segnavia

Midwestern farmers' markets are the stuff of midwinter’s – and really, even midspring’s – dreams.  When we sit down and contemplate the changing weather, the growth potential, and the veritable expansion of our own resources, we tend to imagine gardens. Farms. Food production in a variety of levels – gardener or not. We just can’t help ourselves.

Tonight kicks off the first month of the SGT book club. And let me just tell you, books and food are two of my favorite things in the world, so I couldn’t be more excited to jump in! 

Over the weekend, I buzzed over to the Food and Wine Experience at the Minneapolis Convention Center on the hunt for things local, delicious and interesting. I’ve had a varied relationship with this show over the years and, is it me, or does it still feel like it’s trying to define itself?  Nevertheless, if you could put aside greater questions of “the point” of the show, it’s still a darned good time. The mix of attendees was encouraging (with a notable skew toward the younger demographic), the introduction of some fun new food/wine-adjacent products and services was cool, and the Iron Chef-like Local Chef Challenge turned out to be a fantastic addition.

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.