Midwest Food Connection

05/22/2026

Yesterday, all FIVE of our educators and staff were with students - whether in the classroom, on a field trip, or at a community event with our grain mill (pictured). We've had an unprecedented number of teaching requests this spring and are grateful to be able to share the joy of gardening and healthy food with students across Minnesota.

If you want to support our work, we have an exciting match + giveaway going on right now for donors. Learn more at midwestfoodconnection.org/donate

05/20/2026

Over 80% to our match goal: Thanks to the Johnson Ohana Foundation, up to $2,500 in donations to Midwest Food Connection will be MATCHED through May 31. We're over 80% of the way there! Help us reach our goal and double your donation now: midwestfoodconnection.org/donate/

Plus, you have a chance to win concert tickets! We're thrilled to be an All At Once non-profit partner on Jack Johnson's Surfilmusic tour. As a part of our partnership, we're running a giveaway through the end of May. Anyone who donates $30 or more to Midwest Food Connection to support food education in Minnesota will be entered into a giveaway for two tickets to Johnson's concert at Mystic Lake Amphitheatre on July 12. Learn more and support a great cause: midwestfoodconnection.org/donate/

05/13/2026

Lesson Spotlight: Buzz on Bugs🐞🐛

Buzz on Bugs is a student-favorite in our Urban Gardening unit. After planting their own seeds in a previous week, students learn about the important work bugs do for plants and why good farmers are careful not to harm them. In addition to checking up on their seedlings, students taste real honeycomb, learn the Bee Dance, and draw out what they would put in their own gardens.

Learn more about what our students are learning at midwestfoodconnection.org/programs

05/08/2026

Last year, we received this photo of a student with her full-grown cucumber plant. She planted the seeds and grew them into a seedling in our classroom lessons, then transplanted it at home and cared for it over the summer.

It’s stories like this one that show why we do what we do. This year is the 30th Anniversary of our organization’s beginning - 30 years of shifting eating habits, expanding tastebuds, and fostering positive relationships with food and the earth.

We’ve had an unprecedented number of teaching requests this spring, leading us to bring on a fourth educator seasonally. We need your help to continue this work for 30 more years to come. Contribute to our Spring Donor Drive and double your donation now: midwestfoodconnection.org/donate

05/06/2026

Happy ! Our educators and staff recently gathered for our annual dinner to share a meal and conversation. This week, we're celebrating the important work done by Midwest Food Connection food educators and our partner educators in local schools. Thank you for all you do for Minnesota kids!

05/01/2026

As we kick off our annual Spring Donor Drive, we have an exciting announcement: we are partnering with Jack Johnson as an All at Once Nonprofit Partner for his Surfilmusic tour!

Through May 31, anyone who donates $30 or more to Midwest Food Connection in honor of our 30th Anniversary will be entered into a drawing for two tickets to Jack Johnson's concert at Mystic Lake Amphitheatre on July 12. Additionally through May, the Johnson Ohana Foundation is matching donations up to $2,500. Donate now to double your contribution and get the chance to win concert tickets: midwestfoodconnection.org/donate/

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day! Over the past couple of years, we've modified our Fall 2 unit to center more around conserving food packaging and reducing waste (as a Hennepin County Green Partner). As part of the unit, students bring in food packaging waste from home, brainstorm how they can reuse it, and make pledges for how they can help the planet. These are some of their pledges:

🌏 Use it again (plastic containers/ food packaging)
🌏 Recycle and compost as much as I can
🌏 Be more creative with "trash"
🌏 Save food
🌏 Not waste plastic

What is your Earth Day resolution or something you're doing today to help the planet?

04/10/2026

Flashback Friday to digging for potatoes at Northrop's garden last August. One student even made a curry (pictured) with the potatoes grown in the school garden!

04/08/2026

04/07/2026

Welcome Jaime Harris, who is joining the MFC team as an educator for the spring!

Jaime has been teaching food education and leading youth gardening programs since 2015. She spent almost a decade with the University of Minnesota Extension’s nutrition education and Master Gardener programs. Jaime’s dedication to student well-being further grew during their time as the Wellness Coordinator for Minneapolis Public Schools. Jaime has spent many years working and volunteering in community gardens, youth-centered green spaces, and initiatives that provide healthy, accessible food to local neighborhoods. Her favorite thing is watching the magic of a garden come to life, and she spends much of her free time tending to her flower and vegetable garden.

04/01/2026

Our latest blog post is live, with an update to our African American foodways research. Learn how enslaved women at Fort Snelling were central to early African American food history in Minnesota. Plus, discover how ingredients became cultural food staples through trade and blending food traditions.

Read the full post at https://www.midwestfoodconnection.org/seeds-are-life-african-american-food-history-in-minnesota/

*This work is made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.