Only a week after the Institute for Justice (IJ) sent a letter to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer urging her to allow garden centers and nurseries to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor has done exactly that. On Friday, she rescinded an earlier executive order that had prohibited these vital businesses from operating and issued a new order allowing them to reopen, subject to social-distancing guidelines.

“During these difficult times, gardening has become a vital source of sustenance and sanity for countless Americans,“ said Michael Bindas, an IJ senior attorney who directs IJ’s National Food Freedom Initiative and authored the letter to Whitmer. “Growing food at home is the surest and safest way for Michiganders to meet their food needs in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, and garden centers and nurseries are vital in helping them obtain the tools and resources to do so. Thankfully, Governor Whitmer has finally recognized just how important these businesses are in ensuring Michiganders are able to provide for themselves and their families during these times.”  

Whitmer’s order takes effect immediately.