Midwest Food Connection
FOOD connects us
– with each other, our planet, and ourselves-At Midwest Food Connection, we believe everyone should have the ability and opportunity to grow and consume healthful, affordable, and culturally relevant foods. Unfortunately, marginalized communities often find they have limited access to healthful foods are frequently the target of exploitive food marketing.
For more than 25 years, Midwest Food Connection has been in the classroom, bringing engaging food lessons to life for students in grades K-8. By educating children and their families about food, we inspire them to make healthier food choices and lead healthier lives.
Our mission
Midwest Food Connection inspires young people to deepen their relationship with food in ways that benefit their bodies, their communities, and the earth.
Exciting
youth about healthy eating and developing a love for wholesome, locally grown foods
Inspiring
youth to take care of the earth by becoming good stewards of the environment.
Preparing
youth with life skills like cooking, gardening, shopping wisely, and thinking critically about food systems.
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We are grateful to the land and waters of Mni Sota Makoce for the nourishment and abundance that they provide for us. We respect the earth and all its creatures that walk and crawl and fly and swim. We honor our ancestors, whose shoulders we stand upon, acknowledging both the gifts and transgressions they have passed down to us. We are conscious of the fact that we live on lands that were taken violently from the Dakota people and that despite genocidal actions taken to eradicate them from this state, they and other native tribes continue to live in dignity, to struggle, and to thrive, on these lands today. By offering this land acknowledgement Midwest Food Connection moves forward to enact its mission.
WHAT WE TEACH
Our award-winning curriculum is a proven recipe for success. The students we connect with have the opportunity to:
Learn more about our classroom lessons
TASTE
Taste new and healthful foods
SHARE
Share stories and recipes from many cultural traditions
PREPARE
Prep foods for home cooking with their families
CONNECT
Connect to the land that sustains us through hands-on work in schoolyard gardens
Learn more about our classroom lessons
WHERE WE TEACH
Our culturally relevant curriculum annually reaches about 4,000 children at 40 schools throughout the Twin Cities.
HOW WE TEACH
Recently, the role of our food educators has expanded. Through classroom teaching, our Community Food Educators not only have a direct link to neighborhood families but are able to connect the broader community with earth’s bounty.
Throughout the school year, community food educators address specific food topics. Through sight, smell, taste, and touch, our educational programming introduces a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. By emphasizing the use of less-processed foods, families discover how purchasing and preparing healthier items is not only nutritious but can save them money as well.
In addition, we collaborate with school district nutrition programs, after-school care, school community liaisons, and local food shelves, to reach families and deepen the community’s understanding of the connection between food and health.
Bountiful Bean Recipes
Beans are truly a gift in the garden - one of the three sister plants traditionally grown along corn and squash in many native american tribes. Beans help build healthy soil helping other plants / animals thrive, and they bring great nourishment to our bodies as well....
A year of online food education: What we’ve learned about teaching kids virtually in a pandemic
The last time I taught an in-person class for Midwest Food Connection was March 12, 2020. I taught three first grade classes at a Minneapolis school about wheat and pasta, as the students kneaded, shaped and cooked up their own pasta dough. COVID was on all our minds,...
Reflecting on a year of virtual food lessons
On a dreary winter morning, I log into my email to look for a Google Meets invitation that should be showing up at any minute. On this particular day, when I enter the virtual classroom, I am greeted by the smiling faces of first graders, many of them showing me the...
MFC Reflects and Responds to the Murder of George Floyd
The unjust and senseless death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police laid bare (once again) the pervasive systemic racism that is woven into our social fabric. Midwest Food Connection stands in solidarity with BIPOC (Black ● Indigenous ● People of Color)...
Keeping Food Education Alive Through Online Learning
It’s early May and Spring is in full swing here in Minnesota. The air is filled with birdsongs and the buzzing of pollinators, but things in the human world are undeniably quieter this year. We are now in month three of Governor Walz’s stay-at-home order with further...
Climate Conscious Cuisine
A recent Washington Post headline* shouted: “Kids are terrified, anxious and depressed about climate change.” The article goes on to discuss the deep concerns many youth have about the world’s future, and what they can do about it. I imagine you have seen this...
