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...
Welcome Bonnie to the Midwest Food Connection Team!
Hi! My name is Bonnie Lohman and I am delighted to be at Midwest Food Connection as a Program Educator. Since 2012, I have dedicated my professional life to garden-based learning, nutrition education, and using the power of food to connect young people to their...
Autumn Days the School Garden Way!
Fall 2019 in Seward, Barton and Northrop Gardens In mid-September, I walked out to the garden at Seward Montessori School with about 30 first, second, and third graders following me. We stopped before entering and remembered our job that day: to observe and draw...
Reflections from a Volunteer, Sarah Lemmage
For the past nine months I have had the opportunity to volunteer with Midwest Food Connect (MFC) as part of my Master’s in Public Health curriculum through the University of Minnesota. Through my MPH degree students take part in an Applied Practice Experience (APEx)...
Meet Katya, a New Educator with Midwest Food Connection!
Hello! My name is Katya Wesely and my priority in this walk, in this world is to help as many beings feel at home. That goes for the animals, fungi, insects, plants and trees, but I take special interest in nurturing other human beans. The Midwest Food Connection...
Meet River, a New Educator with Midwest Food Connection!
Get to know River, one of Midwest Food Connection’s new Program Educators.
What We’re Bringing with Us
Molly and Emily have been Food Educators with Midwest Food Connection for three and four years, respectively. The end of this school year marks the end of Molly and Emily’s time as Midwest Food Connection educators. Before we move on to our next pursuits, we took a...
Spring Salad
INGREDIENTS: Mixed salad greens Cucumber Radish Sprouts (sunflower, broccoli, alfalfa - you choose!) Chives Snow peas Salad Girl dressing: Crisp Apple Maple Vinaigrette
Students Reflect on Six Years of Food Education with MFC
Midwest Food Connection teaches every grade level at Northrop Urban Environmental Center. This winter, we asked Northrop 5th graders to reflect on everything they’ve learned with Midwest Food Connection over the years! Many shared the joy of discovering new foods and...
Why I Serve on the MFC Board
By Tom Vogel, Valley Natural Foods Marketing Manager I first became aware of Midwest Food Connection (MFC) when I began working at Seward Co-op, in Minneapolis, nearly 12 years ago. At the time, I was relatively new to cooperatives, but I was drawn to them because of...
An impression from our January intern, Ora
Ora Hammel, 2019 This past January, I had the incredible opportunity to work with Midwest Food Connection (MFC). Part of my internship consisted of working alongside the MFC teachers who are visiting guest teachers at many different schools within the metro area. I...
Developing a Community through Food
Long Tran, MFC Community and Family Engagement Intern Environmental Studies major at Macalester College These past few months, I have been working for Midwest Food Connection (MFC) as the Family and Community Engagement intern, which involved me in finding ways to...
Program Evaluation Internship Summary
Taylor Hanson, MFC Fall Program Evaluation Intern Sociology Major at Hamline University At Midwest Food Connection the ultimate goal is for students to retain as much knowledge as possible from our lessons with the hopes that they can apply this knowledge to their...
What we’re thankful for…
It’s that time of year! We at Midwest Food Connection incorporate thankfulness into our teaching whenever we can, asking students to think about the farmers who grew the food they’re about to taste and take a moment to silently give thanks. Today we’d like to take a...