Eastern Market Expands Investment in Local Growers
Eastern Market Partnership, in collaboration with the City of Detroit’s Office of Sustainability Urban Agriculture Division, has announced $240,000 in grant funding to support Detroit-based farmers and farmer collectives. The grants will advance food access, climate education, sustainable land use, and economic opportunity, with priority given to Black- and Indigenous-led farms, youth-led initiatives, and projects rooted in historically disinvested neighborhoods. The recipients – ranging from cooperatives and community gardens to individual urban farms – were selected through a competitive request for proposals process. The funding builds on Eastern Market’s broader efforts to strengthen Detroit’s local food ecosystem, including expanded purchasing programs for urban growers, wholesale distribution improvements, and ongoing infrastructure investments such as the redevelopment of Shed 7. SBN Detroit interviewed Katy Trudeau, president and CEO of Eastern Market, about why this investment matters now, how it supports Detroit’s evolving urban agriculture landscape, and what it signals for the future of local food systems. Q: From Eastern Market’s perspective, why was this the right moment to invest in Detroit’s urban farmers at this scale? A: We’ve been building toward this moment for a few years. In 2023, Eastern Market was awarded Local Food Purchasing Assistance funding through the USDA, which created a dedicated channel for purchasing produce from Detroit’s urban farms. That program reinforced something many of us saw during the pandemic – long supply chains are vulnerable, and there is real importance in strengthening local food systems. Through that federal program, roughly 60 percent of our purchasing went directly to Detroit-based urban growers, with the remainder sourced from regional partners. It proved that we had both the supply and the community demand to sustain a more localized system. The City Council’s decision to award this new grant funding gives us another tool to invest directly in that growing network of urban farmers who are feeding Detroiters. We’ve long supported many of these growers through Saturday Market vending opportunities and other initiatives. This grant allows us to deepen that commitment and build on the foundation already in place. Q: Urban farming has long been part of Detroit’s identity. How do you see its role evolving today? A: Urban agriculture is a micro-industry in Detroit, but it plays an outsized role. It is directly responsive to the need for shorter supply chains. Growing food locally that we can eat locally strengthens access to nutrient-dense food and reduces reliance on distant systems. Many of the farms receiving grants are not only producing food but also teaching residents how to grow their own. That educational component is critical. It builds long-term capacity and strengthens food security at the neighborhood level. There are also broader impacts. Urban farms create gathering spaces where neighbors meet neighbors. They generate small-business opportunities and, in some cases, provide employment and workforce development. They help stabilize vacant land and turn it into productive community assets. It’s economic development, environmental stewardship, and social infrastructure all in one. Q: Why was the focus on Black- and Indigenous-led farms essential to the design of the program? A: Detroit is a majority-Black city, and much of the farming happening here is led by Black growers. We want investment dollars to reflect and support the communities where the work is taking place. One of the grant recipients is an Indigenous farmer who is focused on sharing the cultural importance of Indigenous agricultural practices. That educational lens adds another layer of value to the program. Supporting Black- and Brown-owned businesses has long been part of Eastern Market’s mission. Our Saturday Market vendors represent a wide diversity of entrepreneurs. This grant aligns with that broader commitment to equitable investment and representation. Q: What does food sovereignty mean in a Detroit context? A: To me, food sovereignty is about creating the ability for people to feed themselves locally, without complete reliance on large corporations or distant supply chains. Eastern Market has always played a role in that. As a public market, we provide a space where Detroiters can shop locally and support regional growers. The pandemic made clear how important local capacity can be. This grant program also supports farms that are teaching others how to grow, preserve, and prepare food. It’s about increasing independence and resilience at the household and neighborhood level. Q: How does supporting small-scale, community-based growers impact the broader regional food system? A: Michigan has a robust and diverse agricultural industry, thanks in part to our climate and access to freshwater. What we’re seeing with urban agriculture is the next generation of that legacy. Urban farming represents a micro-scale version of a long-standing agricultural tradition in Southeast Michigan. As we continue investing in it, we’re strengthening a more diversified regional food economy. Over time, as urban agriculture grows as an industry, it can become a stronger economic driver. It also reinforces the importance of regional and state-level support for local food systems. Q: How does urban agriculture reshape the conversation around Detroit’s vacant land? A: My background is in urban planning, so I think about land use a lot. Vacant land can serve different purposes depending on the context. Some farms are temporary land uses that beautify or remediate vacant lots. Others have become permanent economic enterprises that are deeply integrated into their neighborhoods. They are respected, loved, and woven into the urban fabric. Urban agriculture can address vacant land challenges in multiple ways, whether through short-term stabilization or long-term economic development. It gives neighborhoods options. Q: Looking at the selected recipients, what excites you most about the diversity of approaches represented? A: The diversity is incredibly exciting. When we reviewed the applications, we were struck by how much innovation is happening across the city. Some grantees are focused on cooking classes and community nutrition education. Others, like the Grow Moore Produce Cooperative, are leveraging the collective strength of multiple farms to provide training and shared resources. There are also initiatives that help growers turn what they cultivate into value-added products for sale at farmers’ markets. From seed starting to preservation
African American-Led Grocery to Open Soon in Detroit
The Detroit People’s Food Co-op – projected to open in February at 8324 Woodward Ave. in Detroit’s North End – is an African-American-led, community-owned grocery cooperative. It seeks to address the issue of food insecurity, educate the community about nutrition and sustainability, support local businesses, and pump investment back into the area. Malik Yakini is the cofounder and executive director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, the nonprofit organization that led the formation of the co-op, and serves on the co-op’s board. SBN Detroit spoke to Yakini about the co-op’s vision and sustainability goals. Q: Tell me about Detroit People’s Food Co-op. A: The Detroit People’s Food Co-op is a grocery store that’s in the development stage and is owned by member-owners. It’s projected to open in February 2024 and will have a full line of groceries, including produce sourced locally and regionally. It will carry value-added products that are produced by local entrepreneurs, and as much as possible we will hire staff from Detroit. The most significant part of a co-op is that it is not a corporation coming into Detroit to profit. It’s people in the community banding together to co-own the store so that the community reaps the benefits and profits. Currently, we have 1,958 member-owners. In this pre-opening stage, the member-owners make a lot of the decisions and shape the direction and culture of the store. The member-owners elect six of the nine members of the co-op’s board of directors, and DBCFSN appoints the other three. In June, the board contracted with an interim general manager who is tasked with getting the final pre-opening tasks done, coordinating the opening, and making sure that the store is positioned for success. The board hopes to hire a permanent general manager in the next few months. The other benefit of being a member-owner is the opportunity to share in the profits of the store. In any year the store is profitable, member-owners get a percentage. Q: What inspired the co-op? A: It grew out of discussions within the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. When the network was founded in 2006, one of the goals was to support existing co-ops and to create this new food co-op. So, this has been percolating for 17 years. It grew out of the desire of members of the network to push back against extractive economic practices we see in Black communities within the food realm. There is only one Black-owned grocery store in Detroit – Linwood Fresh Market – and that is very recent. For a city that has an African American population of 80%, to have other ethnic groups owning almost all of the retail food outlets in the city and extracting those profits from the city just isn’t right I don’t want to overgeneralize. Some of the stores are doing a good job at community partnerships and some are not. But the desire is to push back against an economy where others come in and set up stores and use the profits for their communities and families. We want to keep the profits and decisions here in our community. A co-op is one of the best ways to contribute toward a circular economy. Q: Why do you think the co-op is critical from a business perspective? A: The co-op model is an important model that has historically been used by Blacks and others marginalized by the mainstream economy. It broadens the ownership base and by doing that, those member-owners provide some of the financing for the business as well as receive some of the profits. So it’s a model that is more accessible to low- and moderate-income community members who don’t have access to the capital. Q: Does this create job opportunities for those in the community? A: Yes. We are expecting the grocery store to create more than 40 new jobs. Above the store, DBCFSN will operate a banquet hall and kitchen facilities that will create more. An important piece of the kitchen facilities is that they will be available for rental, which we hope will inspire food entrepreneurs to step into this arena, and those doing it to scale up their businesses. So yes, the vision is to create specific jobs at the store and to stimulate new and existing food businesses. Q: What is the economic impact on the community? A: I can’t give specific dollar amounts, but generally what happens when a business like this opens, it creates new jobs in the community. And now you have more people in the community with income being spent in the community. We are expecting that in this way the presence of the co-op will stimulate the economy in the area. We are also already seeing an increase in property values, which is a mixed blessing. We want to revitalize this community, which has seen distress, but at the same time, we need to make sure that development happens in an equitable way and doesn’t push out existing residents. This is a dilemma we are faced with. Q: Do you think this acts as an example for others in Southeast Michigan to replicate? A: One of the things we know is that Detroit is in some ways the canary in the coal mine. Detroit is an example of what happens as the economy shifts from industrial to more information-based. We are acutely aware that Detroit is being watched by the world. So as we develop this and other programs, we are certainly creating a model that’s being watched globally, so we move with that awareness. I hope this model is replicated around the world. Q: How will the co-op educate the community about sustainability? A: An important part of the co-op will be community education. We are concerned about nutrition and health and also the health of the planet because they are bound together. So we have a number of activities that will be geared toward educating community members about issues related to the food system, how the
