What is "Local?" Understanding How Michigan Institutions Define Local Food

Greetings,

Please see info about and a link to a new summary from the Michigan Farm to Institution Network below!

 

 

 

What is "Local?" – Understanding How Michigan Institutions Define Local Food

 

Over the summer, Michigan Farm to Institution Network staff conducted an informal online survey of Michigan institutions to get a better understanding of how institutions across the state define local food. We found that though institutions use a range of different definitions (or a combination of definitions), there is substantial overlap, and over half of surveyed institutions use a definition that includes "grown or raised in the state of Michigan," which aligns with the definition used by the MI Good Food Charter and the Cultivate Michigan campaign. We hope that by establishing some common understandings of what "local" means, we can help make local food more accessible and easier to identify and source.

 

A summary of our findings is now available on the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems site: http://foodsystems.msu.edu/resources/understanding-how-michigan-institutions-define-local-food

 

The Michigan Farm to Institution Network is co-coordinated by the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems and the Ecology Center, with support from MSU Extension. We work toward the Michigan Good Food Charter goal that Michigan institutions source 20% of their food from Michigan sources by the year 2020. For more information, go to mifarmtoinstitution.org or cultivatemichigan.org.

 

Megan Thompson

Farm to Institution Data Manager

MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

480 Wilson Road – Rm 309 Natural Resources Building – East Lansing, MI, 48824

thom1306@anr.msu.edu

517-432-0307