school lunch program

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to help out at the Midtown Farmers Market in Minneapolis, one of the area markets that allows patrons to use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly called Food Stamps) benefits to purchase fresh produce. Seeing firsthand how Farm Bill legislation is put into practice was a great reminder of how something as seemingly arcane as the Farm Bill can actually affect our neighborhoods, and of the kind of improvements we can make in the 2012 Farm Bill.

"Sorry I'm late," Nicole Barron, Food Services Accounting and Business Services Manager for Minneapolis Public Schools tells me. "There was a baby food recall, and I had to run over to Target to see what they had left and make sure it got over to the schools."

"Baby food?" I ask jokingly, cluelessly. "Is that for my kids?"

"I don't think so," Nicole answers, "it's for high school kids who have babies and need to feed them during the day."

The depths of my lack of understanding are only starting to become clear. Students with babies? We're just barely scratching the surface.

Providing natural, fresh, organic and local foods has been at the core of Mississippi Market Co-op’s offering since they opened their first store in 1979. This past weekend, the market celebrated their 30th anniversary and an official grand opening at their newly opened West 7th Street store in St. Paul. It was also Annual Meeting time for the market’s 9,000-plus cooperative owners and the event brought together members, a distinguished speaker panel, and the co-op leadership to talk about the future of co-ops and how Mississippi Market can lead the way.