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Food Justice as a Human Right
Food justice is an extension of environmental justice. According to the Intersectional Environmentalist, food justice views healthy, nutritious, and culturally desirable foods as a human right, and it aims to address the structural barriers and food insecurities to that right. It is important to note that food security is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as "the ability to access enough food at all times in order to live a meaningful, active, and healthy life." Food justice goes beyond food security because food justice draws greater attention to the cultural significance of food and seeks to shift structural and institutional barriers to food as a right.
Food Justice and Advocacy Organizations in Michigan
Across Michigan, many organizations are working to improve their local, statewide, and national food systems. The following list presents organizations based in Genesee county, Wayne county, Washtenaw county, Ingham county, Clinton county, Kalamazoo county, statewide, and nationally. This is not an exhaustive list. If your Michigan county is not represented, we encourage you to search online for food system organizations, educational farms, or programs in your community.
Genesee County Organizations
Genesee County Organizations
Edible Flint's mission is to support community residents in growing and accessing healthy food in order to reconnect with the land and each other.
Based in Flint, MI
The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan works with more than 600 Hunger Relief Partners to distribute food throughout 22 counties.
Eastern MI organization based in Flint, MI
As a shared use kitchen, Flint Food Works' mission is to help entrepreneurs get off the ground floor and literally take a product from the field to the market.
Based in Flint, MI
Flint & Genesee Food Policy Council
Flint & Genesee Food Policy Council is a network of food champions whose mission is to develop a resilient and reliable local food system rooted in community engagement, collaboration, and education.
Based in Flint, MI
The NFFM differs from a traditional grocery store because it is owned by its members. Residents, organizations and businesses have purchased memberships as investment into the store’s development. The market will be the first food co-op in Genesee County.
Based in Flint, MI
The Genesee Conservation District strives to improve the quality of life in Genesee County by connecting people with nature while conserving our county's precious resources. We are focused on building a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive community.
Based in Flint, MI
Flint Fresh operates the Food Hub, which houses all of its programs, whose focus is to provide healthy fruits and vegetables to Flint and Genesee County residents, while serving as an outlet for local suppliers.
Based in Flint, MI
Wayne County/Detroit Organizations
Wayne County/Detroit Organizations
Fair Food Network is a national nonprofit and investor that grows community health and wealth through food. First piloted in Michigan in 2009, their Double Up Food Bucks program now serves as a national model for nutrition incentives.
State-wide organization based in Detroit, MI
Michigan Good Food Fund provides flexible financing and tailored business assistance to support the success of food and farm entrepreneurs and to grow a more resilient, inclusive local food system.
State-wide organization based in Detroit, MI
Make Food Not Waste's mission is to keep food out of landfills and slow climate change by creating lasting solutions to food waste through education, food upcycling, and advocacy.
Based in Detroit, MI
Sanctuary Farms' focuses on permaculture growing practices, food waste diversion, and honoring the earth.
Based in Detroit, MI
Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network
DBCFSN strives to create sustainable, equitable food systems and advocate for policies that address the unique challenges faced by Black communities in Detroit and beyond.
Based in Detroit, MI
Keep Growing Detroit’s mission is to promote a food sovereign city where the majority of fruits and vegetables consumed by Detroiters are grown by residents within the city’s limits.
Based in Detroit, MI
The DFPC is an education, advocacy and policy organization led by Detroiters committed to creating a sustainable, local food system that promotes food security, food justice and food sovereignty in the city of Detroit.
Based in Detroit, MI
Detroit Hives works to create sustainable communities and bee populations by transforming vacant lots into pollinator friendly spaces.
Based in Detroit, MI
Washtenaw County Organizations
Washtenaw County Organizations
To foster an equitable and sustainable local food system, Growing Hope offers an incubator kitchen, farmers market, farms and gardens, youth engagement, and more.
Based in Ypsilanti, MI
We The People Opportunity Farm
In 2015, “Farmer” Melvin Parson founded WTPOF to create a sustainable farming system that could support a workforce of formerly incarcerated men and women.
Based in Ypsilanti, MI
Washtenaw County Food Policy Council
The WFPC is an advisory subcommittee of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. The WFPC prioritizes policies and projects that promote equity for groups that have been systemically excluded
Based in Washtenaw County, MI
Deep-rooted from her refugee background, Phimmasone Kym Owens founded the nonprofit Refugee Garden Initiatives to provide culturally appropriate foods, connect resources of support, and create an open safe space for refugees to tell their stories.
Based in Ann Arbor, MI
Argus aims to grow the local agricultural economy by providing a place where local farms can sell locally-grown produce and other goods conveniently to consumers, year-round.
Based in Ann Arbor, MI
The Farm at Trinity Health empowers people through food, education, and relationships. They offer field trips, classroom visits, and summer camps.
Based in Ann Ypsilanti, MI
Ingham County and Clinton County Organizations
Ingham County and Clinton County Organizations
Michigan Food & Farming Systems
MIFFS is a statewide nonprofit with a mission to connect beginning and historically underserved farmers to each other and resource opportunities; ensuring social justice, environmental stewardship, and profitability.
State-wide organization based in Okemos, MI
Michigan Organic Food & Farm Alliance
MOFFA was organized in 1992 as a non-profit organization with the mission of promoting organic agriculture and the development and support of food systems that revitalize and sustain local communities.
State-wide organization based in Lansing, MI
Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems
CRFS' mission is to engage the people of Michigan, the United States, and the world in applied research, education, and outreach to develop regionally integrated, sustainable food systems.
State-wide organization based in East Lansing, MI
Michigan Farmers Market Association
The number of farmers markets in Michigan has grown from around 90 in 2001 to nearly 300 in 2023. MIFMA was established in 2006 as a statewide association to promote local food consumption in Michigan by connecting more farmers to consumers through farmers markets.
State-wide organization based in East Lansing, MI
Kalamazoo County Organizations
Kalamazoo County Organizations
Zoo City Farm and Food Network
Zoo City is a local food policy council and industry association. Zoo City empowers individuals to make their own decisions about what food they eat, where it comes from, and how it’s produced.
Based in Kalamazoo, MI
Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Food Innovation Center
The Food Innovation Center is a living lab for skills-based training programs, community education and networking focused on building a sustainable, healthy, prosperous and equitable food system in Kalamazoo and greater Southwest Michigan.
Based in Kalamazoo, MI
National Organizations
National Organizations
North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems
NATIFS works to cultivate the seeds of Indigenous heritage, nourish our people, and honor the land that sustains us.
Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance
NAFSA was created to bring grassroots practitioners, communities (rural, remote and urban), and organizations together along with Tribal governments to share, promote and support best practices and policies that enhance dynamic Native food systems.
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is an alliance of grassroots organizations that advocates for federal policy reform to advance the sustainability of agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and rural communities.
National Farmers Union believes that good opportunities in production agriculture are the foundation of strong farm and ranch families, and strong farm and ranch families are the basis for thriving rural communities. Vibrant rural communities, in turn, are vital to the health, security and economic well-being of our entire national economy.
National Young Farmers Coalition
National Young Farmers Coalition shifts power and changes policy to equitably resource the new generation of working farmers.
FoodCorps is a National Service program that connects kids to healthy food in schools so they can lead healthier lives and reach their full potential. Service members deliver programming in schools focusing on hands-on lessons, healthy school meals, and a school-wide culture of health.
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