MIFMA's Racial Equity Committee provides feedback and guidance to inform MIFMA programming and internal procedures in alignment with our mission of placing equity at the forefront of supporting the viability of community-driven marketplaces.
To date, our board, staff, and Racial Equity Committee have been intentional about doing the work of racial equity internally first and foremost so that our external work comes from a place of authenticity and accountability. We will ensure that both internally and externally, MIFMA is an actively anti-racist organization that makes a committed and transparent effort to advance the cause of racial equity in the farmers market sector and in the Michigan food system as a whole. We commit to supporting a culture of learning and curiosity where staff, board, and members are offered opportunities to learn about and be challenged by the intersections of race and the food system, with farmers markets at the forefront and in the center of this process. As an organization, our work to advance antiracism and equity has only just begun, but our investment in this area has become a part of who we are and will always be.
Mission: MIFMA places equity at the forefront of supporting the viability of community-driven marketplaces so that they can connect ALL consumers to local farms and businesses.
Vision: Community-driven marketplaces are pillars of thriving communities where everyone has equitable access to and feels connected to products grown and produced in Michigan.
Integrity & Quality
of each other and of our food sources
Community & Belonging
by including, not isolating others
Diversity & Unity
working towards shared values and common goals while respecting differences
We commit to supporting a culture of learning and curiosity where staff, board, and members are offered opportunities to learn about and be challenged by the intersections of race and the food system, with community-driven marketplaces at the forefront and in the center of this process.
We commit to creating a system of accountability so that we can make sure we are following through on the goals and expectations we set for ourselves.
MIFMA is invested in continuously assessing our organizational commitment to racial equity, through external evaluations such as the Michigan Nonprofit Association DEI Assessment and through internal evaluations such as the Equity Rubric provided through Soul Fire Farm's Uprooting Racism Training.
Composed of board, staff, partners, and members, this committee is charged with guiding MIFMA in applying a racial equity lens to all of our organizational systems – internal and external – as well as all of our programming, events, and projects. Anyone can join this committee by contacting office@mifma.org.
Our staff and board engage in various trainings, conferences, webinars, and challenges to build our awareness, knowledge, skills, and capacity relative to racial equity and anti-racism.
Racial equity sessions are featured as a plenary at our annual Michigan Farmers Market Conference, and they are often the highest rated conference component according to attendee surveys. A racial equity session is a primary component of the Market Manager Certificate Program, and opportunities are being developed for MIFMA to facilitate market managers to delve deeper into racial equity work at their markets.
In 2019 and 2020, we made revisions to our Event Details and Market Policies for the Farmers Markets at the Capitol to strengthen our anti-harassment policy and worked with our Racial Equity Committee to make an effort to recruit more businesses owned by Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color (BIPOC) to participate in the markets as vendors.
MIFMA supports Michigan’s community-driven marketplaces in their goal to make fresh, local goods accessible to everyone through food access programs including SNAP/EBT, Double Up Food Bucks, and Produce Prescription.
When assembling our Board of Directors slate of candidates each year, we make an intentional recruitment effort to ensure representation from BIPOC individuals in all three categories (farmers markets, farmers and vendors, and professionals).
Explore these resources compiled by MIFMA’s staff and Racial Equity Committee members for more information.
Thank you to the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems for compiling this list.