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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.
April 2024
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 Waste Prevention Week takes place April 1-7
City Council adopted a resolution on Thursday, March 21, 2024, recognizing April 1-7, 2024, as Food Waste Prevention Week in the City of Minneapolis. Community members and businesses both play an important part in reducing food waste in our City. Preventing food waste saves money, reduces hunger in our communities, and is the #1 personal action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
There are many ways individuals can limit wasted food and here are a few:
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Store items in the right places in your kitchen so they stay fresher for longer
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Save leftovers and store/freeze food in portion-ready containers
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Freeze ripe fruits and vegetables for baking, cooking, and filling in gaps in recipes
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Compost food scraps
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Plan menus for the week
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Buy smaller quantities
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Eat leftovers
The Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council works to ensure an environmentally sustainable and socially just food system. These meetings are a great way to meet other community members and learn more about the work that is happening within our local food system. Every meeting is also accompanied by a food theme where attendees are welcome to bring food to share with others.
When: , April 11th from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Where: Northeast Recreation Center – 1530 Johnson St. NE
What we'll be doing: A presentation on the “Right to Food” will be delivered where attendees can learn more about the concept and how it can align with Homegrown’s work. Our and Food Skills action teams will also be convening and discussing their respective workplans.
Food Theme: : *to the tune of My favorite things* Pasta with homemade sauce and macaroni with cheese. Bowls of noodles and savory stir-frys. These are a few of my favorite things.
At this meeting we encourage attendees to bring their favorite pasta, noodle and any other carb-based dishes to share.
View meeting agenda
View past Food Council meeting agenda and minutes
Minnesota’s First Black Woman-Owned Brewery Is Planting Seeds in Rondo
Plans are in place for Minnesota’s first Black woman-owned brewery to open in St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood in early 2025. Founder and head brewer Brittney Mikell is currently raising money through crowdfunding to launch Bubble Line Brewing Company. Her vision for the brewery includes not just lagers and IPAs, but nonalcoholic lemonade and espresso drinks, kid-friendly spaces, apprenticeships for brewers of color, a home brew library corner, and community events — in short, all the makings of a vital third place. Mikell’s vision extends well beyond the beer itself. When Bubble Line opens in 2025, it’ll be Minnesota’s first Black woman-owned brewery.
Read the full article on Eater Twin Cities’ website
This James Beard-Nominated Chef Is About to Open Her First Restaurant
At long last, diners in the Twin Cities can get a reservation to James Beard-nominated chef Diane Moua’s debut restaurant, fittingly dubbed Diane’s Place. All her years of heading pastry programs have earned her five James Beard Awards, including twice as a finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. It makes sense that hype began to build in 2022 when she announced she’d open the restaurant down the road, honoring her family’s Hmong heritage with dishes such as chicken noodle with fried eggplant and sweets infusing taro, coconut, and yuzu. A press release says the chef will open the doors to her business on April 6 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with dinner service coming soon.
North Minneapolis woman working to bring real food back to community through plant-based business
Once it's up and running, The Food Trap Project will provide fresh produce, plant-based meals, vegan cookbooks and more to north Minneapolis, which is a classified food desert. Hear directly from Keiko, who is also on the Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council, about her plans for this exciting new project.
CPG Resource Roundup
For an emerging local food business, the difference between success and failure can lie in having a conversation with just the right person. If you’re considering starting up, or if you have an existing consumer packaged goods (CPG) food business that you're ready to scale up, you are invited to join The Good Acre for their second annual CPG Resource Roundup event, this time in partnership with Naturally MN.
When: April 5th from 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Where: Finnovation Lab – 817 Fifth Ave S
Starting a Food Business 101 Class
Have you been dreaming of launching your very own food truck? Maybe you've got an incredible secret sauce that you want to make and bottle or you've wondered if you have what it takes to launch a food business and have questions about taking the next step. Join Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON) every 2nd Tuesday from 6pm–7:30pm for a FREE Starting a Food Business 101 Workshop.
When: April 9th from 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. (other dates available)
Where: NEON Offices – 1007 W Broadway Ave
Annual Women’s Agriculture Leadership Conference
Network with ag leaders at the 26th annual Women’s Agricultural Leadership Conference (WALC). This year’s WALC theme “Elevate–Empower–Evolve” will focus on developing and uplifting women in agriculture and giving them tools to deal with an ever-changing industry. The day includes mini sessions focused on current topics, two breakout sessions, and an opportunity to visit the Farm at the Arb’s newest feature, the Myers Education Center Kitchen Classroom, for a cooking demonstration by Chef Beth Fisher.
When: April 10th
Where: Minnesota Landscape Arboretum – 3675 Arboretum Drive Chaska, MN
Community of Practice Community Food Project Webinar Series
The Food System Leadership Network and Institute for Social and Economic Development Solutions present an annual Community of Practice focused on the Community Food Projects throughout 2024. The Community Food Projects Community of Practice is a space for monthly discussions on a variety of community food systems-related topics - both around organizational development & management (like evaluation, community engagement, etc.) as well as programmatic / thematic areas (think cooperative development, community kitchens, etc.).
Helping restaurants prevent wasted food
The Health Department launched a Prevent Wasted Food webpage and created educational videos, available in English, Spanish, and Somali, to support restaurants to waste less food.
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Minneapolis restaurants create 35,000 tons of food waste each year, which is 30% of the city’s food waste.
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Minneapolis restaurants can help through simple kitchen changes, donating to food shelves, and composting.
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18% of Minneapolis residents don’t have access to enough food or affordable food. When businesses donate food, they save money through tax breaks and help the community and the environment.
Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Regional Sourcing RFP – April 15th Deadline
MPS recently announced a new Regional Sourcing Request for Proposals, open to Minnesota farms and food businesses as well as those in our five-state region (including MN, IA, ND, SD, and WI). Through this opportunity MPS hopes to identify new farms and food processors and manufacturers in our region who wish to sell food to MPS. This RFP will be of special interest to farms and food businesses who distribute their own product and/or are interested in moving into school nutrition sales channels.
To review the full Request for Proposal, please visit the MPS Procurement Web site. Scroll down and choose the tile for "RFP 24-23 CWS Regional Sourcing."
Future Organic Farmer Student Scholarships – April 19th Deadline
The California Certified Organic Foundation (CCOF) Future Organic Farmers 2024 grant cycle is open now! If you are a student focusing on organic agriculture in a vocational program, or two- or four-year college, CCOF encourages you to apply for up to $5,000 to cover your educational expenses. Last year’s grants supported students studying to be organic mixed vegetable and fruit growers, organic agronomists, and dairy farmers.
Preparing for Extreme Weather Grant Program – April 23rd Deadline
The Preparing for Extreme Weather Grant Program, also referred to as the Prepare Grant, helps Minnesota livestock and specialty crop producers buy and install supplies or equipment that will help make their operations more resilient to extreme weather, including:
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Drought
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Flooding
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Hail
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Severe weather events like storms, tornadoes, and straight-line winds
Statewide prevention of wasted food and food rescue grants – May 2nd Deadline
Organics make up about one third of the municipal waste stream in Minnesota. In line with the waste hierarchy, it is first preferable to prevent wasted food, followed by donating food to people. For this reason, this the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is awarding $4.5 million in grants to support projects that aim to prevent wasted food and promote food rescue activities.
Full Lives Funding Opportunity – May 10th Deadline
Greater Twin Cities United Way (GTCUW) is launching the next generation of Full Lives, a multi-year initiative focused on cultivating food justice in our region. The vision is to create a thriving and equitable Twin Cities regional food system where all communities have physical and economic access to food that meets their cultural, dietary, and nutritional needs. GTCUW welcomes proposals that showcase community-driven approaches and a commitment to building resilience within the local food system, recognizing that ongoing efforts are already underway. GTCUW seeks collaborations that can benefit from additional resources to bolster their existing work and advance their vision for a more equitable community food system.
USDA-AMS Call for Grant Programs Peer Reviewers
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking subject matter experts to serve as peer reviewers to evaluate grant applications for the FY24 grant cycle. AMS grant peer reviews bring together diverse individuals who provide fair, expert, and unbiased evaluations of grant applications. Non-federal reviewers will be compensated for their reviews.
Farmers Market Data Vista – FM360 (through Americorps)
The FM360 farmers’ market metrics service is seeking a motivated individual to serve as a full year AmeriCorps Vista. This is an exciting opportunity for anyone interested in sustainable agriculture, the local food system, or community engagement. In addition to data collection and program evaluation, the Vista will also have the unique opportunity to help develop training and protocol materials. The Vista will also help with building a plan for strategic outreach to help FM360 evolve.
Multiple Positions – Second Harvest Heartland
Second Harvest Heartland (SHH) is the leading hunger relief organization in the upper Midwest distributing 90+ million pounds of food per year to almost 1000 agencies across 59 counties. The organization is currently seeking applicants for the following positions:
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Neighborhood Services Resource Team Supervisor
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Partners Services Coordinator (temporary)
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Learning & Development Manager
Urban Garden Education (temporary) - Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
Since 1985, The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s Growing Good program has served as a vital youth development program for pre-kindergarten to high school students in the Twin Cities Metro. The Growing Good team and community partners grow food in urban gardens and engage residents with hands-on learning activities. The Urban Garden Educator position will assist with programming and maintaining the garden space.
Seasonal Farm Steward (temporary) - Sharing our Roots
Sharing Our Roots (SOR) envisions a world where food and agriculture systems are profitable for farmers, fair to workers, beneficial to consumer health, restorative for rural communities, and regenerative for the environment. SOR is seeking a Farm Steward to join the farm team. The Farm Steward will support perennial and general farm work. This work includes: planting, weeding, mulching and mowing. Additional tasks include environmental stewardship, infrastructure improvements, and leading on-farm projects with farm interns.
Multiple Positions - Neighborhood Roots (Farmers Markets)
Neighborhood Roots is the non-profit organization behind the Fulton, Kingfield, and Nokomis Farmers Markets in Minneapolis. Across three market locations, they work with 100+ farmers, artisans, and food makers, and welcome thousands of market shoppers. The organization is currently seeking applicants for the following positions:
- Assistant Market Manager
- Market Day Staff
From Charity to Food Sovereignty, 3 Lessons from the FAACTS Food Action Summit in San Francisco
The Right to Food is a movement and a community of practice that has been gaining more momentum in the US. The Right to Food encourages food systems practitioners to think of food as a human right so that all can be free from hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition. The Food and Agriculture Action Coalition Toward Sovereignty (FAACTS) Coalition held its inaugural Food Action Summit on March 3 and 4 in San Francisco. Convening funders, farmers, restaurant workers, community-based organizations, and local government, this two-day learning exchange helped demonstrate how to build an equitable and just food system. From this discussion, 3 key takeaways were identified:
- Charity can temporarily bridge the gap in making sure culturally relevant food is accessible in the local food system.
- The Right to Food provides a legal framework to hold the government accountable to the needs of the people.
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We need a revolution to guarantee food sovereignty.
When you think about our food system in Minneapolis, what challenges do you notice? Who do you think should be involved in addressing these challenges and what resources are needed to overcome them? Join us at the April food council meeting to share your thoughts.
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