Saying Goodbye to Minnesota

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on February 12, 2011

No, I am not leaving, this is the title of Kate Taylor’s blog post on Main Street News as she finishes her 5 months National Emerson Hunger Fellowship. The final product of her work is almost ready for publishing pending final revisions, a complete guide (or as I call it Strategic Plan) for developing agripreneur programs in other communities.

Organizing the Region’s Farm to School Opportunities

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on January 11, 2011

We are working to support the Sustainable Farming Association’s Cannon River region members as we explore the opportunities to increase direct markets through selling to School cafeterias in the region.  There is no better opportunity than the the chapter’s annual meeting. So join us as we celebrate the annual meeting of the Cannon River SFA Chapter on Saturday, Jan. 29 from noon to 5 p.m. at St. Dominic’s Church in Northfield as JoAnne Berkenkamp from the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy shares her experiences with successful Farm To School programs in Minnesota. Berkenkamp’s conversation starts at 1 p.m., following a local-foods potluck that starts at noon. She’ll discuss both the policies and pragmatics of schools buying food directly from farmers and farmers selling food directly to schools. Joining Berkenkamp will be area farmers and school foodservice folks who have worked with each other. Learn what has worked and what has not worked for school districts and farmers. Following the presentation will be a Q & A and networking session.

The Cannon River SFA Chapter will hold their annual meeting at 3:30 p.m. following the Farm To School program. Electing officers and planning activities for 2011 are up for discussion.

This event is free to the public but please RSVP to kzeman@kmwb.net or (507) 664-9446 by Jan. 26.

St. Olaf Students Produce Video on Local Foods and Sustainability

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on May 21, 2010