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    Multicultural in Minnesota
         PINT-SIZE PRODUCE continued from page 15

                                                                    In Minnesota, Danette Allrich, owner of Holding Hands
                                                                    Childcare, got involved with Farm to ECE through
                                                                    Renewing the Countryside (RTC), a nonprofit dedicated to
                                                                    supporting rural areas and local food systems. Each week
                                                                    this summer and fall, Danette and her kids gleefully opened
                                                                    a box of fresh produce from the Hmong American Farmers
                                                                    Association (HAFA) farm, southeast of St. Paul. With
                                                                    support from the Cargill Foundation, RTC provided Holding
                                                                    Hands and nine other childcare sites in St. Paul with CSA
                                                                    (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes from HAFA.
                                                                       The produce boxes provide healthy and fun
                                                                    opportunities for the kids.  “Just yesterday, we peeled, baked
                                                                    and enjoyed edamame beans for the first time,” says Danette.
                                                                    “Some of the kids loved them and begged their parents to
                                                                    buy them the next time they went to the grocery store.”
                                                                       She had a similar experience when introducing another
                                                                    new food. “I got a text from a mom Wednesday night asking
                                                                    about the ‘brown cherries’ I introduced the kiddos to and
                                                                    how she could get them. She was referring to the ground
                                                                    cherries we had for snack, which the kids loved but had
                                                                    never had before. I shared that I grew up eating them on
                                                                    my grandparents farm, and we picked buckets of them each
                                                                    summer, making jelly and canning them.”
                                                                       Along with the CSA boxes, RTC provides “Pint-Size
                                                                    Produce” materials filled with recipes and fun activities. They
                                                                    also partner with St. Paul Public Schools and Youth Farm
                                                                    to integrate these concepts more widely among teachers,
                                                                    childcare providers and parents.
                                                                       Across town, at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade
                                                                    Policy (IATP), Community Food Systems Program Director
                                                                    Erin McKee is developing a bicultural, bilingual curriculum
                                                                    with HAFA that will include culturally relevant food items.
                                                                    “There are very few early care educational resources that
                                                                    take advantage of the huge potential to link food with
                                                                    culture, deepening the appreciation for both during this key
                                                                    age when kids are forming concepts that can carry forward
                                                                    for the rest of their lives,” says Erin. “We hope to create
                                                                    resources celebrating the deep agricultural roots and culinary
                                                                    riches of our Hmong community while developing a new
                                                                    market for Hmong farmers.”
                                                                       IATP and RTC are just a couple of  the organizations
                                                                    and agencies working on Farm to ECE in Minnesota.
                                                                    Providing kids with early experiences like these with
                                                                    new foods, different recipes, hands-on gardening and
                                                                    family education can lead to better health outcomes. It’s
                                                                    an opportunity to dig into gardens, try a few different
                                                                    broccoli recipes and build community connections that
                                                                    can improve the health of  children, the environment and
                                                                    our local economies.

                                                                    Grace Brogan is a Montana and Minnesota-based writer, gardener, artist,
                                                                    educator and values-based economy activist.
         16  FEAST! Local Foods Magazine

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