November 2026
Author: Mark Maynard
One of the best things about opening a farm stop is the fact that, once you open your doors, interesting people will start coming in. And, quite often, these will be incredibly talented people who not only want to engage with you on the subject of local food, but also want to help. When the first Argus store opened about a dozen years ago, one of our first, and most dedicated customers was a public health professor by the name of Ella August, who, among other things, teaches grant writing at the University of Michigan. Recently, Ella came to us with an idea. She said that she’d like to work with us to create a curriculum of sorts for Farm Stop operators, so that they might improve their chances of attracting grant funding. Following is a brief conversation with Ella about what she hopes to create, and how you might be able to help in the process.
MARK: I’d like to talk about what we have planned for the upcoming Farm Stop National Conference, and this Farm Stop Grant Writing Toolkit that we’ve been working on, but first I’fd like to ask you about the survey we’re undertaking, and why it’s important. Can you talk a little about the survey, which people can find at the bottom of this interview, what kind of information we’re hoping to glean from it, and why we think it’s important?
ELLA: The survey is the first step in understanding an essential building block of farm stops: funding. The farm stop movement is gaining momentum, with new stops being planned and launched regularly. But the skills it takes to open a farm stop don't necessarily go hand in hand with the skills it takes to win grant funding. The goal of the grant writing toolkit is to help bridge that gap.
Before anyone builds programming, though, it's important to understand the need. What have operators already tried? Where do they get stuck? What experience do they bring? The survey asks those questions, and the answers will shape what gets covered in the conference session and the support that follows.
The conference will feature a range of speakers discussing the life cycle of a grant application. We also plan to draw on the collective experience of the farm stop community to share winning arguments and strategies, so no operator has to start from scratch.
We warmly invite readers to take a few minutes to share their experiences. The more voices reflected in the survey, the more useful the session will be.
MARK: I know you’ve already interviewed several people in this space. You’ve spoken with people who have written successful Farm Stop grants, as well as career USDA personnel. I’m curious as to the landscape you see emerging. Where are you seeing opportunities?
ELLA: The funding landscape is shifting, and there is real opportunity for farm stops, especially for those who know how to frame their need. There are many ways to tell your story: strengthening rural economies, building resilient food systems that protect our health, expanding food access, and supporting local farmers.
Right now, planning grants look more promising than implementation grants, which makes them a great place to start. Interest in local food is also growing, with people wanting to know their farmer, especially in the wake of so many foodborne illness outbreaks and concerns about ultra-processed foods.
Federal funding has had its setbacks, but farmers remain a priority at the USDA. Farm stops are an excellent fit from this perspective because they put money in farmers' pockets, and give them a new and more reliable market.
The key is to tap into a funder's priorities, whether that's economic development, infrastructure, or food access. It also helps to be thoughtful about word choice, since some terms and topics land differently with different funders, particularly in the current climate.
MARK: I’m curious to know what it is about the farm stop model that attracted you as a customer, and why it is that you’ve decided to undertake this new initiative?
ELLA: I first learned about the farm stop model when Argus Farm Stop opened a few blocks from my home in Ann Arbor. I quickly became a regular, picking up my morning coffee, fabulous bakery bread, and peanut butter, along with a large portion of our produce and meat. What my husband and I miss most since moving away are the unique items you just don't find at the grocery store. Each season, I looked forward to ground cherries, morel mushrooms, pawpaws, and Northern Spy apples.
My husband and I are both public health professors, and we've seen the harm caused by factory farming, foodborne outbreaks, and a general disconnect from where our food comes from. Farm stops offer a very different model.
Someday, we may open a farm stop of our own. In the meantime, supporting grant funding for farm stops is a way to learn from the movement and contribute to it, alongside the people who are building it.
MARK: You’re coming at this from an outsider perspective in that your experience relative to grant writing has been in the health sciences space. You’ve written, or helped write successful NIH grants, for instance. I imagine, however, a lot of the skills – skills you’ve been teaching academics over the past several years – are transferable, right?
ELLA: Yes, many of the skills transfer. Grants are formulaic, but you have to know the formula. Every funder has its own format, priorities, and review criteria, and learning to read and respond to them is half the battle. At its heart, a grant application is selling an idea. You're making the case that your project solves a problem the funder cares about and that you're the right person to do it.
What stands out in the farm stop world is how openly people share. Operators are generous with what they've learned, and that spirit is what makes a shared toolkit possible.
The payoff of working together on this toolkit is simple. By aggregating our knowledge, we'll write stronger grants. Stronger grants win funding, and strong grants start with a clear story.
MARK: I know we’re still early in this process, and I know this is something that we’ll likely be exploring during the Farm Stop National Conference this coming March, but do you have a sense as to what components would be involved in a Farm Stop Grant Writing Toolkit?
ELLA: It's still early, but the toolkit is coming together around three main parts.
First, examples. Seeing what works is one of the best ways to learn, so the plan is to gather applications written for a variety of funders, along with comments on what made them effective and how they were revised. The collection would also include letters of support and letters of interest, sample timelines, and examples of strong impact statements.
Second, resources. These would include online tools for finding grants, guidance on where to find economic and other data to support a case for need, practical tips for writing successful applications, and videos of past training sessions with their slides.
Finally, a volunteer peer review network. This would be made up of members of the farm stop community who are willing to read drafts and offer feedback before an application is submitted. Reviewing a colleague's grant helps the writer, and it's also a powerful way for reviewers to learn what makes an application successful.
MARK: What should people expect from this upcoming conference session?
ELLA: Come ready to learn and ready to share. On the learning side, expect an overview of funding opportunities, practical strategies for putting together a strong application, and some common pitfalls to avoid.
The session is also meant to be a conversation. The toolkit is being built with the farm stop community, so attendees are encouraged to bring what they know, including any examples or insights they're willing to contribute. Through the survey, the community can also voice what it needs, and those suggestions will help guide what gets created.
