Seattle Times fills up at Selma Cafe

At Ann Arbor’s Selma Cafe, food is down to earth. That’s because the weekly breakfasts plated up by this volunteer-run nonprofit fund hoop-house construction and microloans to seed new farmers. And the nibbles sound so delish. Excerpt: Regulars and newcomers, including some students and staff of the nearby University of Michigan, drop in from 6:30 to 10 a.m. Fridays and slip a recommended $12 to $15 into the jars scattered around communal tables. After deducting food costs, they’ve chipped in at least $90,000 for a revolving fund for micro loans to fledgling farmers… [Angela Eikenberry, a University of Nebraska-Omaha assistant professor of public policy who studies philanthropy] says she isn’t aware of “any other groups that make loans. … It’s very encouraging for me to hear these kinds of things going on.” A National Farmers Union official is similarly enthusiastic. “What a great idea! I’ve not personally heard of any other communities pulling together and doing something like that,” says Chandler Goule, vice president and lobbyist. He says it’s particularly helpful because, in recent years, “credit was extremely tight” for farmers seeking bank loans. Find the full story here.