2020 Year in Review
Dear Friends and Supporters,
It probably doesn’t even need to be stated that 2020 was a difficult year. Here at NCFA, we struggled with financial uncertainty as we suspended field canvass due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, you—our compassionate supporters—overwhelmed us with your generosity and made sure we pulled through. We also secured significant grant funding that allowed us to expand our foodshare and garden programs. All in all, we feel that it was an incredible year at NCFA! Thank you so much for making it possible.
In Solidarity for a Better World,
Haakon, Annelise, Mae, Will, Sasha, Alison, Catherine, Mark, Nick, Celeste, Maria, Fatuma
(The Workers of NCFA)
Program Updates
Foodshare
We had an amazing year in our foodshare program! In 2020, we moved nearly 396,000 pounds of food to almost 50 organizations across the Twin Cities Metro. That’s about 86,000 more pounds than last year!
Food recovery at the Saint Paul Farmers' Market in Woodbury.
This year saw a significant change in our foodshare program, which was the start of purchasing significant amounts of food. Normally, we receive free food donations from stores and distributors; but starting in early June, we set aside $1,000 per month for the purpose of purchasing food and other necessary supplies. At the time, the supply chain was severely disrupted due to social unrest; this budget allowed us to meet the needs of people in affected communities, despite the interruption in our food donations from local businesses. Thereafter, we received substantial grant funds to continue purchasing food. Specifically, we focused on purchasing available produce from Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) farmers, and then donated this farm-fresh food to related cultural communities. (More on this below.)
We also had some exciting program developments, including gleaning from a local farm and a food recovery project with the Saint Paul Farmers’ Market. Gleaning is the act of harvesting fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste at orchards, gardens, and farms. This past August, NCFA began a gleaning project at Dream of Wild Health (DWH) Farm (a native-led farm in Hugo, Minnesota), with mentorship from The Food Group's glean team. NCFA workers and volunteers harvested leftover crops from their fields. We also collected surplus produce available from DWH after the Four Sisters Farmers’ Market, for which they were paid at a "seconds" rate. The food from this program was donated to organizations that serve Native communities in the Twin Cities. In September, we launched a pilot food recovery project with the Saint Paul Farmers’ Market and Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy. Market vendors were compensated for their donations of fresh produce, which NCFA then distributed for free to Saint Paul food shelves. We plan to continue both these projects in 2021.
Garden
Produce from the Horn Towers garden was given away for free at weekly food distributions.
This year, we brought together our foodshare and garden programs at our new garden site at Horn Towers Public Housing. This is another farm-style community garden, which hosted weekly, outdoor, free food distributions during the growing season. NCFA helped to distribute food at Horn Towers up until the end of 2020, utilizing grant funds to purchase non-perishables and requested items like bananas, ginger, and garlic. We also purchased a refrigerator and utility carts to store and deliver food within Horn Towers.
We plan to continue this garden project and its associated foodshare in 2021, with the help of the Somali American Farmers Association (SAFA). While SAFA plans to implement a cultural foods program to connect Somali elders and youth, NCFA will continue to build raised beds to increase accessibility at the garden.
Volunteers harvesting produce from the North Minneapolis community garden.
Our garden in North Minneapolis was bigger than ever last year, with 16 circular beds from the Garden in a Box Program, and 16 rectangular wooden beds built by NCFA workers and board members. To accommodate this increased size, we held weekly volunteer workdays, mainly to harvest and wash produce in preparation for donation to local food shelves. Thanks to all the volunteers who came out and made it a successful year! The garden is currently tucked into bed for the winter, but we’re looking forward to a strong season in 2021.
Community Meals
NCFA successfully partnered with House of Charity Food Center for three community meals in February. Volunteers recruited by NCFA assisted with preparing and serving food to members of their shelter, as well as the general public. However, with the onset of the pandemic, House of Charity had to drastically change their protocol, and we decided that it was in the best interest of public health to suspend this program. We ultimately decided to discontinue the community meals project, and instead focus our efforts on continuing to expand our foodshare and garden programs. Even though our own community meals program is inactive, NCFA directed a significant portion of our grant funding towards community groups cooking for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
Canvass
We suspended door-to-door canvassing at the end of March to protect our workers and the community from COVID-19. We only recently restarted our canvass operation this past September, with safety restrictions in place. Though our canvass crew is small, we are receiving amazing support at the door. Thank you so much to everyone who contributes when we come knocking!
Other Updates
Give to the Max Day 2020
This year we raised $5,434 for Give to the Max Day, which beats our past record by a lot! We’re so grateful that you showed up to support food security during these difficult times. Thank you for your generous support.
Grants
We’ve received so many grants since our last newsletter, that for the sake of space we’ll just provide you with a list. Big thanks to our wonderful grantors for all their support!
Hennepin County - CARES Act Funding for Food Insecurity - September - $49,900
Lakewinds Food Co-op - Community Giving Round Up - October - $14,959.11
Hunger Solutions - Minnesota COVID Food Fund Grant - October - $48,566
Merjent Foundation - October - $1,000
Nancy Somers Family Foundation - November - $10,000
Hennepin County - CARES Act Funding for Expanded Community Services - November - $26,846.90
Meet Our New Worker!
Haakon - Garden Coordinator
Haakon is joining us as coordinator of the Charles Horn Towers garden in South Minneapolis. He is on a gap year and is using his free time to cultivate a farm and grow food for community members in South Minneapolis. He has worked with other non-profit groups in the Twin Cities to provide nutritious free food to communities, primarily through a weekly free meal in the Lyndale neighborhood. In his spare time, Haakon enjoys reading, biking, hiking in national parks and cooking.
Temporary Workers
Thanks to grant funding from Hunger Solutions, we were able to hire three temporary workers to assist with our foodshare program: Annelise, Celeste, and Fatuma. Annelise and Celeste are helping to lay the groundwork for our 2021 gleaning season, while Fatuma is providing Somali interpretation services for our foodshare at Horn Towers. The grant funding for these positions ran out at the end of December, but we are hoping to keep them on so they can continue to offer support to these growing programs!
New Mission, Vision, Values
We at NCFA spent the summer months readjusting our mission, vision, and values to adapt and respond to current events. Our new mission statement now reads:
North Country Food Alliance is a worker-run non-profit that takes action to strengthen food sovereignty in the Twin Cities Metro Area.
To see our updated vision and values statement, please visit our webpage!
NCFA is Hiring!
Are you looking for a job, or do you know someone who is? Then refer them to your favorite worker-run nonprofit! We are hiring entry-level field canvassers, and are seeking a garden coordinator for our North Minneapolis community garden. For more information or to apply, please visit the following links:
Support Our Work
Help us maintain our expanded level of programming! A huge percentage of our revenue comes from individual donors. We rely on your contributions to distribute food completely free-of-charge, feeding thousands of people every week. Please use the button below to donate online and sustain our programs! Thank you for your generosity and on-going support.