Argus Farm Stop Training

Argus Farm Stop is on a mission to grow the local agricultural economy and help small, local farms succeed. How? By making it easy for consumers to buy directly from local food producers in SE Michigan, year-round!

Kathy Sample & Bill Brinkerhoff (upper left), Brian Barch, (upper right), Laura Matney, (lower left), Travis Blume (lower right)

Since 2014, Argus Farm Stop’s unique business model has returned over $8 million to Michigan local farms and producers. This is especially impressive because farmers receive an average of only 15 cents on the retail sales dollar when selling through traditional channels, according to Argus Farm Stop.

The Argus Farm Stop training team recently led an intensive training to 13 promising good food entrepreneurs across the state, sharing how businesses can adopt Argus’ approach to sell more local food. In three days, they covered the importance of strengthening local food economies, zeroed in on the impact of company culture on day-to-day operations, and wrapped up with the infrastructure and finances needed to open stores like these.

 

“Michigan is one of the most agriculturally diverse states in the U.S. and there is great opportunity to better connect local food producers in a year-round grocery setting. At Argus Farm Stop, we want local food to flourish. We have been selling local food in our community for six years and are committed to helping fellow good food entrepreneurs to do the same. It was inspiring to work with entrepreneurs in this training who are all committed to building stronger local food economies,” Kathy Sample, co-owner at Argus Farm Stop.

This learning opportunity was offered by the Argus Farm Stop team, powered by Fair Food Network through the Michigan Good Food Fund. Michigan Good Food Fund continues to provide business assistance training year-round to good food entrepreneurs, helping them to get the tools and resources they need to bring their businesses to the next level. We can’t wait to see this business model leveraged across the state, supporting local farmers and bringing more fresh food to grocery stores across Michigan.

A training attendee commented, “I love Argus Farm Stop’s model and their spirit of giving and sharing all the information do’s and don’ts. They are just good people. I can’t wait to go visit again.”

Argus Farm Stop is open year-round and has two locations in Ann Arbor to find fresh, local produce.

Interested in other business assistance opportunities from the Michigan Good Food Fund? Follow us on Facebook to learn about upcoming sessions and check out archived workshops and resources on our website.