 Located at 122 E Lake Street, Good Grocer’s diverse membership allows people to work together who typically wouldn’t interact
While working at a Minneapolis food shelf, Kurt Vickman noticed
that his clients didn’t just have a need for affordable groceries, but a strong
will to give something back to the community. This insight gave Vickman the
idea for Good Grocer, a non-profit grocery
store run primarily by volunteers or “members.” Good Grocer currently has over
350 members that volunteer 2.5 hours of their time per month in exchange for a
25 percent discount. Volunteers perform a variety of duties including
cashiering, cleaning, stocking shelves, IT, and appliance repair. Non-members,
who pay a slightly higher price, are also welcome.
Since opening last June, Vickman has noticed the sense of
empowerment volunteering gives his members. Volunteers are not only picking up
on-the-job skills, such as cashiering and computer use, but important soft
skills as well.
The store also provides the neighborhood with much-needed
access to healthy food (Sullivan’s SuperValu closed in 2014). And while Good
Grocer’s current building is scheduled to be demolished as part of 35W
construction, Vickman hopes to stay in the area, as many of Good Grocer’s core
customers live within walking distance of the store.
On December 1, City of Minneapolis Employment and Training and the
Minneapolis Workforce Council presented awards to agencies that have provided
outstanding employment services to Minneapolis youth and adults in 2015. The
ceremony took place in Minneapolis City Council Chambers during the meeting of
the Community Development and Regulatory Services Committee meeting chaired by
Council Member Goodman.
 Pictured L to R: Tyler Olson, Minneapolis Workforce Council; Deb Bahr-Helgen, City of Minneapolis Employment and Training; Liberty Mickelson, Andrew Koch, and Trixie Golberg, Lifetrack; Erick Garcia Luna, Mayor’s Office; Carlye Peterson, Minneapolis Workforce Council
Lifetrack was recognized as the outstanding Adult Service Partner of the Year for their performance in the Train-to-Career program that provides
industry-recognized job-skills training in occupations in demand, along with job placement and retention services for low-income Minneapolis residents, ages 18 and older. In 2015, 33 customers have successfully completed training that leads to an industry-recognized credential and 30 clients have been successfully placed into jobs.
 Pictured L to R: Tyler Olson, Minneapolis Workforce Council; Deb Bahr-Helgen, City of Minneapolis Employment and Training; Jane Samargia, Jan West, and Kelley Eubanks, HIRED; and Carlye Peterson, Minneapolis Workforce Council
HIRED was selected for the fifth time as Youth Service Partner of the Year. In 2015 HIRED provided 112 Minneapolis youth, ages 14-21, with comprehensive, individualized education, employment and training services, and operated a high quality internship project that provided 65 Minneapolis youth with valuable work experiences and skill enhancements.
 Top Left: Secretary of Labor Victor Perez announcing $100M commitment to TechHire, Top Right: Victor Chege, City of Minneapolis employee/TechHire graduate, Bottom: U.S. Chief of Technology Megan Smith addressing the crowd.
On November 17th, City staff and TechHire partners traveled to Baltimore for the White
House TechHire Gathering/Community Summit where they learned about new steps to
advance the President’s TechHire initiative to expand opportunities to
underrepresented Americans in the technology industry to get trained and placed
into well-paying tech jobs. With three established alternative tech learning programs and more than 60 committed employers on board, Minneapolis was one of the first cities to be named a TechHire City.
The Administration announced the Department of Labor’s $100 million TechHire
grant competition that will fund collaborations that can rapidly train and
connect workers to well-paying, high-growth jobs across industries such as
information technology, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing. Also announced was $20
million of Training to Work grant funds to expand access to tech jobs and high
growth occupations for those formerly incarcerated.
In Baltimore, networking and breakout sessions helped community
leaders, employers, training providers, and TechHire partners collaborate on
best practices. Victor Chege, a graduate of a TechHire training
program, was asked to participate in the closing of the program by sharing his inspiring story of how he gained the skills he needed to land a job with the City of Minneapolis as an IT Desk Service Agent.
Learn more about Minneapolis TechHire here.
 The City
of Minneapolis has named Anna Peterson Director of the STEP-UP Youth Employment
Program. Anna had served as the STEP-UP Program Manager since January, 2015.
Prior to that Anna was Manager of Training and Data at STEP-UP Achieve with
AchieveMpls.
Anna
holds an Ed.M. from the Teachers College of Columbia University and received
her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Previous
STEP-UP Director Tammy Dickinson is the new Career Pathways Coordinator at the City
of Minneapolis.
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 L to R: Senator Bobby Champion
, Katie Clark Sieben, DEED
, Stella Whitney West, NorthPoint Health & Wellness
, Stephen Flisk, MPS
, George Sherman, Representative Ray Dehn, Hennepin County Commissioner Linda Higgins, Council President Barb Johnson, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, Governor Mark Dayton
Governor Mark Dayton joined officials on
Tuesday, December 1st to celebrate the groundbreaking of 800 West Broadway, a
new collaborative employment, education and healthy living center
in North Minneapolis.
800 West Broadway will feature several
services under one roof, including the North Minneapolis WorkForce Center,
NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, Minneapolis Public Schools and two
retail spaces facing West Broadway.
The building’s North
Minneapolis WorkForce Center will provide a variety of services to help people
find jobs. Minneapolis Public Schools will offer the opportunity for young
adults to gain high school credits and connect to post-secondary education and
certification training. NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center will provide
services to improve physical, dental and behavioral health. The center also
will offer space for community meetings and a youth resource center for career
planning and training. The project is expected to be completed by fall
2016.
“This is an important step to improve
economic opportunity for the people of north Minneapolis,” said Governor Mark Dayton. “This community greatly needs and
deserves these services.”
Find more details about the
project here.
 With goals to improve food equity and increase access to
healthy food in Minneapolis, the City has approved new rules that will bring
changes for community gardens in 2016, including 43 additional City-owned
vacant lots that will now be available for lease. The changes were sparked by
Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council’s 2015 policy recommendations, made in
response to residents’ high demand for more community and commercial gardening
space.
In addition to more lots, next year leases will not only be
limited to community gardeners - urban farmers and market gardeners will also be
eligible for leases. Other changes include leases for up to five years on
unbuildable lots, insurance liability requirements decreased by $1 million, and
applications to be taken over a set period of time rather than the previous
first-come, first-served selection process.
The Community Garden Program began in 2010 to make
Minneapolis more beautiful, provide healthy food, and strengthen the community.
There are 50 City lots already leased to community groups, with about 275
gardens throughout the Minneapolis.
For more information, click here.
 Top: Interns working at Wheel Fun Rentals; Bottom: Intern at Jamf Software
STEP-UP is
one of the country’s premiere youth employment programs, serving Minneapolis
youth ages 14-21 who face some of the greatest barriers to employment,
including youth from disadvantaged economic backgrounds, youth of color, youth
from recent immigrant families, and youth with disabilities. Launched in 2004,
STEP-UP has provided over 21,000 internships with more than 230 top Twin Cities
companies, nonprofits and public agencies. STEP-UP also offers work readiness
training, advanced-level internships and industry-specific career opportunities
in fields such as medical, finance, IT, education or working with youth, arts,
and businesses. Click here
to view the full list of employers in 2015.
STEP-UP is
now accepting applications for 2016 summer internship placements. The application
closes on February 5th, 2016. Interested eligible Minneapolis youth
can view and complete the application online.
Businesses,
public agencies and nonprofits interested in employing interns in 2016 can find
information on the City of
Minneapolis STEP-UP website.
STEP-UP is a
City of Minneapolis program in partnership with AchieveMpls, Department of Employment and Economic Development
(DEED), Minneapolis Park and
Recreation Board, and Project for Pride
in Living (PPL).
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