FEAST Local Food Network Wins Food Stewardship Award

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., June 20, 2016 - The FEAST Local Foods Network and its partners won the Environmental Initiative Award in the Food Stewardship category on Thursday, May 26. This program, hosted by the nonprofit Environmental Initiative, annually honors projects that have achieved extraordinary outcomes by harnessing the power of partnership.

The FEAST Local Foods Network is a collaborative network across Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin of local foods advocates. The FEAST Network organizes the annual Feast! Local Foods Marketplace. Partners accepting the award included Renewing the Countryside, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), University of Minnesota Southeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, The McKnight Foundation, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Mayo Clinic and People's Food Co-op. The network was created to support local food producers and foodmakers by boosting access to financing, resources, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities.

"Our collaborative approach to local food is really focused on the entrepreneur," said Jan Joannides of Renewing the Countryside, a lead partner in the Network. "It's about helping create small, sustainable food businesses to adopt practices that are better for all of us."

The creation of a thriving local food economy needs to be both community-based and driven by everyone involved - from farmers to consumers. The FEAST Local Foods Network is building partnerships across the local food system to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. More than 1,300 people have been reached through the network's various tradeshows and events. Save the date for 2016's Feast! Local Foods Marketplace, taking place December 2-3 at Rochester's Mayo Civic Center.

"Collaboration isn't always easy. This rich and diverse network is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished for our environment, economy, and all Minnesotans when we choose to work together," said Environmental Initiative's Executive Director, Mike Harley. 

The FEAST Local Foods Network, a collaborative network across Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin of local foods advocates and organizer of the annualFeast! Local Foods Marketplace, was selected as a finalist for an Environmental Initiative Award. FEAST was one of three finalists in the Food Stewardship category. The winners for the six Environmental Initiative Award categories will be announced on Thursday, May 26.

 err..un-official – again.

Best laid plans and all… I still couldn’t pull together a full team of judges for the 2015 Feast! BUT I’m marching forward with my own awards. AGAIN.

I have to say that all the exhibitors are amazing food makers and I celebrate each of them for their hard work in making great food. They are all truly heroes of local foods! But… I'll need to pare down the list to just a few. 

The categories I created last year are still going to work – maybe not perfectly, but I got out the old shoe-horn and made them work again this year. 

 Seventeen people gathered around a large table at the Impact Hub MPLS on a Thursday to explore investing for a better food system. Attendees came from an array of backgrounds--some as interested citizens wanting to invest more consciously, others were financial experts, and still others were budding food and agricultural entrepreneurs. Together, we sat down with Joe Riemann of Cooperative Principal who chatted us through the nuts and bolts, and the possibilities and limitations of a method he’s found to be a fun and fulfilling way to move money: investment clubs.

The model is straightforward. It’s a group of people, setting aside a certain amount of money each month to collectively invest. Through regular meetings, the group decides where its money should go. By pooling their resources, members can fund larger initiatives, minimize risks, and educate each other on investing. As Joe explained, since their beginnings in the 1800s these clubs have become increasingly popular through the ‘90s. Folks enjoyed a chance to come together to “beat Wall Street.” That is, until the recession hit and investment clubs “just weren’t fun anymore.”

On a lovely summer evening in June, 150 people came together for the kick-off of Slow Money Minnesota. The event came about because of the energy and interest bubbling up locally around how Minnesotans can do more to support a healthy local food system. The gathering provided an opportunity to learn about investing in food and farming, as well as sampling delicious local fare.

While Slow Money conversations have taken place in Minnesota, and some Slow Money-style investments have occurred, the timing was right to broaden the dialogue and leverage efforts. The event was designed to set the groundwork for expanding the flow of funds to promising and growing businesses, provide people at various levels of wealth to be able to invest locally, and, as a result have more successful farm and food businesses.

Farm Tours - Tips to Maximize the Day

Farm tours, like farmers’ markets, are booming in the US. Harvest festivals, community events, restaurants and even groups of growers themselves are offering farm tours to connect those who enjoy knowing who grows or raises the foods they eat. It’s this connection to the land and to the farmer that has transformed the rural landscape, turning productive working farms into agritourism operations as well. Suddenly farmers turn into hosts and guides when they’re a part of a tour.

Courtesy of La Fortuna Pizza* - Madison, WI

Here is a riddle: What kind of pizza takes 6 hours to prepare and 5 minutes to make? The best pizza. The secret is to let the doughrest and cook it HOT and fast. The following recipe from La Fortuna explains it all. And if you don't want to fire up the kenmore to 500° on a summer evening - try putting your pizza stone on the grill and use lump style char coal (just make sure it is approved for that use first.

Yield: Two 14-inch pizzas

Map it!