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MFMA’s Gus Schumacher Award - November Farmers' Market Drink of the Month: Pumpkin Pie Cocktail

Blog - November, 2022 - By: Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly

At MFMA, we are honest! When things are worth trying, we’ll tell you. And when things are…well…less than amazing, we’ll tell you that too. So as we write this blog for our November Drink of the Month, a Pumpkin Pie Cocktail, you can't say we didn't warn you that this blog (and the drink) turned out, ah, a little different.

This cocktail promised to be a cozy and sweet drink you can enjoy in front of the fireplace all winter long. I had such high hopes for this one, because who doesn’t love pumpkin pie?

           

But, names can be deceiving, and I am sorry to say that, this drink was not very good.

           


Let's continue anyway. This recipe calls for a baking pumpkin, ¼ cup of maple syrup, 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, 4 sage leaves, ¼ cup sugar, 3 cups vodka, and juice of 1 lemon.

Now the pumpkin that we bought from the Winona Farmers' Market was delicious, but maybe just save it for the real holiday pies!

 


If you are thinking, “I like pumpkin, I like vodka, and maybe I am better at making cocktails then Maeve,” you might be be right. So below are the steps to make it. If you do, email me at maeve@mfma.org and let me know how it is!

First, preheat your oven to 350F. Chop your pumpkin into 3 inch cubes and combine with the maple syrup, oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sage in a roasting pan lined with baking paper. Roast for 45 min or until caramelized and very tender. Remove and set aside to cool while discarding the sage leaves. Transfer the caramelized pumpkin into a food processor or blender and whiz to a creamy puree. Combine the pumpkin puree and vodka and let it chill for at least 2 hours to infuse. In the meantime make your simple syrup by adding the sugar and ½ cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Once the pumpkin and vodka have had enough time to infuse, strain the concoction through a sieve lined with muslin or clean Chux cloth. Squeeze to drain the excess liquid being careful not to push the puree through the muslin. Discard the solids. Pour half the vodka mixture over ice, add half the lemon juice, and the simple syrup to your liking. You can either stir this together in a glass or shake in a cocktail shaker. Repeat with remaining vodka mixture, strain, and serve. Or don’t. You can sprinkle it with extra cinnamon and garnish with sage leaves if you need the extra encouragement to try it.

           

Now when I first took a sip, I didn’t like it, so I added a few more pumpkin spices. I still didn’t like it. I put whipped cream on top, thinking that might help. Unfortunately, I still didn't like. I tried heating it and drinking it hot. Didn't like it. Not good. 

    

If you think of any ways to improve this cocktail please let us know! I would love to love this drink. Good luck and stay warm!

--MAEVE MALLOZZI-KELLY, MFMA VISTA (and pumpkin pie cocktail non-enthusiast) 



MFMA’s Gus Schumacher Award

October Cocktail of the Month: Hot Spiced Apple Cocktail

Blog October 3, 2022, By: Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly

September is apple season in Minnesota so we thought we would honor this beloved fruit by turning it into a Hot Spiced Apple Cocktail! Now I do have to warn you, this drink is so tasty you will want to have it all winter long, so make sure to get your apples from your local farmers’ market while you can to enjoy it for months and months!

The history of our "drink of the month" began when MFMA Executive Director, Kathy Zeman, won the national 2021 Farmers Market Coalition Gus Schumacher Award for leadership during COVID, and with it, a super cool hand-blown gigantic cocktail glass. See full article on award. And so began our drink-of-the-month (to fill that gigantic hand-blown glass)! 

Our MFMA October drink, the Hot Spiced Apple Cocktail looks and tastes great! The apples we used came from M&R Valley Farm LLC and are sold at the Wabasha Farmers’ Market. Michael and Richard grow two varieties of apples and practice organic growing methods, which made them perfect for turning into juice for our cocktail! 


Our alcohol of choice this month is Anna’s Garden Hibiscus Infused Gin from Far North Spirits distillery in Northern Minnesota. They are an authentic estate distillery operated by fourth generation farmer and head distiller Michael Swanson. He and his wife Cheri Reese make spirits on their 100-year-old family farm using only the finest, sustainably-sourced ingredients. Their seasonal Solveig Gin, Anna's Garden - named for the matriarch of the family, Great Grandma Anna - celebrates spring in the Red River Valley. Its light pink hue comes from an infusion of hibiscus flowers. If you would like to use their Solveig Gin as well for your Hot Spiced Apple Cocktail you can find all Far North Spirits available in stores throughout Minnesota, online, and in select locations in 11 other states.


Now for the recipe! This is a simple one, but can take some time if you are making your own apple juice like I did. Google had many suggestions on how to make apple juice from scratch but I went with what seemed to be the simplest option and it turned out great!

RECIPE:

  1. Take two pounds of apples, core and cut them into blendable chucks. There is no need to remove the skin but make sure you wash your apples first. 
  2. Then simply put them in your blender (or food processor) with a little bit of water at the bottom and blend away! You’ll be left with an applesauce consistency. Take the blended apple and strain out the juice into the pot you’ll use to heat your concoction. I used a metal strainer and pressed out the juice, but you can also use a cheesecloth to separate the juice from the fibers. I saved my blended apple fibers to use in a cinnamon apple bread recipe but you can simply compost them. Processing two pounds of apples this way produced six cups of juice.  
  3. Place your pot on the stove and add your spices. I used 2 cloves, 1 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, and 3 whole allspice. You can also add crushed cardamom, crushed juniper berries, and orange peels. Use whatever strikes your fancy! 
  4. Add your gin and simmer for 10-15 minutes. This recipe says to add 1 ¼ parts gin to 5 parts juice. 
  5. When done, simply ladle into your favorite cold weather cup, garnish with apples and powdered nutmeg, and enjoy! 

This is a great alternative to mulled wine for those holiday parties, and I am telling you, it will be a hit!

Cheers!




--MAEVE MALLOZZI-KELLY, MFMA VISTA



MFMA’s Gus Schumacher Award

August Cocktail of the Month: Bloody Mary

Blog August 1, 2022, By: Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly



Here is the next installment of our MFMA Gus Schumacher Farmers' Market Drink of the Month. The history of our "drink of the month," includes MFMA Executive Director, Kathy Zeman, winning the national 2021 Farmers Market Coalition Gus Schumacher Award for leadership during COVID, and with it, a super cool hand-blown gigantic cocktail glass. See full article on award. And so began our drink-of-the-month (to fill that gigantic hand-blown glass)! Our recent MFMA event at Lakes and Legends Brewery didn’t only give us the Pseudo Blue, a speciality beer brewed just for us and infused with farmers' market blueberries...

                       




but inspired our August, 2022 cocktail as well - THE FARMERS' MARKET BLOODY MARY!!  Grandpa Roy’s Pickles was one of the vendors at our fundraising event at Lake and Legends Brewery and sold pickled asparagus. I hadn’t tried pickled asparagus before but I was not disappointed!  Later in my apartment, while I was snacking on my pickled asparagus straight from the container, I wondered how else I could eat it? And then it hit me. A bloody mary! I instantly started daydreaming about what other farmers’ market goodies I could find to add to it.



During a few farmers’ market visits in the weeks after, I realized there is no limit to the bloody mary fixings you can find this time of year. I found celery, cherry tomatoes, and jalapenos at the Rochester Farmers’ Market. At the Dennison Farmers’ Market I was lucky enough to even stumble on a vendor selling homemade bloody mary mix! Ruth sells an assortment of pickled, jams, and baked goods. Her bloody mary mix includes tomatoes, jalapenos, sugar, vinegar, and worcester. It is great if you like a little extra kick!




This time of year, you can also find cured meats, cheeses, and all of the different kinds of pickles you could want! Ok, but after you find all of your perferred garnishes, how do you put it all together?


Everyone has their own bloody mary recipe, but we used 12oz of Ruth’s bloody mary mix, with

  • 1 ½ oz of pickle juice 
  • 1 dash of onion powder
  • 2 dashes of garlic powder. 
  • You can pour it over ice or shake it with ice and strain into your glass. 
  • Add 2 ¼ oz of vodka. (We used Northland Vodka because they source organic corn from Minnesota farmers living only 30 miles from their distillery in Benson, MN. After it is filtered, bottled, and shipped from St. Louis Park it can be purchased anywhere across the state. If you are interested in trying Northland Vodka for your bloody mary you can see all of the locations where it is sold here.
  • Then garnish with all of your favorite farmers’ market treats on a skewer and enjoy! 


If you like bloody marys there is no way to mess this one up!





Now is the time to contact our Legislature! There are $1,250,000 farmers' market reasons to do so!

Here's the situation:

  • There is $1.25M in the House Ag Committee for farmers' markets and direct marketing farmers.
  • There is $0 in the Senate Ag Committee for farmers' markets and direct marketing farmers.
  • Minnesota has a $9.25 BILLION surplus budget.

The Legislature goes on break from April 9-18, and when they come back, they will begin to meet in conference to bridge the difference between the two budgets. At this point, since budgets are set for the ag committees, if they increase money in one line item, they have to decrease the same amount in another line item; OR find money in some other committee's budget that has capacity. (That's what happened last year with the Market Bucks funding when the Ag Conference Committee wouldn't fund it; the money was found in the State Government Conference Committee budget.)

Here's What We Need from You:

  1. Jot down what your farmers' market could do with a $1,000-$5,000 grant; explaining how the House Ag Budget funding would benefit your market, your vendors, your community. You don't need details - just basic ideas. Some things we've heard from you so far: stipend for your market manager, a small shed to store supplies onsite, signs, market info tent, money for food access programs like Power of Produce, advertising, metrics surveys, etc.
  2. Then, contact Your Legislators with the info above and ask them to support the House Ag Budget.
  3. Next, contact the House Ag Committee members with the same message - and thank them for their support. Be sure to contact both the Representatives and their Legislative Assistants. Find the House Ag list here: HouseAgCommittee2022.xlsx
  4. Finally, contact the Senate Ag Committee members with the same message - and ask them to seriously consider making this investment in all of Minnesota.  Be sure to contact both the Senators and their Legislative Assistants. Find the Senate Ag list here: SenateAgCommittee2022.xls

Intimidated by the legislative process? We UNDERSTAND! Here are a few tips:

    Have questions? 

    Give us a holler. MFMA Staff and Board Directors will be working with our ally organizations to try to secure this 1-time funding for Minnesota farmers' markets.



    MFMA's Gus Schumacher Award Farmers' Market Drink of the Month - Watermelon Basil Bliss

    By: Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly and Kim Guenther

    Here is the next installment of our Gus Schumacher Award Farmers' Market Drink of the Month. The history of our "drink of the month," includes MFMA Executive Director, Kathy Zeman, winning the national 2021 Farmers Market Coalition Gus Schumacher Award for leadership during COVID, and with it, a super cool glass. See full article on award. And so began our drink-of-the-month. Here we go!

    Ode to a Summer Gone By- Watermelon Basil Bliss


    With summer coming to a close, soon we will be in the thralls of changing leaves, pumpkins, and savory snacks. But before we transition into our fall sweaters, we have one more beautifully refreshing summerish drink for you. Our Watermelon Basil Bliss Cocktail!

    This drink has a few easy ingredients and instructions, making it perfect as school gets back into full swing and our free time becomes even more precious. But before we get into the making of this month’s cocktail, let's highlight the wonderful farmers and their products! 

    The young couple from Five Acre Farm have been selling at the Rochester Farmers’ Market for three years. Although their farm business is still budding, they have an abundance of produce and sell absolutely delicious watermelon! They are not certified organic but do grow all of their produce organically. They also have a greenhouse they are working in as the weather gets cooler so make sure you stop by their booth during a Saturday morning market and get yourself some delicious fresh produce while it's still here!

    The basil came from Plainsong Farm who also sells at the Rochester market. They sell an assortment of beautiful, unique herbs, making it impossible to buy just one thing. We had to buy a bunch of chocolate mint along with the basil. We made chocolate mint infused butter to put in a batch of brownies and it was absolutely delicious!

    But enough about brownies. You came here for cocktails!

     

    Watermelon Basil Bliss is made with 2 cups of fresh basil (leaves and stems), ½ cup of sugar, ½ cup of lime juice, 8 cups of cubed watermelon, and 12 ounces of Loon Liquor Vodka. Make sure you save some watermelon slices and basil for a garnish at the end. First, make your “instant” simple syrup by muddling your basil and sugar together in a bowl.


    Then pour the lime juice over the mixture and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Then puree all 8 cups of the watermelon in a blender or food processor and strain it through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. Throw out the watermelon pulp and use the same strainer to pour in your “instant” basil simple syrup. Add your Loon Liquor Vodka to the pitcher, stir, fill a glass with ice, pour yourself some Watermelon Basil Bliss, and dream of summer days that have (almost) passed.

    ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


    MFMA's Gus Schumacher Award Farmers' Market Drink of the Month - August's Midtown Cucumber Basil Iced Tea

    By: Kim Guenther and Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly (August 2021)

    Here is the next installment of our Gus Schumacher Award Farmers' Market Drink of the Month. In case you don't know the history of our "drink of the month," let us explain...  Back in March, MFMA Executive Director, Kathy Zeman, was one of two nationwide recipients of the 2021 Farmers Market Coalition Gus Schumacher Award for leadership during COVID. See full article on award. In honor of this distinguished award, Kathy received this specialty veggie glassware made by Rocket Glass Works.


    We had planned to host a demonstration of our own totally unique Cucumber Basil Iced Tea at the Minneapolis Midtown Farmers' Market earlier this month during National Farmers' Market Week.  Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen was set to the be the mixologist extraordinaire. Oh, the pictures we would have had! Unfortunately, a storm and flooding of the Midtown Market forced a cancellation of that event-- ironic in this summer drought. Never-the-less, we celebrated the rain! (We would happily cancel all our events for rain currently).  But even without the pomp and circumstance we planned to bring you with this drink, it's still a very unique iced tea, worth making at home. So, keep reading!


    Ingredients:    2 Tea Bags, 1 Cup Sugar,  3 Cups Water,  1 Cucumber,

    1 & 1/4 Cups Basil,  and  3 Ounces Gin (optional)


    Cucumber and basil are readily available at Farmers' markets this time of year. We bought ours from Boa Xion Farm, based in Hastings, MN. They sell a myriad of produce, flowers, and fun merch and have been operating as a family farm for over twenty years. They’ve had a booth at the Midtown Farmers’ Market for the past two years. If you shop at Midtown, stop by and tell them hi.

    We also scored our tea from the Midtown Market. While we listed tea bags in the recipe as they are readily available, we actually used Tranquility Vegan Chai Tea mix from Winter Goddess Foods. We liked this option as it is sold at the Midtown Market, and adds an extra layer of flavor as it includes black tea, organic can sugar, organic spices, sea salt, and organic vanilla. (YUM!) Winter Goddess Foods sells at the Midtown Farmers’ Market every week and has many other goodies to choose from, offering nuts, granola, caramel candies, and wild rice bread loafs! They also sell products in numerous grocery stores around the twin cities. 

         


    Keep scrolling for the recipe. But we're not done yet. For an adult-only twist, we included an alcoholic optional add-in. GIN! For the alcoholic version, we used Du Nord’s Fitzgerald Gin! It's AWESOME! Du Nord is a local, family-owned distillery based in Minneapolis, operating since 2013. Their award-winning spirits (which are all of them) include: L’etoile Vodka, Fitzgerald Gin, Mixed Blood Whiskey, Cafe Frieda Coffee Liqueur, and Apple Du Nord Liqueur. Their mission is to create a truly welcoming place for everyone, especially for BIPOC and LGBT+ communities. Their CEO, Chris Montana, also won the Artisan Spirit of the Year Award earlier this year for the quality of their production, mentorship, community building efforts, and innovative thinking. Supporting a good business always makes a drink that much more delicious! And the Cucumber Basil Gin Ice Tea is also the perfect cocktail to drink while following them on social media!  www.facebook.com/DuNordSpirits       www.instagram.com/dunordcs

                        

                                                     ___________________________________________________________

    And finally, introducing the MFMA August Drink of the Month: The Midtown Cucumber and Basil Iced Tea! Make the tea, keep the extra syrup (you'll have some left over), sip, enjoy, and make it again! To Save the Recipe, Click HERE.



    MFMA's Gus Schumacher Award Farmers' Market Drink of the Month - June's Mr. Summer Boozy

    By: Kim Guenther and Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly (June 2021)


    Back in March, MFMA Executive Director, Kathy Zeman, was one of two nationwide recipients of the 2021 Farmers Market Coalition Gus Schumacher Award for leadership during COVID. See full article on award. In honor of this distinguished award, Kathy received this specialty glassware with a radish on the stem. At least we think it's a radish. It could be a beet or a carrot...? Definitely a root vegetable. We love this hand-made glass blown piece of art made by Rocket Glass Works.


    To keep the fun going, we have decided that each month during market season we will feature an MFMA Gus Schumacher Award Farmers' Market Drink of the Month. We will be choosing drinks where a majority of the ingredients can be purchased locally at Minnesota Farmers' Markets or through businesses who source local products. We will have a combination of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. We are excited to be featuring both this amazing drink, which is DANGEROUSLY DELICIOUS, and the vendors and businesses we used to make it. Since June is National Dairy Month, and July is National Ice Cream Month, our June/July drink of the month is a Mr. Summer Boozy.


    Our fabulous MFMA/SMIF VISTAS, Maeve Mallozi-Kelly and James Harren, were the tag-team duo who attended the market, met the vendors, purchased the products, and spent an afternoon mixing, concocting, and testing. Tough job, but someone had to do it. Nice job team!  


    Step one: Choose the Market. We knew the Downtown St. Paul Farmers Market had an ice cream vendor, so check! The St. Paul Market is operated by the St. Paul Growers Association and managed by Director of Operations David Kotsonas. This market has a long tradition in St. Paul dating back over 165 years. It was also site of our first MFMA National Farmers' Market Week Celebration in 2019 with Governor Tim Walz and Commissioner of Agriculture Thom Petersen. The St. Paul Farmers Market is fantastic and definitely worth a stop if you are downtown St. Paul on either a Saturday or Sunday morning. 


    Step two: Purchase Ingredients. This particular recipe only has two ingredients: vanilla ice cream, and coffee liqueur. We purchased vanilla ice cream from St. Paul Farmers Market Vendor Kappers Big Red Barn. They are a family-owned micro dairy and have been in operation since 2004. They have 100 cows and process all of their products on their farm using a low-temperature pasteurization technique which eliminates all of the potential bacteria as high temperature pasteurization but preserves all the essential enzymes in the milk making it more nutritional. They also bottle all of their milk in reusable glass bottles which they sterilize and reuse making it a sustainable business from grazing to distribution. They sell whole milk, 2%, 1%, skim milk and chocolate milk as well as cheese curds, heavy cream half & half, and ice cream! You can find their products online, the Saint Paul Downtown Farmers Market, the Rochester Farmers Market, and through their CSA. If you’ve shopped at Five Watt, Yellowbird, or True Stone Coffee, you’ve also had their products!


    We couldn't buy the liquor at an actual farmers' market, so we did the next best thing. We researched locally sourced products in our state and made a trip to Loon Liquor in Northfield, Minnesota. They are a craft distillery that makes 100% of their spirits from scratch using locally-sourced organic ingredients. We purchased the Loon Liquor Coffee Liqueur, made with certified organic barley from Faribault farmers Bryan and Tammy Lips.  


    Recipe: Take one big scoop of your Kappers Big Red Barn or other Vanilla Ice Cream and place it in your favorite glassware. Pour 4 oz of Loon Liquor or other Coffee Liquer over the ice cream. Enjoy with a spoon or sip slowly as ice cream melts. Additional garnishings could include graham crackers, edible flowers, or chocoalte straws. 


    Support your local farmers and enjoy an adult Mr. Summer Boozy this month!  





    Supporting Farmers’ Markets Through Collaboration 

    From the desk of Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly, Farmers’ Market Economic Opportunity VISTA 

    Article posted June 6, 2021

    Farmers’ markets are unique businesses. They have a variety of operational structures, existing as volunteer organizations, large-scale commercial businesses, and even city sponsored events. Regardless of their size or operational structure, farmers’ markets promote healthy, local communities by providing essential goods and services. Their direct to consumer model also supports local economies and the overall wellness of the communities they serve.

    One of the goals of the Local Food Sustainability Project is to quantify and amplify what makes farmers’ markets so successful. The LFSP survey, which will be sent out in July, will help us gather the information needed to develop more resources, training, and general support for market managers, vendors, and even customers. To do this, we have enlisted the expertise of five agricultural leaders in the SMIF 20 county region to form the Farmers’ Market Advisory Committee (the sister committee to the Local Food Producers Advisory Committee, led by James Harren) to increase our impact through collaboration. 

    The Farmers’ Market Advisory Committee members have diverse backgrounds and expertise, but they all have a passion for supporting the health of our local food system.

    We are pleased to announce the members of the Farmers’ Market Advisory Committee.

    • Claire LaCanne: Local Agriculture Extension Educator with UMN Extension (Rice and Steele)

    • Kyle Huneke: Farm Business Management Instructor with the Riverland Community College Farm Business Management Program (Austin, Owatonna, Albert Lea) 

    • Nathon Hulinsky: Agriculture Business Management Extension Educator with UMN Extension

    • Lori Cox: Owner/operator of Roots Return Heritage Farm LLC, Advisory board member of the County Water Management Org, Minnesota Agriculture Water Quality Certification program, and Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom

    • Leah Mahoney: SHIP Grant Coordinator (Brown, Nicollet, Waseca, La Sueur)


    The committee met for the first time in April and reviewed the goals and survey material for the LFSP. We were able to Identify resources and funding for the project and look forward to meeting again to discuss uptates and next steps this month.

    See the full bios of our incredible advisory committee team below!

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    Claire LaCanne works with UMN Extension in Rice and Steele counties. She is a local Agriculture Extension Educator connecting farmers with university resources to address community needs. She works with produce and livestock farmers both big and small. While her technical specializations are in regenerative agriculture, soil health, and integrated pest management (IPM), she also helps farmers develop business plans, expand their production or sales, and navigate land rental agreements and pricing. Right now she is primarily helping goat and sheep producers navigate grass fed meat certifications. She is passionate about the positive impacts applied science can have in helping farmers address their needs and obstacles to success. Her technical knowledge and support through community outreach is a priceless asset to the LFSP. 

    Kyle Huneke works for the Riverland Community College Farm Business Management Program primarily in Austin, Owatana, and Albert Lea. He works with a total of 60 farmers, 25 who are beginning farmers, 20 dairy farmers, and 10 who classify as niche growers and sell at farmers’ markets. He received his degree in business from Oxford University and has years of experience as a livestock farmer selling meat at the Rochester Farmers’ Market. Now he uses his expertise to help farmers with their record keeping, business management, marketing, and expansion. His favorite part about his job is building deep relationships with farmers, especially those who work in direct marketing, helping them problem solve to support their vision.

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    Nathan Hulinsky is an Agriculture Business Management Extension Educator with the UMN Extension team. His main priority is to reduce farmers’ economic risks while helping them become more financially stable and profitable. As part of this work, he conducts financial benefits comparisons between farmers’ markets, wholesale, and other direct to consumer markets to tailor his trainings to the economic needs of each individual farmer. He primarily works with traditional crop farmers and dairy farmers, leading trainings on land rentals, how to write a lease, farm bills, and labor management. He is passionate about his work and the continuation of family farms as he helps them sustain their livelihoods. He and his wife just bought a house and are planning on starting their first garden this spring!


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    Lori Cox is the founder and owner of Roots Return Heritage Farm LLC in Carver county. This year she is renting her land to four new, emerging farmers while she serves on four advisory boards including the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, the Carver County Water Management Organization, Minnesota Agriculture Water Quality Certification Program, and Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom. She is also an active advocate for native pollinators, working with both the Minnesota University Bee Lab and Protecting Pollinators Partnership. Her passion for agriculture comes from her concern for the future of small-scale agriculture in the state. She believes through collaboration and pooling resources, our vision for a more sustainable and thriving agriculture system in Minnesota will come to fruition faster.


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    LeahMahoney is a SHIP Grant Coordinator for Brown, Nicolete, Waseca, and La Sueur counties. SHIP’s four areas of focus are on healthy eating, physical activity, reducing tobacco use, and wellness. Leah is passionate about supporting community policy that can eliminate barriers to access to healthy food. Her passion started when she was a Community Capacity Building Peace Corps Volunteer in Batswana. After returning from the Peace Corps she received her masters in Public Health from the University of Minnesota, however, her love for healthy eating stems back to her childhood. Both of her grandfathers were commercial farmers and growing up in a rural area, she remembers having a home garden, canning, foraging, and hunting every year. She loves the feeling of joy and wellness growing your own food can bring and she is passionate about creating the same opportunities for others through policy.



    Local Foods Sustainability Projects 


    Article posted March 16, 2021

    A collaborative project has recently started in Southern Minnesota between Renewing the Countryside (RTC), Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association (MFMA), Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), and Sustainable Farming Association (SFA) called the Local Foods Sustainability Project

    This project aims to fortify the viability of these key stakeholders -- food producers and farmers’ markets -- to strengthen the sustainability of our local food system. We aim to understand how these folks can be better supported and to foster greater collaboration within SMIF’s 20-county region. Central to this mission are taking on the concerns of traditionally underserved populations (women, beginning farmers, BIPOC, new Americans, and more). We recognize that barriers to viability look different to different people, and aim to ensure that we understand deeply the breadth of concerns in the region.

    Leveraging the resources of the AmeriCorps VISTA program, or Volunteers in Service to America, to expand the community reach, two AmeriCorps volunteers will complete assessments in the Southeast region of Minnesota, build relationships with key stakeholders, and develop novel methods of collaboration and coalition building around our shared goal of a just, sustainable, and vibrant local food system. Let’s dive into how we’re approaching sustainability with farmers’ markets and food producers.

    Farmers’ Markets - Meet Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly


    Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly is the Farmers’ Market Economic Opportunity VISTA at SMIF working with the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association. She will be working on developing a survey to capture data from farmers’ markets and the local food economy while supporting Diversity Equity and Inclusion efforts. 

    Every five years the Minnesota Department of Agriculture conducts a survey, collecting agriculture statistics in the state. These surveys usually target large commodity farmers, unintentionally excluding small-scale and BIPOC producers and markets. By conducting a separate survey, we hope to support markets that are under-represented, demonstrating the positive financial and social impacts local food systems provide. Gathering this information will also put us in a better position to create programming to support more sustainable, inclusive, and financially sound local food economies. 

    Maeve is ecstatic about the chance to work on such a collaborative and human focused project. Originally from Indiana, she spent the last two years in Paraguay as a Agriculture Peace Corps Volunteer while completing her masters degree in Sustainable Development. She is passionate about the impact sustainable agriculture has on climate justice, rural economic growth, and public health and is excited to learn about and support the local food system in southern Minnesota.

     

    Food Producers - Meet James Harren


    James is the Local Producer Economic Opportunity VISTA at SMIF working with Renewing the Countryside and Sustainable Farming Association. He will be working on developing a stronger network of support for food producing businesses in the Southeast region of Minnesota. Food producers come in many shapes and sizes, from the CSA-style vegetable farmer and seasonal pickler and canner to the specialty cheesemaker and coffee roaster. These folks bring life to our rural communities but they face many challenges to their businesses’ sustainability.  

    Food producing businesses must follow food safety regulations, wrestle with tight profit margins, and garner a supportive customer base. These tasks can be difficult to navigate as a small business person working to produce their delicious and meaningful products. James aims to understand how our local food economy can address the difficult aspects of small food business management, and strengthen collaborative support systems in the region. This way, we can have more viable food businesses in the region that bring so much joy and life to our rural communities. 

    James is thrilled to be working on this project. He hails from a suburb of Chicago, but fell in love with food and farming right here in Southern Minnesota. He learned about agricultural systems through his studies at Carleton College in Environmental Studies. His senior thesis explored how the local breweries in Northfield developed sustainability for the community and environment. He looks forward to learning from business owners and aspiring producers in the region, and building collaboration to strengthen our food system. 

    If you have any comments on the project, or would like to be involved, do not hesitate to reach out to either Maeve or James. 

    Maeve: maevem@smifoundation.org | 507.214.7025

    James: jamesh@smifoundation.org | 507.214.2014




    Meet Chris and Ashley & their California Street Farm - a 1/8 Acre Urban Farm 


    • Posted: August 8, 2020 - updated Aug. 13  
    • Check out our video of the California Street Farm

    California Street Farm sits at the intersection of California Street and 22nd Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis. The urban farm spans one eighth of an acre, and it is recognizable by the twenty-foot bunny sculpture sitting in the front yard. Chris and Ashley currently tend the land, but the farm has been feeding Minneapolis residents since before they took over at the start of 2019.  

    “That was part of why we kept the name California Street Farm,” Ashley explained. “It was the original name of the farm. And so—much like a lot of farmers don't view themselves as permanent tenants; they are more stewards of the land—we see ourselves as the current caretakers of this plot.” Though they have not been certified as organic—it doesn’t make sense for their scale of farm—they use organic and regenerative farming practices. Ashley sees regenerative agriculture as “trying to leave the leave the land better than you found it.”

    Because they farm in an urban space, Ashley and Chris are constantly reevaluating their relationship with the Northeast community and remarking on the peculiarities of urban agriculture. Neighbors walk, bike, skateboard, and rollerblade by every day. More importantly, the passersby see the work that Ashley and Chris do: “if you're not from a farming background or you haven't lived in a rural space, you don't necessarily see or know how much work goes into growing food.” Ashley’s eyes crinkled above her mask as she spoke about one train conductor that she and her son, Rhys, wave to every morning. Recently, the conductor stopped during his usual route on the nearby tracks to ask where they sell their amazing-looking tomatoes.

    With only 5,000 square feet, the farm operates at the scale of a 25 person CSA (supplying twenty-five people with a week’s worth of vegetables, give or take). This year, they organized the rows so that they’d have a better grasp on what was where in the garden. And learning? They’re dedicated to it. Ashley’s background in farming extends to her college degree in Environmental Studies and a year at Prairie Drifter Farm. But, not having grown up in the Minnesota farming community, they’ve spent the past two years taking classes, attending seminars, and joining groups like the Central Minnesota Young Farmers Coalition to create a network around their practice. “At this point,” Ashley explained, “we're drinking from the fire hose in terms of learning. You could farm for a lifetime and still be learning, which is what we love about it.” Ashley said that they hope to move to a place in which they can farm on a larger scale, with more room to live and work. So, they are using this time to try out crops that might not be scaled for their acreage. Ashley pointed to the ground and said, “We're growing things like watermelons that don't make sense here, but we want to learn how to grow watermelons.”

    Covid-19 has also impacted the trajectory of their farming path, as it’s encouraged both Ashley and Chris to dedicate more time to farming and growing more produce to feed more people. “I think [Covid-19] has escalated everything in terms of how much we want to grow food for other people and how important it is to be safe in that process.” Though the pandemic has detrimentally affected farmers and markets across Minnesota, Ashley and Chris responded to the sudden need for affordable produce by installing a Pay What You Can Farm Stand. Ashley recounted conversations in which they asked themselves, “how do we open things up and be accessible to everyone in the neighborhood, regardless of whether they can afford the produce or not?” By August 7th, they’d held seven farm stands and are happy to say that “the pay what you can model is gaining even more traction, with people paying a wide range for produce.”  

    Northeast is home to a large farmers’ market that takes place Saturday mornings in the parking lot of St. Boniface Church. Ashley and Chris had been on the board for a year before taking over at California Street Farm and selling their own produce. Ashley explained that “it was a no-brainer to sell at that market … it's 15 blocks away. So that felt like a really nice story to us.” Living in between the market and the farm, Chris and Ashley live, farm, and sell within a 2-mile radius, which is highly unusual for any farmer. It allows customers who see them at the NE Farmers’ Market to “connect the dots” if they live in the neighborhood and walk or bike past California Street each day.

    Because of this close connection with their community—working, selling, and living all in the same neighborhood—Ashley and Chris have used the disruption of Covid-19 and the recent protests against police brutality spurred by the murder of George Floyd to think about accessibility, produce, and what specific actions they can take in order to put their philosophy about food access into action. Chris answered that “healthy and well grown food should not be a luxury. It should be something that everybody can have. That's what we're trying to do. We're, I think, at the beginning of that journey.”

    Ultimately, Ashley and Chris think of their place in this neighborhood as temporary. However, through their process of learning, they are also developing this land so that the farm can continue on long after they move on from it. “What we're trying to do with this land,” Ashley expressed, “is set it up so that someone else, hopefully, if they're interested, could come in and take it over to keep it going.” On one eighth of an acre, Ashley and Chris are working to build a farm with a spirit that will live on long after they move forward.

    “We never thought that we would be urban farmers,” Chris said, standing behind their farm stand, “and I don't know that we will forever. But there have been some really beautiful things about us ending up here, and I think that one of them is just a reminder that you can get a lot of veggies out of a small plot of land.”




    Up North by Sarah and Madison Hilligoss

    • Posted: June 24, 2020


    Hi all, it’s Sarah. Today I’m writing about Madison’s and my first official Farmers’ Market visit as MFMA interns.

    My sister Madison and I drive Up North every summer to stay in the Boundary Waters. Our family rents a remote cabin on Triangle Lake that is only accessible by canoe. I love the stillness of the lakes and the loons that pop up next to our canoes as we glide through the water. I love how the lack of light pollution seems to unlock the night sky, showing us stars that I couldn’t have imagined seeing at my home in Eden Prairie, let alone in New York City where I go to school. I also love that we drive through Ely, stopping year after year at Organic Roots, at Zups, and at Piragis. 

    This year, my sister and I also stopped at Ely’s Farmers' Market. Driving up to the park where it was held, Madison and I were a little skeptical and very nervous. This was our first farmers’ market stop as MFMA interns, and our previous exposure to farmers’ markets were city markets in Minneapolis. A portion of the park was taped off, enveloping twelve tents spaced far away from each other like little islands that the market goers moved through. From our car, we saw vendors selling very homemade-looking jams, cookies, and popcorn balls in sweltering heat. We didn’t see a single produce tent among the art, the wooden cooking utensils, and the jewelry. I hadn’t known what to expect, but this wasn’t it. So we put on brave smiles, even though they were hidden behind our masks, and we entered the taped off rectangle. 

    We stopped first at a woman’s art table. She looked a few years older than me and she smiled when we approached. She sold small intricate drawings of birds and fish; each is hand painted, she later told me. She introduced herself as Abbey, and this is her hobby. She’s otherwise an art teacher at Vermillion Community College. When we told her our roles at MFMA, she smiled again and congratulated us for taking initiative. She seemed impressed with our mission, though we have hardly done anything impressive yet. I was glad we talked to her first. She affirmed what had been a vague concept of an internship into a moment in which we both shared a bit about ourselves, and in doing so, made a connection, which felt really special at that point. In my many months of self-isolation, I have begun to crave human interaction. So, a job going to farmers’ markets might fill a bit of that emptiness I’ve been feeling. When I asked Abbey why she liked to sell at markets, she said it was the people. Talking to people about what you do and what you love has become a luxury in the time of coronavirus. 


    We soon discovered that Abbey’s enthusiastic spirit permeated the hot early-summer air. As I introduced myself to Linnea, a wooden utensil and homemade reusable bag vendor, she immediately reached for a wooden wand looking thing and handed it to me. “This is an Ely Twiddle,” she told me. She thrust a piece of paper into my hands saying, “and this is it’s story. It took me nearly four months to write it.” The utensil in my hand was smooth and two toned wood, about as thin as my pinky finger and as long as my forearm, with a flattened rectangle at the end. As I examined it, she explained that “as each cook twiddles in the kitchen in their own way, so to each Twiddle is different.” She leaned over and told me that the NOTE at the bottom of the page was added by her daughter, a young girl sitting next to Leonna on a blanket, selling pastel, shell-shaped soaps that I could smell even through my mask. The NOTE read : “This Story is NOT True.” Linnea’s eyes crinkled into a smile, and as I thanked her and turned away to leave, she called out, “now write a story about the Twiddle!”


    We meandered over to a tent covering a couple selling syrups and jams. The man wore a baseball cap and a shirt that said “I’D TAP THAT” in big yellow letters above a maple leaf. He introduced himself as Bill and asked, “have you ever tried birch syrup?” Madison and I next experienced a taste test of six different types of syrup, each with their own mouth watering, salivation inducing notes. This was accompanied by a detailed explanation of the tapping and heating process, the ratios, and the pitfalls of working with birch. When we asked Bill how he felt that Covid-19 had impacted the market, Mary, his wife, popped in and said, “we disagree on this, but I can tell you what I think afterwards.” He rested his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and explained that because of the lack of international travel to the Boundary Waters, they don’t see some of their most interesting and faithful customers. People come from Australia, Austria, and the UK to visit the Boundary Waters, but they stay in contact with Bill to see if there’s any way he can send his syrup halfway across the world when they leave. The new restrictions also “turn off” some customers from coming to the markets. When we asked Mary what she thought, she answered that “people are ready to get out and support local businesses.” She feels as though, in retaliation to Covid-19, people in Ely have gone out of their ways to support the local businesses around them, and the people who own these businesses. 


    Covid-19 and global pandemics are scary and world altering for many reasons, but I was struck by how this virus has affected even the most remote corners of my world. Ely, a town that I think of as unchanging, has changed dramatically, and its residents have as well. Perhaps this is due to my privilege of being a tourist and my expectation for the places I visit to remain the same just for me. But because of this change, I, and many others at this market, are cherishing the conversations we have and connections we make. These human interactions make up the very purpose of a farmers’ market, from what I’ve seen. Perhaps I’ve gotten too deep here, but I am so happy to have visited Ely’s market. 

    Saying goodbye for now,   ~Sarah

    Hi there,

    It’s Madison, Sarah’s younger sister--the other intern who runs the Instagram (give us a follow @mfmaorg!). If you’ve read Sarah’s post this far, you’ll have heard all about our family trip to the BWCA and the Ely Market by now… you’ll probably also have heard her deep thinking and beautiful writing. 

    I’ll admit, as a somewhat regular shopper of the Minneapolis city markets and NYC markets, I’m used to seeing what feels like 75 tents lined up on busy streets with vendors selling anything from pizza, soaps, art, and kombucha to huge bundles of leafy greens and some vegetables I can’t name. So, when we drove up to the Ely market, I realized my expectation was very much formed out of my limited city experience... I was kind of nervous upon entry. But, like most new things in life, I ended up really enjoying the experience even though it looked and felt different than I thought it would. Speaking with a veteran about the wild rice he picks out of his canoe, the man who sells countless flavors of infused syrups (including a northern birch), and a woman who makes wood crafts with her sister and daughter, truly felt like “Ely” to me, as cliché as it sounds; it was small, natural, personal, and the “up north” vibe I didn’t know I was missing. I’m quickly learning that MN farmers’ markets are deeply based in community, so no two markets are alike, and each market offers something unique to that community. 

    At the end of our trip on Thursday, June 18th, on the way back to the twin cities, Sarah and I (and our little brother, Anthony, and dog, Jules) headed to the Virginia Market Square. Lucky for us, it was opening day at the Virginia Market! And a successful opening day it was. Driving up to the market, we saw cars lined up for a few blocks and many signs pointing us to the market on the way in. The market was situated in a park near Silver Lake that looked out onto the water where a huge loon statue floated, marking the city with its familiar shape. It was beautiful. For the amount of people flocking to the market, I was surprised to see only a handful of tents. I’m assuming this has to do with COVID-19, the new location of the market, and the fact that part of their market is inside.

    As we walked across the grass to where the vendors were selling, we were greeted by some kind volunteers who were encouraging us to use a warm hand washing station they had set up, pointing us in the direction of a few popular vendors, and offering handmade masks to those who had not come prepared. We were also greeted with informational signs that detailed their use of the SNAP-EBT program, their pandemic policies, and where shoppers could put used masks. 

    The first vendor I spoke with was selling some beautiful produce from Bear River Farm. Missy spoke about her produce, her proud membership of the MN Farmers Union, and about how COVID-19 has challenged her farming and her life in ways that have felt inspiring. She told my sister and I about how the pandemic has unexpectedly forced her to reconsider old practices and to constantly be working to keep herself and her customers safe. This interaction reminded me of how these vendors simply are humans with lives, goals, and interests; unlike your grocery store or co-op visit, when you go to a market and hear people like Missy speak about the work that went into the food they’re selling, their process, and their mindset, it makes you shop, consume, and eat much more mindfully. Their food doesn’t magically appear on your plate, and it shows. Your local vendors, like Missy, have stories, passions, and hearts that you can’t find shopping at a large food corporation.

    After visiting a few more vendors and browsing the indoor space at Virginia Market Square, we spoke with Calli from Hometown Homestead. She is a first-time vendor at this market, and greeted us with the biggest smile and wave (under her mask of course). Her stand was full of the cutest, colorful, crocheted items: little hats, bags, scarves, infant toys, as well as a few jams and some herbs. She exuded happiness and light and seemed so eager and grateful to be selling at this market (which apparently had one of the greatest customer turnouts it’s had!). Hearing her story made me think a lot about how during the pandemic, many people at home have come face-to-face with the hobbies that truly make them the happiest--the things they turn to and become obsessed with when they’re at a low. For my sister, Sarah, it’s making sourdough bread. For others, it’s making art, making music, or gardening. For Calli, it’s crocheting. She’s turned her passion into a business and is supplying the people of Virginia with the sweetest goods. Seeing vendors so passionate about what they do is part of the magic of a local market. It was special to be there on the opening day. As a theater performer myself, I felt like I could identify the butterflies and excitement of the “opening day” energy. 


    Walking away from Virginia was much like walking away from Ely; I felt like I had a little glimpse (and a taste!) into a northern Minnesotan city that I otherwise would not have known much about. Although both Virginia and Ely didn’t look or feel like the city markets I frequent, they were tasty, interesting, friendly, beautiful, and very representative of their communities.

    For a glimpse into the Virginia opening day, check out the video I made on our Instagram!

    Until next time,  ~Madison 




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    MFMA provides services, programs, and leadership that support and promote farmers' markets across Minnesota.

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