The Equity and Access Design Lab series, facilitated by the Michigan Local Food Council Network, convened food and farming leaders to practice collaborative leadership focused on amplifying collective power across communities of color.

A new survey shows that 86% of US farmers under 40 practice regenerative agriculture. But many — especially farmers of color — struggle to access land and capital.

Detroit's first National Urban Agriculture Conference spotlighted urban farming but raised concerns over the USDA's Detroit office being located in Ann Arbor, leading to director Jamal Thomas' resignation. Local farmers, including Sanctuary Farms' Jon Kent, struggled to connect with the office. The event emphasized Detroit's leadership in urban agriculture.

MDARD hosted a roundtable to introduce the $3 million "Farm to Family" program under Governor Whitmer's bipartisan budget. The initiative aims to boost Michigan’s food supply chains, support local farmers, and expand access to healthy, locally grown food across the state.

The nonprofit composting service Scrap Soils is testing the effectiveness of using an autonomous robot to transport food to be composted.

Calls for Holistic Environmental Justice and a Shift Away from Societal Dependence on Petrochemical Pesticides and Fertilizers

Videos include farmer SARE grant projects, farmer wellness, farm to school, agritourism, small-scale livestock and more.

Numerous urban farms and gardens in Detroit host volunteers to assist with tasks from weeding to harvesting to maintenance.

The initiative to build solar farms on vacant land in blighted neighborhoods has been met with both skepticism and enthusiasm from residents living near nine competing sites

Sanctuary Farms, a small organic farm and composter on Detroit’s east side, has installed solar powered air monitors on their property in response to the 200,000-plus pounds of toxic chemicals the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the auto company releases each year, Bridge Detroit reports.

Sanctuary Farms installed a solar-powered air monitor to track pollution from the nearby Stellantis auto plant. Partnering with the Ecology Center, they aim to empower residents with real-time air quality data and address environmental injustices.

Some residents hope the program would cut down on blight and illegal dumping; others voice skepticism.

Call for federal reforms that bolster sustainable agriculture and address climate change

As the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are busy working on their respective first drafts of the 2023 Farm Bill, farmers and advocates took an important opportunity to speak to Members of Congress about improved agriculture policy needs.

Dozens of the city’s Black farmers will share in $100,000 in financial assistance from a fund created to promote food sovereignty in Detroit.