The Food Group

We're hosting a behind-the-scenes tour of our New Hope warehouse on Monday, July 15 from 10AM to 11AM and would love for you to join us! Sign up and come see your support in action: https://bit.ly/3z1ilHn

Our offices and programs are now closed until Monday, July 8 so our team can have some summer fun with their friends, families and loved ones rest and recharge for the important work we do collectively. We'll be back next week and hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!

The team from Good in the 'Hood is bringing their #ShoeBus to one of our Fare For All sales later this month! They'll have gently used, affordable footwear for purchase on Tuesday, July 16 from 4PM-6PM at Zion Lutheran Church in Buffalo. Fare For All is a program of The Food Group that brings quality, nutritious foods at steep discounts to dozens of pop-up sites across the Twin Cities every month. Find a site near you: https://bit.ly/3T7ZosQ

Today, we're shining a spotlight on BaoBai's Harvest, one of the many participating farms in our Big River Farms program! BaoBai's Harvest is run by owners Bao and Bai Vue. They have more than a decade of experience in community gardening here in the Twin Cities and sell their organic produce through our agency partners, The Good Acre's LEAFF program, and through Minneapolis Public Schools' Farm to School program. The name BaoBai's Harvest comes from the Hmong name for butterflies, an insect that serves as an indicator of a healthy natural ecosystem. "Our vision is to live in a world where our fruitful harvests come from the relationship that we have with our natural world," they told us. Learn more about all of our Big River Farms farmers here: https://bit.ly/4enXuhE

Save the date! 🗓️ The Co-op Farm Tour is coming up on Saturday, July 13 from 10AM - 4PM ... and our Big River Farms program is part of it! This fun event lets you explore local sustainable and organic farms all across the Twin Cities. It's free and self-guided, so there's no need to sign up. All you have to do is mark your calendar! You can find tour maps and more information at coopfarmtour.com.

Our #FoodOfTheMonth for June is ... lettuce! Just in time for fresh summer salads. 🥗 We buy our lettuce through Future Farm Grown, located in Baldwin, Wisconsin. We believe in the value of supporting local production — and providing local foods to those who need it most. This builds up our local food system. Last year, we bought 4,298 heads of butterhead lettuce to support our programs. That's approximately 1,343 pounds of produce! When you become a Monthly Nourisher, you help share fresh lettuce (and more) with your community. A monthly gift of $20 provides 9 heads of butterhead lettuce to people experiencing hunger. Give here: https://bit.ly/3UIOY5g This summer, pair some lettuce with red onion and slices of mango for a light, delicious salad that goes great with whatever you've got sizzling on the grill: https://bit.ly/4eb3p9q Do you have a favorite salad recipe? Share it by dropping it in the comments!

Last month, we held a virtual update to walk through what's changed — and what hasn't! — for our organization after we joined forces with Hunger Solutions Minnesota this spring and the greater impact we will have together. If you weren't able to attend, or just need a refresher, the full recording is now available! You can find it here: https://bit.ly/458XcqC

Our board of directors and leadership team recently visited partner Keystone Community Services at their new community food center in St. Paul! We’re grateful for our board, staff, partners, community members and all who give their time, leadership, and support to create a better food system. Georgi Nguyen, director of basic needs at Keystone (and also a board member of The Food Group) shared: "Clients are lining up before service begins to make sure they are first in line, and we’ve been seeing record breaking numbers of new enrollments for our food programs.” This isn’t a one-off day, either. This happens regularly and is a trend at #foodshelves across our community. We encourage you to support local food shelves like Keystone Community Services and learn more about their work here: https://bit.ly/4bZwvrj

TODAY is the *last day* to vote for our pilot project exploring agrivoltaics to win Solar Farm of the Year! Vote for Big River Farms, a program of The Food Group, here: https://bit.ly/3V8nfJY ✔️ Voting closes Monday, June 24. Voting takes less than a minute! Please help spread the word! We're excited to be a part of this national movement and a leader in Minnesota exploring vegetable production on solar fields.

Join us in giving a big shoutout to Jax, a student from Breck School, who recently donated 880 pounds of items to help our programs! He and his friends organized and held their own independent food drive, and we're so grateful for the support. Thank you, Jax!