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    up production of 6-oz yogurt cups                                            Victoria’s Ristorante & Wine Bar
           to contribute to meals for school                                            delivered hundreds of  meals to first
           children in need. They even got more                                         responders in the first three months of
           visitors at the creamery’s retail space.        GR O W I N GR O W I N G      COVID.
                                                           G
                                                         F Farmers prepare soil, plant, armers prepare soil, plant,
               “People were coming into the farm           tend, and harvest crops and animals
                                                           tend, and harvest crops and animals
                                                 turned into fertile farm soil.  LOCAL
           store for the first time,” Bob recalls   DISP                 Work               “My husband and I heard about
                                                DISPOSINGOOSING
                                                                         HA
                                                                         HARVESTING / PROCESSING PROCESSINGRVESTING /
                                                Comp
                                                Composted foodcan beoststed foodcan be
                                                                         Workers harvest, pack and often pack and ofteners harvest, pa
           with a smile. “Some of them have lived   turnedd into fertile farm soil.   process foods  a restaurant on the East Coast
                                                                         process foods
           5-10 miles away for years but had never           FOOD                       offering meals for kids who weren’t
           been to the farm. They checked it out           SYSTEM                       in school anymore,” says Natalie.
           because people told them about us and   CONSUMERSNSNSUMERS   Farmers’ market workers,t workers,rmers’ market w  “So I threw [the offer for free meals]
                                                                            RETAI
                                                                            RETAILIL
                                                  CO
                                                                        Fa
           because we’re local.”                   People                                     restaurant, and             out on Facebook: Stop at the front
                                                   People buy, prepare,ple buy, prepare,
                                                                                             restaurant,
                                                                             t, and
                                                    and eat the food
                                                    and eat tat the food
                                                                            ore employees
                                                                        grocery store
                                                                        grocery store employees
                                                                                        desk, tell us what you need and
                                                               T TRANSPORTRANS P O RT
           Caring for Community                               Workers transport port    we’ll give you a lunch—pasta with
                                                              Workers trans
                                                                        food to markets fd t
                                                                        food to markets
                                                 Every year is different, whether it’s the   meat sauce or marinara or buttered
               Keeping business going and        market, the weather or a pandemic. We need   noodles.”
                                                                                           The response was
           meeting community needs were          to be resilient and adaptable because that’s   overwhelming, not only from
           strong incentives behind Victoria’s   the food system.                       families in need but from volunteers
           Ristorante & Wine Bar’s responses                                            and people offering financial
           to COVID. In Rochester, Minn.,        —Susan Noble, Executive                assistance. A woman known only as
           Mayo Clinic patients and visitors     Director, Vernon Economic              “Christine” delivered meals as far
           make restaurants a necessity,         Development Association,               as Waseca and Lewiston (56 miles
           especially for outpatients during     Viroqua, Wisc.                         away). She became the restaurant’s
           days and weeks of  treatment.         Local Food System graphic adapted from Nourish.   Facebook Angel and helped feed
                                                 Copyright WorldLink, all rights reserved.
               “We became a carry-out                                                   over 4,000 people.
           institution,” says owner Natalie                                                The crises of 2020 have affected
           Victoria. “We did tons of deliveries,                                        every aspect of the food supply. For
           especially to patients who were in hotels with no food. We   producers, it’s become a forcing function, prompting bold,
           came to work every day. Everyone did everything: orders,   new strategies—some of which may remain in place long
           delivery, dishes. You had to think outside of yourself to   after COVID is over. For consumers, it has brought into
           make sure people were fed.”                             sharp focus the importance of knowing who makes our
               But Natalie and her crew didn’t stop with feeding   food, of having a deeper appreciation for the path it travels,
           patients in hotels. They made sure doctors, nurses, first   and for supporting
           responders and police officers, who couldn’t shelter at home   the frontline workers who do whatever it takes to make sure
           had meals, too. Then these devoted food workers—some    it reaches our plates—during the pandemic and beyond.
           of whom worked only for tips—dug deeper and started a
           free meal program for local school children. The idea sprang   Marlene Petersen is a Twin-Cities based writer, editor and novelist who
           from a simple conversation in the car.                  loves good local food.
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