patty pan squash

Last spring, I wrote about my visit to Cornerstone Rooftop Farm in Richfield, Minnesota, a pilot project of The Cornerstone Group, a real-estate management and urban-planning group, among other things. At that point, they had plans, hypotheses, and growing structures, but not yet any produce.

Since I dug my feet into the dirt of the local food movement a number of years ago, I’ve wanted to learn more about the Hmong farmers that dominate many of the local farmers market stands. I recently had the privilege of meeting with Shur Yang, whose family operates a vegetable stand at the Minneapolis Farmers Market.

Shur’s love for farming and local produce streams with properties of July sunshine. His positive demeanor is enough to intrigue anyone, and is wildly inspiring considering the farm is merely a “side job."

The move towards sustainable food has not been lost on the city of Minneapolis. The City of Minneapolis Sustainable Food Initiative website lists these benefits associated with eating local, sustainable food: