During the MFIN Gathering in November 2019, network members shared their stories to give inspiration and motivation for growing farm to institution efforts. Discover the partnerships, networking and sharing that these members made to create a bigger impact than they would have on their own!
The story of stone soup is about how ordinary townspeople came together and brought their own ingredients to make one large soup that could be shared with everyone. The final product was more delicious and filling than any of the ingredients alone, highlighting the impact of working together. These next stories showcase how we can embody that lesson through farm to institution work. Whether it’s working together to promote local food in schools or helping develop processing practices that meet institutional needs, partnerships, networking and sharing is the essence of MFIN.
For this story slam, our four storytellers create their own “stone soup” by working with partners throughout Michigan:
- The Manna Food Project by Mary Brower, Bluestem Farm and MFIN Advisory Committee
- Ensuring Equitable and Humane Treatment of Farmworkers and Their Families by Teresa Hendricks, Migrant Legal Aid
- The Last Mile by Rose Spickler, Muskegon Food Hub
- Hispanic Producer Network by Filiberto Villa-Gomez, Michigan Food and Farming Systems (MIFFand MFIN Advisory Committee, with translation by Yoshira Marcias Mejia from the MSU Julian Samora Research Institute
