Extension helps
coalition work
to revitalize Detroit

By Laura Probyn
Agriculture and Natural Resources

It’s one of the last places you’d expect to find a farm organization, members are primarily young urban professionals, but the Detroit-based Michigan Coalition of Black Farmers (MCBF) is united by a vision for a thriving, healthy community centered on a bustling farmers market.

That market, the currently defunct Chene-Ferry Farmers Market, was a long-time fixture in a neighborhood once home to primarily blue-collar Polish- Americans. It closed in the 1970s, though the facility was used as a recycling collection center until 1988. The neighborhood has deteriorated and residents’ only source for groceries within a seven-mile radius is a party store located near the market.

Retired Wayne County Sheriff’s Department officer Hank Reed saw the facility in 2000. The former Mississippi farm boy had never forgotten the joy of growing up on a farm, and wanted the current generation of urban youths to understand the strong connection between the field and the table.

He shared his dream and his enthusiasm with acquaintances and built a corps of support for opening a market that could provide fresh produce and breathe fresh air into a lifeless community.

One of those associates, Ralph King, is a real estate appraiser and property manager who has known Reed for 30 years. He was an early, and easy, convert to Reed’s ideas for the Chene-Ferry area.

“He impressed upon me the need to do work in agriculture,” King said of Reed. “He wanted to do something for young people that was integrated in farming and that included the vision of wanting to open a market.”

The group began organizing as a coalition and joined the Federation of Southern Land Cooperators, a national network of minority farm organizations.

They also connected with Washtenaw County MSU Extension agriculture and natural resources agent Mike Score, who recognized the potential impact of their vision.

“Few people really understood how deep agricultural concerns could impact the city of Detroit,” Score said.

“Many people here don’t know where their food comes from. I’ve seen Hank’s persistence.

“I see this group picking up on the legacy of his vision of making change from the inside out.”

Score helped guide the group through grant writing and project development and he offered an entrepreneur training program that several coalition members attended. He organized a conference in spring 2003 with support from MSU’s Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to Meet Economic and Environmental Needs) for more than 100 people who were interested in helping create a vision for the Chene-Ferry market. That conference was a jumping-off point that enabled the coalition to access county, city and federal officials who could help move the project forward.

“A lot has come from our work with our colleague from MSU,” King said of Score. “He has a perfect synergy with Mr. Reed and he has provided us with technical expertise and connections across the region.”

A veteran of numerous agricultural development activities, Score sees a value in the diverse backgrounds of the decidedly nonfarm coalition members.

“They bring skill sets to this project that most agricultural development projects lack that allow them to move ahead as fast,” he noted. “This group’s members have experiences as engineers, accountants and with real estate, as well as having farm family backgrounds and connections within the city.”

Copyright 2001 Michigan State University Division of University Relations.