The Southeast Area Farmer’s Market (SEAFM) turned 20 this year, and the Grand Rapids Food Co-Op (GRFC) has been proud to be a part of their long-established local food community. All season long, volunteer co-op owners shared information about our project while at the same time supporting the local food system at the bi-weekly market located at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Alongside local farms and craftspeople, and GRFC owners worked to support the organizations that make the South East End neighborhood great.
Last year, through conversations with Our Kitchen Table (OKT), GRFC Top Circle members were asked to help bring more local produce to their neighborhood farmers market. OKT is “a grass-roots, nonprofit organization serving greater Grand Rapids” which “promotes social justice and empowers our neighbors to improve their health and environment through information, community organizing and advocacy.” The Market has long been a part of the neighborhood, providing a point of sale for primarily BIPOC owned farms, as well as space for small businesses and community organizations. It is an key resource for the neighborhood, which is historically red-lined and has been supported for years by the vitally important SouthEast Market (located for years on Kalamazoo Ave., but who are currently relocating).
Because of its size, however, SEAFM is often a difficult place for small farms with limited workers to set up their own tables. Through a neighborhood match grant from the City of Grand Rapids, the GRFC was able to secure funds to purchase produce from small local farms and resell it at cost at SEAFM. The GRFC grant was designed to offer volunteer labor from owners of the Co-Op to give these farms a way to sell more produce. Co-op owners picked up produce from Blackbird Farms and Blandford Nature Center every other week from July to November to bring to the market, and then spent the days selling produce at affordable prices and talked to neighbors about becoming owners. Leftover produce was donated to the Community Food Club, another wonderful organization that offers low-cost food in the nearby South East Community neighborhood. In this way, we were able to create a win-win-win situation for the neighborhood, for farmers, and for the co-op itself.