Strengthening Minnesota’s Northeast Food System

Check out this local coverage of the March Food Justice Summit from WDIO!

Excerpt from article by reporter William Lien:

Communities in the Northland and greater Minnesota are facing increased hunger. Some of these reasons include higher prices and disrupted federal food programs. As well as other challenges that go beyond simply having more food available. Allyson Green was one of the organizers of this year’s Minnesota Food Justice Summit. She said building relationships and programs to address food insecurity is critical now more than ever.

One challenge for Northland farmers is long-term logistic planning. David Abazs, co-owner of Round River Farm in Finland, Minnesota, said plenty of smaller farms need to travel long distances as well as plan out far in advance when it comes to meat processing of their livestock.

‘You actually have to set the date before you even purchase the animals, so you know your animals will have a place to get processed officially. Through that official USDA processing, then it can be sold directly to consumers and go to schools or restaurants. So there’s a whole infrastructure that’s a little thin in the Northland,’ Abazs said. ‘It poses both the economic challenge and just a time management challenge.’

Throughout the Northland, local agriculture continues to grow, Abazs said. He added that with more farmers in the region, there can be a steady supply of fresh produce and a healthy demand from communities in northeastern Minnesota.