We recently connected with Christine Straley and have shared our conversation below.

Christine , appreciate you joining us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Mi Farm Co-op is a food hub in Traverse City, MI. We provide an important service for our local farmers – we help remove the barriers to selling and delivering their goods. We work with local restaurants, schools, and chefs as well as offer a CSA (community supported agriculture) subscription where folks get access to over 25 farmers products. We offer multiple growers in one box and one invoice. By doing the marketing/selling and the delivery of goods farmers have more time to focus on what’s important – growing good food.

I hear all the time that food costs are just too much, but the reality is that growing real, nutrient-dense food comes with real costs. Every bite of local food represents the money and time invested in healthy soil, carefully planted seedlings, months of labor, fair wages, and all the efforts to harvest, sell, distribute, and deliver it fresh to your table. It’s really challenging to meet all of those needs with our current price points, it’s just not possible so growers have to choose where to make cuts. It’s unfortunate that big corporations have made convenient foods cheaper and more accesible than real food. They have cheapened the whole food system and all the humans involved in the process.

The truth is, there’s no real profit in this model unless we, as a society, shift how we value food. Food isn’t just an expense—it’s an investment in your health, your community, and the environment.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Christine Straley. I am a Michigan native, lover of food, spreadsheets, adventure, and nature. I have spent the lat 10 years of my career in small business operations. I really enjoy organizing businesses so that they can run as efficiently as possible. I have a background as a nutritionist and after years of doing operations in the health industry I had a desire to return to food. Working with MI Farm Co-op was a perfect balance. I get to support our local farmers and get another business running smoothly. At Mi Farm Co-op we help farmers with the logistics of selling, distribution and delivery. Without these burdens farmers do what they love to do, grow good food. I love that we can remove the barrier for them and get their food into the community in more profound and robust way.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Mi Farm Co-op was founded by local farmers who came together to share the workload of selling and distributing fresh, local food to the community. They recognized that by working as a collective, they could reach more businesses and families while strengthening the local food system.

What started with a few well-established farms has grown steadily over the past 10 years. Today, we proudly partner with over 25 dedicated growers, each committed to meeting our high standards for quality and freshness.

We ensure that every product we deliver is fresh, carefully packed, and arrives on time. We also work closely with our customers to meet their specific needs and preferences, building relationships that go beyond transactions.

At its core, Mi Farm Co-op is about people taking care of people—farmers supporting each other, nourishing the community, and ensuring that real, high-quality food remains accessible for all.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Like any great business, our best source of new customers is word-of-mouth. Let’s take a moment to walk through the experience of a CSA member—because once they join, they can’t help but share it.

It’s Wednesday. Mid-week. You’re ready for a break, unsure what to make for dinner, and you forgot to hit the grocery store last night. Then you remember—it’s CSA pickup day! After work, you swing by your pickup location, grab your CSA box, and feel a little rush of excitement. What’s inside this week?

At home, you open the box to find fresh salad greens, juicy tomatoes, two sweet peppers, crisp cucumbers, fragrant onions, a bunch of cilantro, and a pint of plump blueberries. And because you new best, you also purchased your favorite add-on’s a loaf of sourdough bread, a dozen eggs, and half a pastured chicken.

Dinner practically makes itself: roasted chicken with tomato salad and cilantro pesto. Sweet, simple, and incredibly fresh. And for a bedtime treat? Those perfectly ripe blueberries.

The next day at work, you’re raving about last night’s meal—maybe even sharing some homemade blueberry muffins. A coworker asks, “Where did you get all that amazing food?”

“Mi Farm Co-op! I’ve been a member forever—it’s the best.”

And just like that, another person joins the CSA, and the cycle continues—one fresh meal, one conversation, one happy customer at a time.

That’s the power of real food and real connections. People helping people. See the theme?!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mifarmcoop.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mifarmcoop/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mifarmcoop/

Image Credits

Hallie Kohler – Carrots and Radishes