Pictures of In-Stock Market Tote Bags available in the on-line store

We've added pictures of the in-stock market tote bags to the on-line store. Check them out at http://www.eatlocalfoodstore.com/index.php?cPath=15_66.

We offer free shipping on our in-stock market tote bags!

Farm to School Workshop for Growers

The Farm to School movement is not only gaining popularity in Michigan, programs are cropping up all over the country. It provides an excellent opportunity for farmers to diversify their business and a way for school food service directors to connect with area farms. School lunches have become a lot more promising with the Farm to School movement, much better than the cheese pizza and tater tot lunches we had when I was in school. With a Farm to School program in place, students have access to healthy fresh foods like kale chips, broccoli raisin salad and pumpkin nut bread.

On January 22 I had the pleasure of attending the highly informative Workshop for Growers: How to Sell Produce Direct to Schools, sponsored by the Food System Economic Partnership. FSEP works collaboratively to bring together school officials, food service directors, contracted food service providers, parents, distributors, processors, and producers to establish creative mutually beneficial relationships that result in locally produced and processed food being consumed by students in our schools.

Hosted by Michaelle Rehmann, FSEP’s Farm to School Program Director, and Colleen Matts, the Farm to School Outreach Specialist with the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at Michigan State University, the workshop was held in Detroit Michigan and drew 37 attendees; half of them local growers. Michaelle and Colleen have a pleasant, interactive presentation style and there was ample time for questions and comments from the participants. Informative guest speakers included Jeanne Hausler, Agricultural Tourism & Outreach Manager, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Colleen Bess, Michigan Department of Agriculture.

Topics included:
School Lunch Funding and How it Affects Produce Purchasing
The Advantage of Local Produce
How to Add Value to Your Produce
Food Safety and the Role it plays in School Lunch
Marketing Your Farm to the School

If you live in the Southeast Michigan area, the workshop is being offered again on Tuesday, February 24 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at the Monroe County MSU Extension office at 963 S. Raisinville Road, Monroe, MI. If you are interested in learning how sell produce to the schools in your community, I highly recommend you attend the workshop. The workshop is free but space is limited, so RSVP by Friday, February 20th. Please contact Michaelle Rehmann at (734) 222.3817 or by e-mail at:

rehmannm@ewashtenaw.org.

If you live in another area or cannot attend the workshop, you are in luck! The presentation, workshop materials and Farm to School toolkit are available for download on the FSEP website:

Presentation:
http://fsepmichigan.org/programs_projects/schools/Grower_Workshop_Presentation
Workshop Materials:
http://fsepmichigan.org/programs_projects/schools/Grower_Workshop_Materials
Tool Kit:
http://fsepmichigan.org/programs_projects/schools/Tool%20Kit

What's your Local Food Marketing Plan?

Has anyone ever asked you what your marketing plan is? What was your answer? If you have one, that's great - we hope it's a very successful plan for your business. If your jaw dropped and you hesitantly uttered, “aaaaaaa.......” you may want to start planning now before the growing season is in full swing. Here’s how to use that uncertain answer to your advantage as we present the 9 A’s of a successful marketing plan:

Your Marketing Plan defines your customer, the products or services they want, and the most effective promotion and advertising strategies to reach your customer. The first step is to break down the elements of a marketing plan:

Marketing situation:
This is all about you - who you are, what is your farm/business about? This is really the key ingredient to a successful marketing plan. Your marketing is very personal to you and to your business - it should speak to who you are and what your business is all about. You entire plan will evolve from what you are about, what you value, and what you want for your family and your business.

Marketing objectives:
Aim for your goals. What are your goals? Are they to increase sales by 10%, diversify your customer base, or increase your distribution area? Defining your goals helps you to determine where and how to expend your energy.

Marketing strategies:
Audience: This step involves identifying your customers. Who are they and where are they located?
Authenticity: Make sure your product and your messages are authentic to who you are and what you are selling. Be honest with your customers.
Once you’ve identified your audience, your product and your message, you will be able to determine the best strategies to reach your customer base.

Strategies include: designing and printing a business card, brochure, well written sales letter, launching a web site, offering e-mail sign up, developing a mailing list of customers, offering discounts to repeat customers, establishing affiliate programs with other businesses (referring each other), advertising in print media and on-line, posting free business listings in others web sites such as LocalHarvest.org or GreenPeople.org, offering public speaking engagements, networking and joining business and civic organizations, sponsoring local food events, or hosting local food conferences and events.

Marketing budget:
After you pick your strategies, add it all up! How much do you want to spend, and how much are you spending? Does the amount of sales you will make from employing a particular strategy justify the expenditure? Remember your time equals money, too – consider assigning an hourly rate to your time to evaluate total cost. Can you afford your strategies? You may have to pick a few to start.

Action Plan:
Advocate: Be an advocate for your product, know all about it and pass along that information. You know why your product is the best on the market, but let others know about it, too!
Act: On your plans by getting your logo, business card, brochures, etc.
Ask: ask existing customers for feedback and referrals

Evaluation: Analyze your results in terms of your expenditures to see how successful your marketing plan has been. This step involves looking back at each element of your marketing plan. Do you need to change your strategies, your budget or your actions? Make sure you give your plan time to work – evaluating and making changes too often can cause confusion for your customers. Your plan may have been fine but you didn’t give it a chance to work.

Good luck with your marketing in 2009! If you have a great strategy you'd like to share with others, please contact us at info@eatlocalfood.com. We'll include your marketing idea in our next newsletter!

Save the Date for upcoming Michigan Local Food Conferences!

FSEP: Food System Economic Partnership of Southeastern Michigan

FSEP exists to catalyze change in the food system of Southeastern Michigan. This non-profit organization provides research, education and outreach with urban and rural partnerships, resulting in agricultural development opportunities, sustainable communities, and healthy local economies. FSEP is building a better food system in southeastern Michigan.
Save the date! Please mark your calendar to join FSEP for its fourth annual conference to be held Thursday, June 18, 2009. The conference will be held at the Lenawee County Vocational Technical Center located at 1372 North Main Street in Adrian, MI 49221. If you would like additional information regarding registration, sponsorship, and/or exhibiting please contact Jennifer Fike at 734-222-6859.

MOFFA: Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance

MOFFA is a non-profit organization with members that include organic and other farmers, food coops, educators, environmentalists, food businesses, food and farm activists and concerned citizens throughout Michigan and elsewhere. Their mission is to promote the development of food systems that rely on organic methods of food production and that revitalize and sustain local communities
Save the date! The 2009 MOFFA conference is to be held the evening of Friday, March 6 and all day Saturday, March 7. This year’s theme is Local Organic Food: Sustainable Prosperity for Michigan. The conference will be held at The Kellogg Center on Michigan State University’s campus in East Lansing Michigan. MOFFA is offering an easy on-line registration form at

http://www.moffa.org/2009_options.html. You can register to attend, advertise, or exhibit at the conference.

MIFMA: Michigan Farmers Market Association

The Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA) is a statewide association of farmers markets, their participants and their friends. Its mission is to advance farmers markets to create a thriving marketplace for local food and farm products.
Save the date! MIFMA is offering workshops and their annual meeting and dinner March 9 – March 10. Please visit

http://www.farmersmarkets.msu.edu for registration information.

• Using the Internet to Increase Awareness and Interest in Your Farm or Farmers Market" Workshop on Monday, March 9 from 1-4:30 p.m.


• MIFMA Annual Meeting and Celebration Dinner on Monday, March 9 from 6-9:00 p.m.


• Farmers Market Manager "Boot Camp" II on Tuesday, March 10 from 9-4:00 p.m.

Choices: Register now for the 2009 Conference!

Registration is now open for Choices: the Conference that Celebrates Food, Health & Collaboration!

The theme for this year's conference is —The Fight over Food: a Dinner Table Divided. The two day conference will be held March 11 and 12 in the Kellogg Center at Michigan State University. Of special interest to local foodies will be the meals prepared by the award-winning Kellogg Center staff, showcasing many Michigan products. Menus at each meal will be available on Eat Local Food's fine art postcards, with artwork by Chris Witkowski. We also plan to exhibit at the conference, so we hope to see you there!

The conference will feature a variety of breakout learning sessions and dynamic speakers, including:

• Wynne Wright, co-editor of The Fight over Food: Producers, Consumers and Activists Challenge the Global Food System


• Anthony Geraci, director of Food and Nutrition for the Baltimore City Public Schools


• Cynthia D’Amour, author of the Lazy Leader’s Guide to Outrageous Results


• Joseph Durochowski, executive director for the NPD Group, Food & Beverage Services


• Joanne Ikeda, founder of the Center on Weight and Health, College of Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley

Many sessions qualify for CEUs for educators, healthcare professionals, nutritionists or dietitians.

Early bird full conference registration is $175 and ends February 27. One lucky early bird registrant will receive a one-hour phone consultation with Cynthia D’Amour. MSU and MNN registrants may use an MSU account or MNN subaccount number for conference payment.

Go to http://web7.anr.msu.edu/choices/ for more conference information. The site has been updated with information about each session.

Click here to register today! (http://web7.anr.msu.edu/choices/Registration.aspx)

This Valentine’s Day: Buy Local Chocolates & Flowers!

This year for Valentine’s Day, support your local cut flower growers, farmers, artisans and chocolatiers. You’ll not only be giving your loved one a special gift, you’ll be contributing to your local economy!

Did you know most of America’s flowers are imported, mainly from Colombia and Ecuador? A quick Google search indicates the percentage of flower imports range anywhere from 70-93%. Buying imported flowers doesn’t help to support our family farms, and your imported purchase may be laden with herbicides and pesticides.

But where do you buy locally grown flowers in the winter?

Once again, a little homework is needed before you purchase. The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers offers a Buyers’ Guide to assist you in your search for locally grown cut flowers. The Guide is compiled to help buyers find sources for all kinds of flowers and floral material. If you’re looking for unique fresh flowers, dried product, or organic production, the Buyers’ Guide is a great source for wholesale and retail buyers, event planners, designers and florists. The Guide lists growers located in the United States and Canada alphabetically by state or region. The ASCFG also took the time to note whether growers sell off their farm or at their farmers’ market, or whether they deliver regionally or nationally.

If you can’t locate a locally grown fresh flower in your community this Valentine’s Day, be creative. Look for a locally produced substitute, like dried flowers, sachets, or soaps and lotions. A local Michigan company we like to support is www.flowerchildherbs.com. An accompanying card explaining you took the extra time to buy a healthier local product that supports your local economy will be even more meaningful to your loved one.

A free copy of the 2009 Buyers Guide can be ordered at http://www.ascfg.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=45
Or, you can download the 2008 Buyers Guide – but it’s a large file, so be prepared for a short wait.

Do you prefer Chocolates for your Valentine’s Day gift?

This year, support a local chocolatier, but also consider whether their chocolate is fair trade sourced. Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries. Fair trade advocates the payment of a fair price and setting social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. By buying fair trade products (look for the symbol on the label) you are ensuring that child slave labor wasn’t used and rain forests weren’t razed in the production of your treat. Common products are coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, fresh fruit and flowers, among others. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Trade for a thorough explanation of Fair trade practices.

How do you find a local chocolate maker in your community?

Sources include www.localharvest.org, www.eatwellguide.org and your local food co-op or farmers market should be able to help. Also, check out www.chocolate.com. The company is based in Massachusetts, but they feature 91 vendors from the United States and Canada offering handmade, artisan, and gourmet chocolate gifts. They also feature Fair Trade chocolates in their “shop by ingredient” category.

The U.S. Census Bureau has issued their annual “Facts for Features in Observance of Valentines Day”. The latest facts and figures related to domestically produced chocolates and cut flowers are:

Chocolate and cocoa product producers in the United States: Locations producing chocolate and cocoa products in 2006 numbered 1,170. These establishments employed 39,457 people. California led the nation in the number of such establishments with 128, followed by Pennsylvania with 116.Source: County Business Patterns http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/012181.html

Domestically produced cut flowers in the United States: The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut flowers in 2007 was $416 million. This statistic includes all flower-producing operations with $100,000 or more in sales. Among states, California was the leading producer, alone accounting for about three-quarters of this amount ($320 million).Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov

Domestically produced cut roses in the United States: The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut roses in 2007 for all operations with $100,000 or more in sales totaled $29 million. Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Public Information

Office 301-763-3030

Fax: 301-763-3762
pio@census.gov