MN Corn Growers visit urban agriculture sites in St. Paul
Above: The tour stops at the CLUES community garden in St. Paul.
Yesterday, several members of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) Board of Directors visited a handful of urban farm sites on the east side of St. Paul, connecting with groups working to expand agriculture in the Twin Cities. The visit was coordinated in partnership with state Sen. Foung Hawj, who represents portions of eastern St. Paul, and the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation.
First, the group visited the GROW-IT Center at Metro State University, a year-round hub for urban agriculture, food production and more. Then the group visited a few community gardens run by the nonprofit Urban Roots. Each year, about 75 Urban Roots youth participate in the organization’s summer internship program, learning invaluable skills about financial literacy, food production and more.
Afterward, the group stopped at the community garden run by the nonprofit CLUES (Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio — Spanish for: Latino Communities United in Service), which allows community members to grow their own produce. This year, the garden has space for 35 families and 10 community plots, and on Monday, our delegation talked with several of the community gardeners about their experience. The tour also included a stop at the Urban Roots Rivoli Bluff Farm and restoration site.
The delegation concluded the tour at the Hmong Village shopping center, where they had lunch and learned more about efforts to grow opportunities for Hmong farmers.
Overall, the tour was a great chance for MCGA to learn about the many efforts to develop farming initiatives in St. Paul and to connect with communities engaged in this work. As MCGA works on behalf of corn farmers in Minnesota, we know it’s important to develop relationships with multiple groups, individuals and communities involved in agriculture.
“Agriculture takes many forms, and we’re appreciative of the opportunity to learn more about food production in the Twin Cities,” MCGA President Bryan Biegler said in a statement. “We also appreciate the partnership with Senator Hawj to facilitate this exchange and look forward to bringing new ideas back to our farms and communities.”
MCGA looks forward to continuing our relationships with our urban ag partners and hopes to have them out for a farm visit in the fall. Stay up to date with all of our partnerships and community efforts at mncorn.org.
