LANSING – New business is budding for the state’s potato industry through the Buy Michigan First program.

The program helps businesses win contracts with the state, said Ben Kudwa, executive director of the Michigan Potato and Carrot Industry Commission in DeWitt.

“There are plenty of opportunities to do business with the state,” said Lisa Webb Sharpe, director of the Department of Management and Budget, which runs the program.

For example, the Department of Corrections recently has partnered with farmers to serve only Michigan-grown potatoes in prison cafeterias, in addition to 25 other types of produce, including four types of apples, said Gatha McClellan, food service director at Corrections.

McClellan said Corrections buys from a variety of farms across the state.

Buy Michigan First will help the potato industry bring in an additional $200,000 a year for the next couple of years, and it could expand after that, Kudwa said.

“That’s simply for potatoes,” he said.

The industry will produce an estimated 2.1 million additional pounds of spuds for prisons annually, Kudwa said. Michigan’s potato farmers grow about 325 million pounds a year.

The potatoes for prisoners are packaged and distributed at the Newberry Correctional Facility in the Upper Peninsula, he said.

Kudwa said buying from Michigan growers will save the prisons money, too.

“The whole idea of Buy Michigan First is to make sure you’re competitive,” he said.

A farm doesn’t get a deal just because it’s located in Michigan, Kudwa said.

But cutting costs such as fuel to transport foods from other states makes it more sensible to buy from Michigan rather than importing produce.

“It’s a huge saving,” Kudwa said.

Linda Norlock, a press officer with Management and Budget, said the program saves taxpayers money because every contract is competitively bid on. Vendors do their best to keep their prices low and are eager to do business with Michigan, she said.

According to the department, Buy Michigan First has saved the state over $570 million since 2003.

Throughout the fall and spring, the department is giving informational presentations about the program across the state, including ones in Saginaw, Flint, Warren, Detroit and Southgate.

More information is available at www.michigan.gov/buymichiganfirst.