Living Earth Center

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Mankato, MN
Living Earth Center

We are a Mankato, MN based non-profit cultivating healthy communities by growing food and connection We manage Mankato's oldest Community Garden.

This organic, two-acre garden provides a vibrant gathering spot for individuals and families to grow food. Beginning in 2021 partnered with Blue Earth County to take over the management of the Blue Earth County Community Farm. Adopting this additional acre of land allows us to expand our produce donation capacity beyond the community garden to help play a more active role in the local food economy

. Our vision for the Farm is to cultivate a community-growing space where people come together from all walks of life to share common ground. It includes engaging volunteers and community members to play an active role in increasing the contribution of organic regeneratively raised produce to our local community partners:

We offer a variety workshops and skill-building classes for both children and adults, host an annual Earth Conference, and seasonal Earth celebrations on Summer and Winter Solstice. Our Resource Library has books and DVDs to check out as well as equipment for canning and food storage.

06/01/2026

LEC's Give to Grow Campaign runs through June 21st! Donate Today!!

https://www.livingearthcentermn.org/get-involved/donate.html

Since 2023, LEC has partnered with Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership to host a Community Garden at the Homestead Apartments. Homestead is the largest Section 8 housing complex in Mankato, and the garden has been a resounding success - having to expand each year to accommodate everyone who wants a plot!

This success is due in no small part to the fact that the garden was designed and implemented with help from the Homestead residents gardeners. LEC's Garden Mentor has worked alongside Community Gardeners to develop deep relationships that make this Community Garden feel like a true Community.

If you support community collaborations that create garden spaces that give more people the chance to grow their own food, we will humbly ask you to make a donation supporting our Give to Grow Campaign today!

All donations go to support our general fund, making sure initiatives like the Homestead Garden Program can operate to their fullest extent! Donations of ALL sizes make an impact, from $5 to $5,000, every donation helps us as we grow strong together!

Our matching challenge is still active - donations made today will be matched dollar for dollar!!

Not able to donate at this time? We completely understand. You can show your support by liking and sharing this post!

05/28/2026

Tonight's the night! Our first Community Volunteer Day of the season!!

We will be doing work to finish getting the Farm ready for the growing season - and then we will eat dinner together (provided by LEC)

If you didn't pre-register, don't worry one bit - show up anyway!!

Everyone Welcome!
No Experience Necessary!

Bring your Friends ... Bring your Family ... heck - Bring your Enemies! Many hands make light work, and the more the merrier!!

See you tonight at the Blue Earth County Community Farm
20612 Indian Lake Rd - just off the Red Jacket Trail, on the way to Mt Kato

05/27/2026

Matching Challenge Issued!!

A generous donor has issued a challenge that they will match dollar for dollar up to $2,000 all donations made to Give to Grow!!

https://www.livingearthcentermn.org/get-involved/donate.html

Don't miss this opportunity to have your donation DOUBLED!!
We want to take full advantage and see $2,000 in donations come in - that will increase our total raised by $4,000!

Don't delay!! Donate today!!

Not able to donate at this time? We completely understand. You can show your support by liking and sharing this post!

05/26/2026

The Spring Opener at the Community Farm has become a tradition of gathering in community to kick off the growing season! We had a blast catching up with everyone again this year.

You can join in the growing fun at the farm all summer long! Check out the link below for opportunities to get your hands in the soil. Produce grown at the Community Farm is donated right back to Mankato organizations helping to feed our community. All levels of experience are encouraged to join our growing network of volunteers.

https://signup.com/go/zphqgKz

05/22/2026

Mark your calendars! Join Living Earth Center in celebrating the longest day of the year at the Community Garden (170 Good Counsel Dr, Mankato, MN). Bring a picnic and enjoy fun for the whole family, including...

☀️ Live Entertainment
☀️ Seasonal Reflection
☀️ Crafts
☀️ Games
And More!

This is a FREE community event with goodwill donations greatly appreciated. Registration not required but appreciated. https://www.livingearthcentermn.org/news-events/event-calendar.html/event/2026/06/20/summer-solstice-celebration/561843

05/21/2026

Today marks the halfway point in our 2026 Give to Grow Campaign, and as luck would have it, we are also halfway to our funding goal!

With your help we can stay on track to meet our goal! Donate Today!

https://www.livingearthcentermn.org/get-involved/donate.html

If you support communities coming together to create spaces where people are connected to the land and to each other, we will humbly ask you to make a donation supporting our Give to Grow Campaign today!

All donations go to support our general fund, making sure initiatives like the Community Food Connection Program can operate to their fullest extent! Donations of ALL sizes make an impact, from $5 to $5,000, every donation helps us as we grow strong together!

Not able to donate at this time? We completely understand. Already made your contribution to our campaign? (Thank you!) You can show your support by liking and sharing this post!

05/20/2026

During Community Volunteer Days at the Farm we work together and then we eat together!!
When you attend the Community Volunteer Day events, LEC will feed you a FREE DINNER!!

I have it on good authority that you will be served grilled burgers and/or veggie burgers, with chips and drinks provided.

Everyone is Welcome!
No Experience Necessary!

Pre-registration is not required, but appreciated for meal planning. You can sign up by clicking the link below:

https://signup.com/go/zphqgKz

05/18/2026

2025 was only the second year of our Seed to Sauce Program, but it saw exponential growth! New groups such as Head Start and Mankato ECFE were added and existing partners saw expanded services (*every single* student at Jefferson Elementary got to make salsa from tomatoes they started from seed the previous spring)!

Seed to Sauce was developed in partnership with ISD77 to ensure that the program would be meeting the needs of students and teachers. As the program expands we continue to work with our partners (such as MY Place, Loyola School, and YMCA summer camp programs) to make sure that the unique needs of each group are being met. This collaboration makes the program stronger than it would ever be if it was developed in a vaccuum.

If you support communities working together to provide top notch gardening, nutrition, and land stewardship educational programming, we will humbly ask you to make a donation supporting our Give to Grow Campaign today!

All donations go to support our general fund, making sure initiatives like the Seed to Sauce Program can operate to their fullest extent! Donations of ALL sizes make an impact, from $5 to $5,000, every donation helps us as we grow strong together!

https://www.livingearthcentermn.org/get-involved/donate.html

Not able to donate at this time? We completely understand. You can show your support by liking and sharing this post!

05/15/2026

Maisie and Cora met with students from Dakota Meadows up at the Community Gardens yesterday to do a some planting (and watering) in the Children's Garden as part of our Seed to Sauce Program 🌱

This our 3rd year working with Dakota Meadows and we love that the middle grade students get just as excited about planting and growing seeds as the younger ones!

Gardening is for EVERYONE!!!

05/14/2026

Let's kick off our first Community Farm Volunteer Day of the 2026 season with a fantabulous evening at the Farm!!

You are invited to join us at the Community Farm from 5 -7 pm for an evening of volunteering! Many hands make light work, we will be doing seasonal farm maintenance tasks such as, planting, watering, weeding, harvesting, and more!

***BONUS***
Dinner provided by LEC!

No experience necessary! Everyone is Welcome!
Registration is not required but appreciated for meal planning.
Click link below to register:

https://signup.com/go/zphqgKz

Address

1603 N Riverfront Drive
Mankato, MN
56001

Website

http://www.livingearthcentermn.org/

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