Jennifer Young interned with the Food System Economic Partnership.

The Food System Economic Partnership (FSEP) is a five county initiative that exists to catalyze change in the food system of Southeast Michigan.  It provides research, education, and outreach, with rural and urban partnerships, resulting in agricultural development opportunities, sustainable communities, and healthy, local economies.

The key sustainability related outcomes that result from FSEP’s work are: (1) the preservation of rural and agricultural land, (2) reduction of fossil fuel emission contributions to global warming, and (3) assisting local food entrepreneurs expand into new markets, such as organic farming.

Overview (of the work/duties):
”¢ Wrote/edited article submissions for the newsletter
”¢ Developed and redesigned newsletter
”¢ Grant application: wrote and assisted with the application process of two grant applications
”¢ Farm Directory: developed mailings, managed the directory database, and interfaced with farmers.  Was responsible for the implementation of the online directory.
”¢ Assisted with organizational administration:  took meeting minutes for Board, Leadership, and Farm-to-School Committee meetings, developed Leadership Team roster, and updated the FSEP Wiki webpage with relevant documents
”¢ Community outreach included: staffing tables at the Westside Farmers Market and the Ann Arbor Public Middle Schools Field days for the Farm-to-School program.  Attended conferences including: “Food Deserts of Detroit”, the Detroit Urban Garden tour presented by the Detroit Agriculture Network, the Lenawee County Center for Excellence Field Day, and breakfast with the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce and Senator Debbie Stabenow, the Chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, and Forestry Credit.
”¢ Created education and outreach print materials
”¢ Assisted with research on producing fundraising events
”¢ Visited several area farms and farmers during different stages of the growing season
”¢ Assisted with the development of new business plans for food entrepreneurs through research and reports

How my internship with FSEP has benefited me and the planet:
This past spring at the SNRE’s Career Day, the key note lecturer, Luther Propst, Executive Director of the Sonoran Institute, gave words of advice to the attending students that I will never forget.  He said that a lot of opportunities for career advancement arise out of being at the right place at the right time.  This past summer, through my internship with FSEP, I came to experience this advice first hand. 

When I first met with Lisa, the Internship Coordinator at the SNRE, I only had a vague idea of what I wanted to accomplish through a summer internship.  However, after meeting with her, I came to realize that I wanted to work with an organization that facilitated sustainable solutions to important conservation issues, through a system of collaboration and multi-sector partnerships.  After this realization and another review of the internship database, it became clear to me that the place for me was the Food System Economic Partnership. 

Based out of the MSU Extension office in Washtenaw County, FSEP’s Board, Leadership Team, and Committee Work Groups are made up of a diverse group of stakeholders that includes County Commissioners, Food Service Directors, County Extension Directors, Washtenaw County Public Health, the Washtenaw Land Trust, several food system business owners, local food system non-profit directors, university researchers, farmers, and others who are committed to promoting change in the food system. 

The organization’s interests are wide ranging, as could be inferred by the diversity of its members. Its interests span from pubic health, to economic vitality, the viability of local farmers and farmland preservation, food security and access, and conservation of natural resources. 

One of my principle objectives for the internship was to get out in the community and interact with local stakeholders.  I had the opportunity to do so on several occasions.  One such opportunity presented itself when FSEP Board member, Larry J. Gould, invited me to visit his farm.  Larry is a sixth generation farmer whose family homesteaded one of the first farms in Lenawee County.  Larry served as the County Commissioner of Lenawee County for 23 years, and is now devotes his time to farming and bringing about change in the food system through his involvement with FSEP and other activities. 

Larry invited me to visit his farm, and gave me a historic tour of Lenawee County.  The opportunity to learn first hand from a regional farmer about farming, the history of the county, and how current economic and political forces shape the course of American farming was priceless. 

In addition to visiting Larry’s farm I had the opportunity to visit with several other area farms, such as Tantre Farms located right here in Washtenaw County.  Tantre Farms operates as a CSA – Community Supported Agriculture – where members have shares of the farm what it produces in a season.  Members can go to the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market Wednesday mornings to pick up their share of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Another opportunity was learning about agricultural innovation that is occurring throughout the region and the state.  I attended several conferences and field days that educated me about food system issues facing our region.  One of these was the Lenawee County Field Day, sponsored by the Center for Excellence.  Many of the field day exhibits dealt with conservation issues, such as soil and water conservation, and runoff prevention.

One of the speakers, Dr. Kurt Thelen from MSU, spoke about the potential of corn ethanol as an alternative fuel source.  It was interesting for me to see community outreach in action, and inspiring to watch the exchange of information between researcher and farmer.

Another such opportunity was the chance to interact with local youth about eating local food through FSEP’s Farm-to-School (FtS) project.  The FtS project works with three pilot schools, one of which in the Ann Arbor Public Schools.  In June, at two Ann Arbor Middle School Field Days, I staffed tables to interact with kids one on one about eating local food.  The youth were surprisingly receptive to the idea of eating local, fresh fruits and vegetables and it was a great learning experience for me.  This experience also granted me the opportunity to meet local staff who work on these issues on a daily basis, such as staff from the Washtenaw County Public Health department and the University of Michigan’s own Project Healthy Schools.
When I wasn’t out in the field expanding FSEP’s community outreach efforts, I was busy at the office, writing grant applications, creating the newsletter, or working on other administrative support for the organization. 

There are several noteworthy accomplishments of my internship to the organization.  The first is my assistance in writing and applying for a grant application to the National Association of Counties (NACO) Sustainable Communities Awards program.  The preliminary application was submitted in May, and by June FSEP had been informed of its selection, among only 20 others in the nation, as a finalist in the awards program.  I assisted in writing the full proposal, which was submitted in July.  FSEP is waiting to hear announcement of the winners, which NACO states will be announced the last week of September.

The second major accomplishment of my internship was the implementation of the region’s first ever online farm product directory of its kind.  I facilitated the directory’s implementation through the development of mailings, database management, and interfaced between Washtenaw County staff from Planning and Environment and IT departments.  The directory is the first of its kind to use GIS mapping software as the interface for an interactive map of regional local food, and will assist interested public and institutions in locating and buying from local farmers.

As much as I had the privilege of contributing to the organization, I feel that I benefited far more.  On a professional level, I became familiar with several levels of government, learned about private sector entrepreneurship and how it is expanding opportunities for sustainability, and saw how public health initiatives often have overlapping benefits to environmental preservation.  I developed some existing skills, such as through the grant writing experience, and gained new skills, such as through maintaining the GIS farm directory.  What’s more, working with Project Manager Jennifer Fike, and Agricultural Innovation Counselor, Mike Score, was a fantastic experience and it was a treat to work with such innovative, charismatic individuals who are passionate about what they do.

On a personal level, this internship has changed the way I look at food.  It’s something so basic, that mostly I have taken for granted.  Now I see that something such as food, that is so fundamental to human life, has big implications for our sustainable future.  Although I am clear that I’ve only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg of this enormous web of institutions, markets, and organizations that we call the “food system”, this internship has exposed me to, what is for me, a whole new food systems world.  As a result of my new interest I am currently taking a Food & Water Systems class this semester, and am studying Farm Bill Policy in my environmental policy course. 

In all of my environmental work thus far, my internship with FSEP was the first time that I experienced a sustainable initiative being embraced by such as diverse group of stakeholders.  I believe that these kinds of collaborations are essential to sowing seeds for conservation in the minds of the public at large.
My internship with FSEP granted me the opportunity to contribute to both the success of a sustainable initiative, as well as to my own personal and professional development.  I am privileged to have had the opportunity to learn and contribute in such a profound way through this internship.  I am truly grateful for the support from the SNRE and the Marshall Weinberg Fund, which made this possible.  

Internship Details