LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has awarded this year’s round of Food Safety Education Fund Grants.

The state-based grant program has given a total of $352,957 this year in the form of nine awards to six different organizations: the Great Lakes Conference on Food Protection, Michigan Dairy Industry Conference, Michigan Environmental Health Association, Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association, Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA) and Midwest Independent Retailers Association.

The money that funds these grants is taken from food businesses in the form of fees, said Lori Yelton, food management nutrition consultant with MDARD’s food and dairy division. “Even those grants that aren’t awarded to farms or farm organizations might be helpful to farmers,” Yelton said.

The $5,000 awarded to the Michigan Dairy Industry Conference will help pay for the 2023 conference and will help pay for milk safety training and education for dairy industry and regulatory staff. Food safety regulations and training requirements around milk are more comprehensive than those around any other single food item, she said. The yearly conference helps to train people who work in the dairy plants.

MIFMA was awarded $68,957 for statewide consumer food safety education and outreach at Michigan farmers markets. According to Yelton, the goal of the MIFMA grant is to implement food safety events at 15 to 20 farmers markets across the state next year. “They’re going to do food safety presentations at these farmers markets,” Yelton said. “They’re going to do cooking demonstrations, food and beverage sampling, safe storage techniques, safe food transporting, and demonstrations regarding at home safe food storage and cooking as well.” Yelton added that some of the grant money will be used to launch social media campaigns regarding food safety.

The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association received several grants, which will be used for food education and training for Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan. They will also be used for food service training for food service employees regarding norovirus, food training regarding processed meats and food fermentation, also for food service employees, to be administered by Michigan State University, and other efforts.

The Midwest Independent Retailers Association received $50,000, also for food safety training for food service staff located in rural areas and for those in so-called food desert areas of Michigan. “Food deserts seem to have a large proportion of areas with prepared food establishments” rather than high quality grocery stores, Yelton added.

For more information about the grants, contact Yelton at (517) 420-3249.