First Ever Flint Growers Co-operative!

Here is the press release for the Edible Flint growers co-operative first market day at the Flint Farmers Market:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joanna Lehrman
Flint River Farms, Edible Flint Co-op
(917)617-4239
Email: joanna.lehrman@gmail.com

City-Grown Food Co-op opens at Flint Farmers Market

Flint, Mi, July 9, 2010 -- Starting Saturday, July 17, 2010 and continuing every Saturday throughout the summer, customers at the Flint Farmers’ Market will be able to purchase vegetables, herbs, and fruits grown right in the heart of the City of Flint and Beecher. The Farmers’ Market stall will be run by the Edible Flint Co-op, a collaboration of nearly 20 urban growers, dedicated to improving Flint residents’ access to fresh and healthy food.

And there’s a bonus: As Edible Flint Co-op growers raise food, they are also adding value to local property and helping improve the overall health of residents.
“This is one of the most important things we can do to support growers who want to increase production or supplement their income, and to support local residents by providing easy access to wholesome food,” said Joanna Lehrman, a grower and co-operative planning-group member. “We can grow incredibly diverse and exciting produce here in Flint. The co-operative enables us to support each other by sharing in the risk and increasing the quantity of products we have available to those who shop at the Farmers’ Market.”

The Edible Flint Co-op is part of Edible Flint, A Growing Network, a group of local residents, growers, and organizations that provide technical assistance and seek to better coordinate resources for local growers. Edible Flint members also connect growers to buyers for their produce - including local restaurants and farmers’ markets.

Edible Flint’s mission is “…to support local residents in growing and accessing fresh, healthy food in order to reconnect with the land and each other.”

“Having a table supported by local growers is exciting,” said Dick Ramsdell, manager of the Flint Farmers’ Market. “The market is busier this summer than ever before. Vacant land in Flint created a negative image in people’s minds, and now this land is growing healthy food!”

The stall at the Flint Farmers’s Market , 420 E. Boulevard Dr. Flint, MI 48503, will be open during regular market hours, 8:00am to 5:00pm, beginning Saturday, July 17.
Members of Edible Flint and growers will be on hand share recipes and to answer questions about where food is being grown by members of the co-operative. For more information about the Edible Flint Co-operative contact Joanna Lehrman, Flint River Farms, Edible Flint Co-op at (917)617-4239. Or e-mail her at joanna.lehrman@gmail.com