Launching next week! Workforce assessment of Michigan food system

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Launching next week! Workforce assessment of Michigan food system

Does Michigan have the workforce to grow its good food movement?

We need your help to find out!

Next week, we will release a survey and begin interviews that focus specifically on the portion of the Michigan food system where good food is grown, processed, distributed, sold, and consumed in Michigan markets.

We are doing this workforce assessment research because food grown and processed in Michigan is vital to Michigan’s economy and workforce, and Michigan good food is becoming even more important to the state’s economy.

But what we don’t know is: does Michigan have the workforce to continue this growth?

We will study:

the types and wage ranges of existing and future jobs
employer demand for these jobs
what skills, education, and training is needed to perform these jobs

For more details about this research, please visit the project webpage.

Can you help us?

We need to connect with employers, workers, educators, training providers, and other stakeholders in Michigan’s local and regional food system.

Here are 5 ways to help:

Share your data and information
Volunteer to take the survey
Let others know to contact us
Send ideas for who to contact or data to include
Volunteer to participate in an interview

If you can do any of the above, or are curious to learn more, please visit: http://foodsystems.msu.edu/michigan-food-workforce

Thank you in advance for your help!

Questions? Contact Jeanine La Prad, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, at MiFoodWorkforce@skilledwork.org

Suggested social media post:

What does Michigan’s good food workforce look like and need? If you have existing data, info or ideas about who to survey or interview, visit foodsystems.msu.edu/MiFoodWorkforce.

This work is a collaboration between MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, MSU Extension, and the Corporation for Skilled Workforce. It is funded in part by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The Michigan Good Food Charter describes the importance of “good food” produced and processed in Michigan - food that is that healthy, sustainable, affordable, and pays a livable wage across the supply chain.