• Phil Britton - Chief Ruckus Maker, Fresh Systems, LLC

The USDA GroupGAP food safety certification program has come a long way since the Upper Peninsula participated in the initial 2014 pilot, which was a first step in an effort to advance Agenda Priority 16 in the 2010 Charter. This session will tell the story of how the USDA GroupGAP program has grown since its launch, including successes, failures, lessons learned, and the path ahead. Learn about how the program works, and how it benefits small farms, food hubs, and buyers.failures, and lessons learned, and where does it go from here?

• Mariel Borgman - Community Food Systems Educator, Michigan State University Extension

• Garrett Ziegler - Community Food Systems Educator, Michigan State University Extension

Institutional food service providers rely on their suppliers to produce and deliver safe food. In many cases, buyers rely on some kind of produce safety assurance program to verify their supplier’s food safety practices. A one-size-fits-all approach to verifying fresh produce safety may not be the answer when the goal is to have an equitable and accessible market for diverse food producers. A national survey conducted in 2020 asked institutional buyers about their current produce safety assurance requirements and perspectives with the aim of informing farm to institution-focused educational campaigns that grow understanding of the different produce safety assurance options available to institutional food service programs.