Food & Farming
Farmer support
For nearly 20 years Groundwork has worked to build the local food economy. This work is based on the understanding that local food is nutritionally dense and best for health, increases local farm incomes, and helps the environment by keeping farmland secure and safe from development. Food system work is a team sport, and we work extensively with partners within the farming community in these endeavors.
REGIONAL NETWORKS
Groundwork actively supports regional networks that support local farmers. Learn more about these regional networks here.
TASTE THE LOCAL DIFFERENCE
Conceived and incubated as a Groundwork marketing project and has turned into an ever-growing standalone company. Taste the Local Difference educates consumers about the value of local food, and supports food and farming entrepreneurs in building successful, well-connected, and thoughtful businesses. Learn more about the company here.
GET INVOLVED!
Resources
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?
Farmer Support News
Ice Storm Farm Relief Fund profile: Heart’s Pasture Farm
Photo courtesy Heart's Pasture Farm. A dozen counties in northern Lower Michigan experienced a disastrous ice storm that lasted from March 28 through 30, 2025. The storm is long gone but the damage remains and farmers need the help of all of us to repair extensive...
Local food access federal funds OK’d (Your advocacy mattered!)
This article first published in the Traverse City Record-Eagle Agriculture Forum. Earlier this year, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities urged all who want healthy food access in their communities to call their federal representatives and tell them to support...
Resilient Relationships, Resilient Supply
This article is the first in a three-part series in which we explore the work being done to expand local food economies along Michigan's west coast. The program is one of just a handful of similar USDA pilot programs in the entire nation, and they are...