In the first year of the program, they realized their initial access method wasn’t as logistically accessible as they hoped. This year, they changed their model to provide greater food access through home deliveries of CSA shares by partnering with a local organization.

Growing Forward

Because of the success in the first year, this program is expanding to sites in the Lansing area and Western U.P. The technology and systems of support established through this project will ensure farmers and communities have strong models for providing fresh food access for years to come.

Follow along with the project at freshfoodconnections.org.

2022 Participating Sites

WASHTENAW COUNTY

• Old City Acres, Pickup on farm, downtown Romulus and at Ypsilanti Farmers Market

• Ypsilanti Area Online Market, Pickup at Ypsilanti Marketplace

WAYNE COUNTY

• City Commons CSA, Pickup locations around Detroit, see website

• Deeply Rooted Produce, Pickup on farm, home delivery within 10 miles of the farm

• Keep Growing Detroit, Pickup at Keep Growing Detroit

LANSING AREA

• Hillcrest Farms, Eaton Rapids

• Hot Pepper Karenni Farm, Mason

• Magnolia Farms, Lansing

• Open Air Market, Stockbridge

WESTERN U.P.

• From the Ground Farmers Markets Collective

• Whispering Wild Market Farm, Toivola