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By: Fallon Ryan On March 26th the central chapter of Sustainable Farming Association (SFA) gathered at Sprout for their annual meeting. Sprout has served as a common meeting ground for this group throughout the years, and this was a nice return to the community.
The central board used the Sprout kitchens to prepare a fantastic feast for the chapter to enjoy and reunite around the table. The food and the friends made for a great reason to wake up with the roosters and journey to Little Falls. Our bellies were filled with farm fresh food from members of the central chapter as we sat comfortably amongst our handmade wooden harvest tables. It was time to reflect on what community means and how food is a major part of developing this. It was a day of gratitude to share stories and information, talk about the upcoming harvest season, and engage in collective thought about how to build the network of SFA to support the farming community. We learned about the many events and programs the Central Chapter hosts throughout central Minnesota, the Ag and Water Quality Certification program, and the power of community. I think the mantra of SFA sums up the sentiment of the day: "Agriculture done well, heals." We are grateful for the hardworking individuals that spend their time making sure that the best food they can produce gets to our tables. We are reminded that farmers serve us everyday and we must continue to think about ways to support them in return. Let’s eat well to be well and acknowledge eating as an agricultural act. Cheers to good food that builds our beautiful community!
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Over the course of the past year and a half, the Sprout team has pivoted our work in many ways to address and adapt to new challenges. One of these pivots was to pause our Growers & Makers Marketplace. This pause brought with it the opportunity to assess our marketplace model and its impact in the context of our mission. As a result of our programmatic assessment, we have made the difficult, but confident decision to discontinue our monthly Growers & Makers Marketplace events. We believe that this change will allow us to:
We are incredibly grateful to all the growers, makers, artists, chefs, musicians, community partners, and many others who made our Marketplace a celebration each month. We cherish the connections and experiences this program had a hand in developing and look forward to the possibilities to come. By: Natalie Keane, Sprout MN  Heidi Jeub, painter and public artist (heidijeub.com) Since the Summer of 2019, local Little Falls multi-media artist, Heidi Jeub, has been engaging with food producers, distributors, farmers, and the community they serve, to inform and inspire a large-scale mural. Heidi, who is a painter, book binder, and public artist, uses a combination of research and intuition to gather inspiration. "I approach a piece, not concerned with how it will look, but how I will get there." In previous work with communities, the resulting public art installations have been informed by community discussions, sharing of historic images or documents, and one-on-one interviews. "This process has helped ensure that the end product is a part of the community, serving emotional and aesthetic joy and reflection," says Heidi. After spending years engaging through the school system as a teaching artist, Heidi began working with community-based public art projects. Her sincere interest in untold histories of her community led her to the Sartell Paper Mill Project. This experience informed her process in designing and implementing projects that are large in scale and impact. Other public art projects that she created includes the "Trunks" Bench-in-the-Round at the Little Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Caterpillar Bike Rack Project (in conjunction with a design-thinking residency) at the Boys & Girls Club of Little Falls. Heidi Jeub, painter and public artist, makes progress on Stories Around Food, a painting inspired by conversations with folks in Little Falls, Minnesota. For this new mural project titled "Stories Around Food," Heidi engaged with a variety of local food stakeholders including producers, nonprofit organizations, food distributors (cooperatives, restaurants, grocers), and a community of eaters. The hope was to seek out any thematic trends to inspire the mural, but also to harvest the community’s attitude around food preparation and preservation, food insecurity, and local agriculture.  A mural in progress, "Stories Around Food" by Heidi Jeub To initiate conversations and collect stories, Heidi leaned on her curiosity of food culture. "Food is part of our everyday life, and is essential to all people," says Heidi. "I have found that exploring the complexities of food from production to consumption has very organically brought up social issues around food, including food insecurity, sustainable farming, and healthy living." The end result of the mural aims to reflect the stories shared throughout the process.  "Stories Around Food" by Heidi Jeub While the final product of this project is a new, original mural inspired by conversations about food, the act of sharing stories about food is an age-old tradition. The finished mural is now on view at Sprout MN in Little Falls, Minnesota to continue to promote storytelling in their food hub, shared-use kitchen, marketplace, and event space. Stories Around Food is led by Heidi Jeub and is a partnership with Sprout MN, funded in part by Five Wings Arts Council and ArtPlace America’s National Creative Placemaking Fund, awarded to Region Five Development Commission.  "Stories Around Food" by Heidi Jeub Give to the Max Day is today — a statewide outpouring of support for organizations across Minnesota. There are undoubtedly many needs to address as our communities grapple with our current crises, and this year, GiveMN has curated a list of organizations impacted by COVID-19 and led by and serving Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities. Whether you choose to donate today or support your community in other ways, we are proud to witness Minnesotans across the state find ways to creatively connect resources and support each other during this unprecedented time. Read our "Give to the Max Commitment" below to learn how Sprout is dedicating our donations to increase food access to families in our community. Our Give to the Max Commitment Thanks to generous individual donors and grant support, we have been able to provide Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares at no cost to individuals and families with barriers to access fresh, local foods. We currently provide 58 households with regular Winter CSA shares that include a mix of fall and winter produce, local meats, baked goods, farm fresh eggs, and more. When you donate to Sprout on Give to the Max Day or year-round through our 4giving site, your donation does the double duty of purchasing from local growers and makers and then connecting items to families in our community.
Sprout team members Arlene Jones and Fallon Ryan met up with Angela Anderson and Dawn Espe of Region Five Development Commission to discuss the development and deployment of the Growers and Makers Marketplace. This conversation was captured on the podcast Deep Dive with Region Five. This episode discussed creative placemaking, the power of food & art to bring power together in meaningful ways, and the beauty of culture. Smile and laugh along with these women to better understand the development of the intentional gatherings that are brought to life at the Growers and Makers Marketplace.
By: Fallon Ryan, Engagement Coordinator, Sprout MN On a blustery Sunday afternoon, eight women and one brave man, ventured to Boys-N-Berries Farm in St. Mathias, MN. The afternoon was designated to pick the remainder of the squash that was left in the field and donate the produce to local food relief efforts. These strong souls bundled up, put on their working gloves, and groomed the expanse of the frozen ground.  The goal was to find as many undamaged goods as possible, a more difficult task than usual at this time of the year given the early freeze that visited the north. We then dispensed the squash into a wheelbarrow at one end of the field to a trunk of the two car options. Collectively, the two volunteered vehicles were filled to capacity and ready to ride low off the field. The squash were primarily carnival (a variety of acorn that lives up to its name through the portrayal of vibrant colors and patterns) and distributed to Erich Heppner for the Central Lakes College - Food Pantry, and Matt Annand to prepare for the Sharing Bread Soup Kitchen.
The event was organized by 100 Rural Women and had participation from Sprout staff, Region Five Development Commission employees, and other members of the community. In this frigid setting, this group found warmth in the company of each other and the generosity of Boys-N-Berries Farm. The women of Sprout "care to the core" says founder and director, Arlene Jones. Spot a few of the many women who have supported the development of Sprout through their leadership, creativity, and abundance of other contributions:
Cheryal Hills and Dawn Espe (Region Five Development Commission (R5DC)) Jessie Bavelli, Sena Bergerud, and Natalie Keane (Sprout MN) Chef Jenna Brower Von Siebolds (Prairie Bay Grill) Annie Humphrey - Ojibwe singer, songwriter and visual artist Julie Zupfer Anderson (Hip Nana Quilts) Lynnel Anderson (Cha-Cha-Chaga) Mahado Ali and Nasra Aadan Debby Flowers (Ole Lake Farm) Chelsey Perkins (Brainerd Dispatch) Tami & Faith Klucas (Made by Faith) Esther Endicott (Serenity Now Alpaca Farm) Lisa Baker (Bakers' Acres) ScottiJo Meyer (Popped Kettlecorn) Rachel Sannerud (Pluck Flower Farm) Jami Nelson (Just Juice) Sprout is grateful for the connection to all the women who continue to support our vibrant food system. Created by: Dying to Film This project is made possible by ArtPlace America’s National Creative Placemaking Fund, awarded to Region Five Development Commission. Artist Bruce Jacobson (SpiritWood Fine Jewelry) creates hand-crafted jewelry from selected sustainable hardwoods. Individually selected for distinct grain and features, sustainable hardwoods are shaped and contoured to accentuate the uniqueness and beauty of the wood. Bruce hand-shapes and finishes one-of-a-kind earring deisgns using a variety of woods: Plum, Mulberry, Koa, Ash, Purpleheart, Tulipwood, Blackwood, and more. To view the incredible selection of SpiritWood Fine Jewelry, visit brucejacobson.art/spiritwood
Created by: Dying to Film (www.dyingtofilm.com) This project is made possible by ArtPlace America’s National Creative Placemaking Fund, awarded to Region Five Development Commission. Ole Lake Farm is the home of the Flowers family. Since 1966, the same land has provided three generations of the Flowers family a place to live, work, hunt, and play.
Debby Flowers planned on being a produce farmer until she introduced her goat's milk soap at the farmers market. The soap was so popular, "now, I don't have time to grow produce," jokes Debby. Depending on the season, Ole Lake Farm offers wheat, flour, corn (for cornmeal), rye, straw, eggs, pork, produce, straw, and of course, goat's milk soap. Follow Ole Lake Farm's blog for a peek into life on the farm with great stories and pictures from Debby and her family: olelakefarm.blogspot.com. Created by: Dying To Film (www.dyingtofilm.com) This project is made possible by ArtPlaceAmerica’s National Creative Placemaking Fund, awarded to Region Five Development Commission. |
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April 2022
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