Loading up lunch trays with local food
Food service directors and farmers in Big Stone County and surrounding communities were part of a regional effort to feed more students local food. In surveys, focus groups and interviews, farmers and directors shared their barriers and opportunities for supplying and sourcing local food.
Directors identified their top 20 fruits, vegetables and minimally processed foods they could source locally. Many of the farmers who participated indicated a strong interest and willingness to work with schools to increase production to meet demand. Materials from these interviews were developed to assist in matchmaking between farmers and schools, including a farm-to-school product checklist identifying the products food service directors would be most interested in purchasing locally.
The project was a partnership with Extension, Extension’s Southwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership and the University of Minnesota Morris Center for Small Towns, and other collaborators.
Highlights
- Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteers, as a part of MN Plant Watch, planted native endangered ball cactus plants on rock outcrops after growing them from seeds gathered there the year before.
- Aquatic Invasive Species Detector volunteers spot-checked seven lakes during Starry Trek events in the last couple of years where starry stonewort was not detected.
- RSDP impact: Bonnie’s Hometown Grocery in Clinton and 242 other rural shops participated in events such as product merchandising workshops. Owners worked with Extension to navigate the Good Food Access Program, a state-funded initiative to help with important improvements.
- RSDP impact: Working with the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development commission, a short-term Empowering Small Minnesota Communities project in Big Stone County developed a resource handout of funding, training and other opportunities available to local food producers.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Brobst family
- Big Stone County youth in the 4-H Shooting Sports and Wildlife project took part in the Governor’s Pheasant Hunt Opener in Big Stone County. 4-H youth served the meal at the Saturday community lunch.
- Extension provides financial capability education for participants in the judicial district’s treatment courts, including adult and juvenile drug courts, and courts for mental health, veterans, family dependency and DWI/DUI.
Big Stone County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Big Stone County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. More about Extension in our county.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.