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Homegrown Minneapolis is a citywide initiative
expanding our community's ability to grow, process,
distribute, eat and compost more healthy, sustainable,
locally grown foods.
September 2015
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Food Council application open until October 2nd
City of Minneapolis is accepting Food Council applications until October 2, 2015. Apply now! Attend the upcoming Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council meeting or visit our website to learn more.
Minneapolis takes action to protect dwindling local bee population
The City Council passed a resolution on August 21 that the mayor signed which commits Minneapolis to increasing bee-friendly plants in the city and decreasing pesticide use.
Minneapolis launches organics recycling
City crews began delivering the first green organics recycling carts to
Minneapolis residents living in the first
phase areas of citywide organics collection. The second phase of the rollout begins in the spring. Once the rollout is
complete, all Solid Waste and Recycling customers who signed up will be able to
take part in organics recycling. Learn more and sign up.
September Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council meeting
Wednesday, September 9, 5:00-5:30 p.m. pre-meeting presentation from FOOD BUILDING;
5:30 p.m.-7:30 pm meeting; 7:30-8:00 info session for interested Food Council applicants
FOOD BUILDING, 1401 Marshall Street NE
Meeting Agenda The meeting will include an opportunity to provide input on urban agriculture to Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) annual farm open house
Sunday, September 13th, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
HAFA Farm, 20385 Coates Boulevard, Hastings
RSVP: info@hmongfarmers.com
More information: www.hmongfarmers.com
The second annual event will include local food, kids activities, farm tours and live entertainment.
Birchwood Bash celebrates 20 years of good real food at Birchwood Cafe
Sunday, September 13, 11 a.m. street yoga; 2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. celebration
Birchwood Cafe, 3311 East 25th Street, Minneapolis
Event website: https://www.birchwoodcafe.com/events/item/177
The Birchwood Bash will kick off at 11 AM in front of
the cafe with a street yoga event hosted by Big River Yoga and Gorilla Yogis.
The celebration continues from
2 PM to 7 PM and features Birchwood fare along with Izzy’s Ice Cream treats and
offerings from Chef Shack and Café Racer food trucks. Surly Brewing, Sweetland
Orchard, and Peace Coffee will be providing additional beverage options. Sean McPherson and Jim McGuinn of 89.3 The Current
will emcee the Electric Fetus stage, which will feature musical guests
Clementown, Ann Carter and Friends, The Sunny Era, the Brass Messengers and
more. Family activities will include art projects from ArtiCulture, a show from
Open Eye Figure Theater, face painting, a demonstration hive from The Beez
Kneez, Trivia from Trivia Mafia, and a community square dance.
Community Garden Day
Saturday, September 19, Times and locations of garden celebrations available at www.gardeningmatters.org Garden locations include North Minneapolis, Northeast Minneapolis, Southeast Minneapolis, South Minneapolis, North and South Metro, St. Paul, and Greater MN.
The Twin Cities is home to over 419 community gardens and urban agriculture projects, with gardeners committed to providing quality, local food for families and neighborhoods. In the Twin Cities and across the country, community gardens transform lives and rejuvenate neighborhoods. On September 19th, thirty-seven community gardens invite their communities to join them in celebration of these vibrant green spaces. This year’s garden tours highlight old and new gardens and introduce the dedicated people who make gardens a success. Learn firsthand about the achievements of the Twin Cities’ vigorous urban agriculture scene.
Minneapolis Public Schools (Free!) Farm to School BBQ
Thursday, September 24, 5:00 p.m. -7:30 p.m.
MPS Nutrition Center, 812 Plymouth Ave N, Minneapolis
Taste local food, meet farmers, pet live farm animals, watch chef demos, try some gardening activities, get your face painted and more!
If you are interested in hosting an ACTIVITY at the event, you must fill out the Activity Form by Friday September 11th at http://bit.ly/BBQActivity
Liberal Arts in Prisons discussion
September 17, 6:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Wedge Table, 2412 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis
A group of activists will meet to discuss steps necessary to create a liberal arts education program for inmates in MN. Similar programs across the country have shown drastically reduced recidivism rates forparticipants of the program compared to their peers three years after release (3% to 48%). The goal is to incorporate voices from within and without of the judicial, prison, educational and food systems to build a coalition that reflects the diversity of the state in order to instate a program here that will help us reduce racial disparities and create viable career opportunities for those previously incarcerated.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1620932971507943
HACCP Training for
Processors
NSF
is offering a two-day HACCP Training for Processors course in Minneapolis on
September 15 and 16. The course is accredited by American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) and the International HACCP Alliance. The course
introduces employees of the food industry to the concepts of HACCP, and
satisfies the HACCP training requirement for the Global Food Safety Initiative
(GFSI) approved standards (BRC, SQF, FSSC2200, etc.). The course:
- Reviews U.S. regulatory
and international agencies responsible for the safety of food and drugs.
- Outlines and identifies
the three hazards associated with food production: microbiological,
chemical and physical.
- Reviews selected
prerequisite programs based on U.S. regulatory GMPs and SSOPs and
requirements of GFSI approved standards.
- Utilizes group activities and exercises to promote understanding
of key concepts for implementing and maintaining a HACCP based food safety
management system.
Register now For more information contact: NSF
Training and Education training@nsf.org
Low or no-cost compost available to registered community
gardens
Low or no-cost compost available to registered community
gardens
The
Clean City Minneapolis program, operated through the City of Minneapolis’
Division of Solid Waste and Recycling,
provides registered Community Gardens with low or no-cost
compost. Qualifying community gardens may request one delivery of up to 10
cubic yards of compost. The amount of compost and the number of compost
deliveries are limited, and not guaranteed. Compost and compost deliveries
are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. However, community gardens
that have never received compost, have poor soil quality, or are start-up
gardens will get priority.
Fall compost
deliveries begin October 1 and end November 1. Fall compost requests must be
submitted by September 23. http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/solid-waste/cleancity/WCMS1P-137299
Community gardens must be
registered with Gardening Matters, a local non-profit dedicated to community
gardening, to qualify for the program. To register your Community Garden please
contact Gardening
Matters http://www.gardeningmatters.org/compost-community-gardens
or call 612-821-2358.
End of season garden cleanup survey
The City of Minneapolis Division of Solid Waste & Recycling
is interested in gathering information regarding how community gardens
currently manage yard waste and organic materials during end of season clean-ups. The survey linked below should take less than 5
minutes to complete. Responses can be submitted until September 23.
The City may use the information gathered to develop end of season
cleanup assistance for community gardens. Please complete survey here.
Metro Food Access Network land access survey
The Metro Food Access Network (MFAN) is dedicated to generating a collective policy impact through its member organizations. By completing this survey, you will help determine which policy issues are of the highest importance when it comes to land access, and will also provide support for policy advocacy. Please complete survey here.
Minnesota Department of Agriculture has four open grant programs available for farm and local food system development www.mda.state.mn.us/grants/grants
North Central Region SARE has four open grant programs www.northcentralsare.org
MN Food Code revisions
The
Minnesota Food Code has been under revision for the past several years.
On
Monday, August 24, 2015, the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota
Department of Agriculture plan to publish a second “Request for Comment” (RFC)
for the revision of the Minnesota Food Code, Minnesota Rules, Chapter
4626. They are publishing this second RFC because it has been more than
five years since the publication of the original RFC. Draft language has
been posted online for each chapter. The draft proposed language can be found here for review.
The
Minneapolis Health Department will be hosting another community forum for food
establishments to provide comments about the proposed language in the fall. In
the meantime, you can submit comments or questions to the Minnesota Department
of Health here. If you have any questions regarding the
second RFC or the rule revision process, please contact Linda D. Prail either
at linda.prail@state.mn.usor
at 651-201-5792.
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