Embedded Files
A documentary of the farmers and communities of Flint, MI, presented by the MSU Broad Art Museum.
OUR MISSION
OUR MISSION
Question: What does it mean for a community to have greater control over its food?
Sovereignty: “Who decides?”
Sustainability: “Can this continue for future generations?”
Organic Network (2025) is a 10-minute documentary about urban farming in Flint, Michigan, and the communities it impacts. Students and recent graduates from Michigan State University’s College of Communication Arts & Sciences created the film. In Flint, urban farming involves revitalizing vacant lots, bringing crops to market, and building community ties.
Organic Network is a follow-up to two earlier films, The Kings of Flint (2011) and Flint River Farm (2012), created by an earlier crop of MSU students.
The Kings of Flint received a regional Emmy nomination, a national Award of Excellence from the Broadcast Education Association, and the Michigan Association of Broadcasters’ 2012 Best Mini-Doc in Public TV award. In 2014, both films aired nationally on WORLD Channel (PBS WORLD) as part of Local, USA, a series co-produced by WTTW-TV in Chicago.
Like its predecessors, Organic Network features interviews with local farmers and experts. It also explores the effects of the Flint water crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, examining how the farmers’ lives have changed over the years. The film debuted in 2025 as part of the exhibition Farmland: Food, Justice, and Sovereignty at the MSU Broad Art Museum.
This urban farming film series is a longitudinal documentary project, returning years later to examine the Kings’ farming efforts, community relationships, ongoing challenges, and the next generation of farmers.
In 2040, 15 years after the debut of Organic Network, I look forward to revisiting karate master Dora King and the next cohort of karate masters who are also master gardeners to explore questions about food sovereignty and sustainability. Thank you to Dora and Jason for sharing your stories, to your students, and to the dozens of students who have worked on these films.
For me, I am a Flintstone. My family immigrated from the Philippines to Flint in the early 1970s. This is one of my love letters to my hometown.
Spotlighting Urban Farming
Spotlighting Urban Farming
Urban farming is exactly what it sounds like: farming in an urban setting. More specifically, it is a practice that local communities use to provide food for themselves and each other, whether that be through crops or livestock. Many people in Flint have reclaimed vacant lots around the city and turned them into urban farms. Growing food in a city is difficult, but may of these people have made it a significant part of their livelihood.
Promoting Food Sovereignty & Security
Promoting Food Sovereignty & Security
In the midst of the Water Crisis and COVID-19, Flint has become increasingly reliant on external food aid. This has lead many people to think deeply about where the food we eat actually comes from, and the rise of urban farming has helped to promote the idea of food sovereignty. The people of Flint now have more and more access to locally sourced food at venues like the Flint Farmers Market, aiming to diminish that need for outside help.
THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDING SOURCES
THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDING SOURCES
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