Michigan Food and Ag Professionals Serve Their Communities in the Face of COVID-19
In partnership with: Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
From FFA chapters donating milk for school lunch programs to businesses temporarily making new products, the Michigan food and agriculture community showed amazing resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some found creative ways to meet customer needs and others discovered unexpected business opportunities – all while serving their communities.
Ethanol Fuels Sanitizer Sales
Michigrain Distillery President and CEO Scott Ellis was at his kids’ school when he overheard teachers discussing making their own hand sanitizer. Ellis sprang into action, and within a few weeks, Lansing-based Michigrain began producing the sought-after virus killer. At its peak, Michigrain was making 500 gallons of hand sanitizer a week, selling it in individual sizes and in bulk for large companies.
Michigrain’s business model is built on purchasing wheat and corn from farmers within a 60-mile radius to produce high-volume, handcrafted ethanol, or neutral grain spirits, for other distilleries as well as themselves. Many spirits producers don’t make ethanol – they obtain it elsewhere and then craft their own blends. But during the height of the pandemic shutdown, ethanol was nearly impossible to obtain, according to Ellis’ business partner, Mike Bird. “In that short-term period, without ethanol to make their products, a bunch of distilleries were hanging on for dear life,” says Bird, Michigrain vice president and head of production. “We were able to help other distillers make their core products and sanitizer as well.”
In addition to making ethanol, Michigrain crafts a gold-medal-winning vodka using leftover potato starch from a Detroit-based snack company. Ellis says prior to the pandemic, tasting room sales helped Michigrain stay alive while the new business (only 4 years old) grew its name and brand. Now, “production (of ethanol and sanitizer) is carrying everything and our tasting room is just … there,” he says.
See more: Michigan Distilleries Switch Gears to Help Combat Coronavirus
The company also donated thousands of gallons of sanitizer to law enforcement, schools, health care facilities and others. “But I’m most proud of the fact we didn’t have to get rid of any employees and we kept our contracts going with the farmers,” Bird says.
Getting Groceries at Frank’s Place
The Collins family – Denise, husband Jim, daughter Jessica and son Jimi – had just obtained a liquor license and remodeled the dining room at Frank’s Place, their Italian restaurant in Manchester, when the shutdown hit. “I realized I had to figure out a way to keep my employees working,” Denise says.
A longtime favorite in its farming community of 2,500, Frank’s already enjoyed a robust takeout service with online ordering. Understanding that folks were uneasy leaving home to shop, Denise wondered if Frank’s Place could offer grocery items. She took a webinar on food labeling on a Monday, and by that Wednesday, Frank’s was offering preorders of deli meats, sliced cheese, produce, butter, flour and other staples. “I just thought, why can’t I help my community out, especially since Manchester had lost its only grocery store in 2019,” says Denise, noting that they source ground beef and fresh vegetables from local farmers.
Frank’s also began offering pizza kits consisting of a ball of their homemade dough, handmade sauce, cheese and instructions for baking it at home. Jimi even recorded a YouTube video – a first for Frank’s Place – on how to roll out a perfect crust.
Takeout, filling grocery orders and assembling pizza kits kept nearly all 12 employees working. Denise says Frank’s will continue to offer grocery orders “until people aren’t interested anymore – but we haven’t seen that yet.”
Denise says the support from the town has been overwhelming. When the dining room reopened, for example, customers overtipped waitstaff. “This is a rough time for restaurants, and our community has just wrapped their arms around us,” she says. “We are so, so fortunate.”