***As of March 6th, DPFC is pausing intake of new vendors as they prepare for store opening on May 1st. Please feel free to fill out the form linked below, and follow up with them in the store in the months following their opening.***
Pure Michigan Business Connect (PMBC) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) are excited to support supply chain partnership opportunities connecting the Detroit People's Food Co-op (DPFC), an African American led and community-owned grocery cooperative, with:
- Local growers
- Consumer packaged goods (CPG) businesses
- Prepared foods programs
- Other food and beverage suppliers
- Professional service providers
The store opening of the co-op is currently scheduled for May 1st, 2024.
DPFC’s purpose is to provide improved access to healthy food and food education to Detroit residents, with a focus on local sourcing of goods and services from businesses owned by people identifying as African American, as well as Native Americans, people of color, women, LGBTQIA+, and veterans.
DPFC will be a full-service grocery store that will offer various items including locally grown produce, packaged groceries, baked goods, meats, fish, dairy, frozen foods, bulk dry goods, nutritional supplements, body care products, beer, and wine. The store will also offer a deli and prepared
foods department.
The co-op will also prioritize working with locally owned businesses when needed, for the following kinds of services: woodworking, web & software developers, marketing firms, accounting firms, commercial laundry, waste management, commercial cleaning, credit card processing, human resource services, office supplies, printing services, and insurance.
In order to identify suppliers for both food/beverage and professional services vendor partnerships with the store, PMBC will capture interest and qualification through an intake form, available HERE. Interested food and beverage suppliers should review the eligibility criteria below before proceeding with the application. Please note that submission of interest will not automatically result in the co-op buying from your business; select suppliers will be invited to meet with the co-op purchasing department later this year to discuss specific needs and opportunities.
Supplier Eligibility
- Businesses must possess commercial food license(s) appropriate to their products
- Business must be insured (Minimum of $1 million in Commercial General Liability insurance)
- Prepared and value-added food items must be prepared in a commercial kitchen
Please contact pmbc@michigan.org with any questions.