Farm to Freezer serves fresh food & second-chance jobs

It’s an understatement to say Brandon Seng and Mark Coe thought outside the box in conceiving Farm to Freezer. They not only thought outside the growing season but outside the usual employee prospects in creating Farm to Freezer, which flash freezes, sells and distributes produce from local farms as a workforce development program through Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan. Working in a different capacity for a school-lunch program, Seng, who is now director of food programs for Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan, pondered how to supply fresh fruits and vegetables to school food programs through Michigan’s winter months. He sought advice from his friend Coe, who formerly managed a large fruit and vegetable farm in Manistee County and now manages Farm to Freezer. The pair successfully blanched and flash froze local produce in Seng’s school. Other schools became interested, and the duo launched the frozen produce line at Goodwill Industries. Local men and women from second-chance backgrounds who otherwise might be unable to secure employment fulfill all of the labor requirements of the nonprofit operation. They handle the processing, packaging, labeling and delivery of fruits and vegetables to an expanding network of retailers. "A lot of them are coming from prison, addiction, homelessness—folks who are looking for that fresh start. A lot of times, they're folks who've been out of the workforce for eight or 10 years,” said Seng. Their fresh start with Farm to Freezer adds to the program’s win-win return on investment. "It's a win for farms because it's capturing a segment of the market (fresh frozen local fruits and vegetables) that otherwise wasn't captured,” said Seng. “It’s a win for the individuals coming through training because not only are they learning how to be good employees and how to be confident and powerful people in their own right they’re also learning how to cook great local food.” Farm to Freezer’s produce supply chain has grown from three to 16 farmers, said Coe. Four organic farmers now supply produce for an organic line that will be introduced in February. Coe anticipates quickly multiplying the number of organic farmers. Presently, Farm to Freezer sells its products wholesale to 28 retail locations and makes a handful of institutional sales for use in programs such as Meals on Wheels in Northwest Michigan. For more information on this unique program, read https://www.michfb.com/MI/Farm_News/Content/People/Changing_lives_from_farm_to_freezer/