Soil to Shelves: Detroit Lessons on Getting Local Supply into Retail Models

Join Detroit and NYC food and agriculture leaders in a “garden side chat”!

The city of Detroit is known for having a rich, deep history of urban agriculture, hyperlocal food access, and community organizing. With over 2,200 gardens and farms, Detroit has been a national leader in leveraging municipal policies to support land stewardship for residents to grow, foster economic activity, and build a resilient food/ag system. With the recent launch of the Detroit People’s Food Co-op, a Black-led community owned grocery store, there is now yet another critical connection for local gardeners and small businesses to provide healthy, fresh food into the community while generating revenue.

In this chat, we will dig into a conversation with Detroit city and community food/agriculture leaders on the importance of urban agriculture, land tenure, and community power in the city’s food and sustainability plans. We will also hear about current lessons learned in starting and sustaining a community-driven food co-op as well as the opportunities and challenges getting local food supply from urban gardens and onto shelves of the store and what growers and the city leaders should factor in planning for NYC models. We will also include time for Q/A with the speakers as well as breakouts for the audience to discuss their ideas and feedback which will be shared in MOUA’s “Purchasing with Purpose” recommendations to the city.