North Country Food Alliance

The outreach and education program has approximately 12,500 conversations in the Twin Cities Metro raising awareness of commercial food waste. These conversations don't just affect people's view of the world but also drive fellow community members into action. Business owners, store managers, farmers, gardeners, and other people participate with the foodshare and community garden program because of their contact with canvassers. In addition we find and start communication with local nonprofit workers that guide the focus of our work. Our other programs are informed by the outreach program. We educate our neighbors and they return in kind.

Community Gardens: We plant gardens in neighborhoods with restricted access to fresh produce. These gardens give people the opportunity to learn how to grow their own healthy food and provide free produce to folks in the neighborhood. In 2021, we worked with the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority to transfer management of this community garden to the Somali American Farmers Association (SAFA). Horn Towers is home to many Somali elders, and SAFA grows East African greens and crops like millet and okra in traditional ways that include regenerative practices. We also manage a garden in North Minneapolis, which has grown to house 24 circular raised beds and 16 rectangular ones. This is the largest it's been since its founding in 2017. In spring 2022, we also started managing the community garden at Walker Church and we also cultivate a plot at the Merriam Station Community Garden in St. Paul.

Foodshare: We partner with businesses metro wide including but not limited to grocery stores, food co-ops, distributers, and food production facilities. We take the perishable food products such as fresh produce, meat, bread, dairy, that these businesses know they would have to waste without our help. Our workers ensure rapid and safe transportation of the food to Twin Cities nonprofits every weekday. We give this food away completely free of charge to food shelves, shelters, and other nonprofits, allowing them to concentrate their resources where they are needed. We also glean food from local farms. Gleaning is the act of harvesting fresh produce in the field that would otherwise go to waste due to restrictions on time, storage, or other factors. NCFA workers and volunteers harvest produce from farm fields and donate it to local groups that serve people who face food insecurity. We also purchase produce directly from local farms, most of them BIPOC-run. This food is again given away for free in support of food security and food sovereignty. This fiscal year, we rescued 399,856 pounds of food and purchased an additional $62,682 worth of food, which was distributed to 32 different organizations across the Twin Cities Metro.