August 2022

Will you come celebrate local food and farm to early care with us at the Minnesota State Fair? Going on now through Labor Day, Sept. 5! Are you a local food advocate that would like to volunteer? There are a few more spots—sign up HERE.

Keep reading for field days and gatherings that serve to inform and connect, and we hope your summer is wrapping up with bountiful fresh, local food and plenty of down time to spend with community!

Minnesota State Fair

A wonderful way to celebrate agriculture with 20,000 of your best friends, featuring:

1. A wonderful lineup of cooking demos in the Eco Experience Building's Sustainability Stage, starting with Beth Dooley on Thursday and Patrice Johnson Friday. See the full schedule here.

2. An exciting array of food businesses offering samples of their unique products, starting with Mostly Made and Perennial Pantry on Thursday and K-Mama and Woven Meats on Friday. Oh, and don't miss the crickets! Full schedule here.

3. Enjoy a spotlight on Farm to Early Care and Education (F2ECE) programs and the providers who've dedicated themselves to working with kids. F2ECE not only helps get fresh, local foods to young kids, but also engages them in positive experiences with those foods, from learning about how they're grown to fun activities based on the Pint Size Produce resource materials.

For example:

Roxanne Stiner operates Care-A-Lot Child Care in Park Rapids, MN where she predominantly works with children from underserved Indigenous families. She is dedicated to educating families about healthy eating through exposure to locally-grown foods and providing healthy recipes for preparing those foods. Children in Roxanne’s care learn about growing and harvesting fresh produce by visiting a prepared garden plot and by taking field trips to a local garden center, a u-pick strawberry farm, and the farmers market. She believes that by introducing new fruits and vegetables within peer groups, having time to cook together, and sharing recipes with their families, children are more likely to decide that they want to participate and try new fruits and veggies.

“By providing opportunities for the children to engage and learn, they will be proud to help provide healthy meals to bring home. They will try new foods and recipes and be excited to engage in lifelong learning about healthy living and eating.”

—Roxanne Stiner, Early Care Provider

Farmland Access

Pause for celebration

We're so grateful to the customers of Lakewinds Food Co-op for banding together to donate to our Farmland Access work through the Community Giving Round Up Program for the month of July: you raised a whopping $15,000 to help us get new farmers onto land!

Thank you!

Farmers Market Food Hub

RTC's Jan Joannides and Sara George joined AmeriCorps VISTAs Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly and Kathleen Rykhus at The Village this month for a regional visit with Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and regional VISTA Coordinator Daniel Cruz.

Renewing the Countryside and the Minnesota Farmers Market Association are so lucky to have incredible VISTA volunteers through a program at the Southern MN Initiative Foundation. Kathleen and Maeve are creating resources and tools along with collecting data to make our Farmers’ Market Hubs stronger and more vibrant in communities across Minnesota.

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Conservation Connections

More and more field days! Renewing the Countryside “connectors” are farmers, trained to connect others to resources that are available through the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS).

You’re invited to a Field Day at Twin Cities Berry Company, a production farm dedicated to increasing the Twin Cities' supply and access to healthy, locally produced fruit. The farm achieves this by developing and utilizing season extension technologies that push fruit production past its normal harvest window while maintaining impeccable taste and quality.

Network with other farmers and bring your questions! A warm invite especially to beginning farmers and new landowners, those needing interpretation, those growing on rented land interested in conservation resources and new to NRCS and FSA.

Introduction to NRCS & FSA Resources & Programs
Monday, August 29
4 - 6 PM CDT
Twin Cities Berry Company
Farmington, MN

REGISTER HERE

 

Join farmer Robert Pierce for a tour of his farm, Half the 40 Acres, south of Madison and learn about various programs and opportunities to enhance conservation practices on your land. Learn about soil health and see Robert's composting operation.

"For me, it's pretty simple; everything starts with healthy soil. To grow good food you need good soil and that has always been my priority here on the farm."

—Robert Pierce, farmer and director of the South Madison Farmers' Market and Neighborhood Food Solutions nonprofit

Introduction to NRCS & FSA Resources & Programs
Wednesday, September 14
4 - 6 PM CDT
Half the 40 Acres
Fitchburg, WI

REGISTER HERE

 

We continue to invite you to donate and to consider becoming a sustaining donor if you haven't already. Your generosity makes a big difference in the sustainable finances of a small non-profit organization like RTC!

 

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Renewing the Countryside is a non-profit organization that strengthens rural areas and small towns by championing & supporting farmers, artists, entrepreneurs, educators, activists, and others who are revitalizing the countryside through innovative endeavors.
We build awareness and support for these initiatives by collecting & sharing stories of rural renewal, providing practical assistance & networking opportunities for those working to improve rural America, and fostering connections between urban & rural people.

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