What We’re Working On: May Monthly Update
Slow Food MN Leadership Team Minutes 5/18/2021:
Attendance: Vidya, Ann, Doug, Cedar, April, Adam
Per our last meeting, April began by further explaining the CDC Food Bank Report so we can determine as a group where there is a need or gap within the food ecosystems.
MN has a multi-tiered system around food insecurity (support and funding coming from federal, state and local municipalities).
Food banks distribute to food shelves (which act like grocery stores in a way)
The mission around hunger relief programs is to source, store and distribute
There are roughly two hundred food banks feeding america
A lot of food banks grow their own food which is inherently good but is more of a marketing tool than about sustainable farming
Second Harvest Heartland the main food bank for our state; they serve 59 counties (including a few in Wisconsin: 40% of food comes from what would be wasted (mainly by grocery stores and some from chain restaurants); 20% comes from manufacturers like General Mills and the remaining 20-25% is a surplus from farmers, the remainder is purchased.
Slow FoodMN recognizes that many of hunger relief organizations and food security programs are doing great work that likely don’t need our intervention or support
Our group discussed the Good Samaritan Act and how it helps food banks maximize their resources; and the relationship between federal programs like The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) which helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost and local organizations like Foundation for Essential Needs (FFEN).
SFMN Leadership Team determined that what may be lacking from food shelves are cooking spices that can be used across an array of dishes to create specific flavor profiles in our multicultural Twin Cities metro area. Could we guarantee farms a fair price for spices that we’ll buy from them to stock in food shelves?
Two important questions we asked around equity / inclusion & justice are: 1) How do we engage members to learn more about food insecurity and how it affects the social fabric of our community? 2) How can we help Minnesotans celebrate diverse food cultures and be proud of multicultural cuisines?
Actionable Item:
April will reach out to FFEN to get an understanding of what spices are missing from food shelves that are in demand to be used with available food stocks.
Next meeting is slated for Monday, June 7th
