The good news is that we now have an alternative. A growing number of farmers are choosing to work with nature, and are adopting farming practices that build up the soil, reduce runoff, create habitat for wildlife, treat livestock humanely and best of all, produce safe, wholesome food. But the most environmentally sound farming practices in the world mean little if they don't provide a good income for the farmer.

Farmers using sustainable methods cannot prosper without the help of urban and rural consumers. As these farmers explore creative new ways to market their carefully grown products, consumers can support their choice to farm sustainably by purchasing those products listed in the Stewardship Food Directory.

To assist you in preparing meals using locally grown, sustainably-raised products, see our collection of recipes. We also encourage you to hold your own local foods dinner (or potluck, cook-out, banquet, or brunch) to promote the connection between good food and good farming. We have compiled a Local Food Dinner Planning Guide with a few suggestions and resources to get you started.

To learn more about LSP's efforts to create a regional food system that provides market opportunities for sustainable farmers and offers consumers wide choices for healthful food visit our Programs section.

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Buy food from a sustainable farmer! Chemical-free fruits, vegetables, and grains, antibiotic and hormone free meats, free-range chickens and eggs, milk and cheese from grass-fed cows, and more.

The Stewardship Food Directory (available as a PDF document) is a list of LSP member-farmers and retailers offering organic fruits, vegetables, and grains, antibiotic- and hormone-free meats, free-range chickens and eggs, milk and cheese from grass-fed cows, and more.

The list also includes food co-ops, restaurants, and food processors that carry products grown by LSP members. Paper copies are also available by e-mailing LSP's Metro office or by calling 651-653-0618. Contact LSP if you would like to be added to the listing.

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Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Directory
Each Spring, the Land Stewardship Project publishes a directory of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farms. When you purchase a "share" in one of these farms you receive a weekly delivery of organically grown produce during the growing season. But CSA consumers don’t so much "buy" food from particular farms as become "members" of those farms. CSA operations provide more than just food, they offer ways for eaters to become involved in the ecological and human community that supports the farm. The CSA directory is also available as a PDF document or in print.

Pride of the Prairie
Pride of the Prairie is working to increase the variety and amount of locally produced foods in restaurants, grocery stores and institutions in western Minnesota. This initiative is led by the Land Stewardship Project and farmers in the Upper Minnesota River Valley. The other partners in this collaborative effort are the West Central Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, the University of Minnesota-Morris, West Central Research and Outreach Center and Prairie Renaissance.

Pride of the Prairie sponsors local food meals, researches the availability of local foods and publishes fact sheets. This initiative is also working to develop networks involving farmers, consumers, processors, retailers and institutional food service providers. One of Pride of the Prairie’s main tools for doing this is the annual publication of There’s No Taste Like Home: Local Foods Guide for the Upper Minnesota River Valley. This guide lists farms that produce food for direct marketing, as well as retailers that handle local food. In addition, this resource contains a sustainable food vocabulary guide, a seasonal food guide, a listing of farmers’ markets and information on serving local foods at an event.

For more information, contact LSP’s western Minnesota office at 320-269-2105 or go to www.prideoftheprairie.org. Resources mentioned above, including the Local Food Guide can be found directly in the Resources section of the Pride of the Prairie website.

Buy Fresh Buy Local St. Croix River Valley
In 2007 the Land Stewardship Project launched an effort in the St. Croix River Valley to encourage unconventional agriculture and build community-based food systems. With the help of a seed grant from the Hugh J. Andersen Foundation, we are organizing a local chapter affiliate of the Food Routes Network to develop a St. Croix River Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local Campaign. The goals of the St. Croix River Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local (BFBL) campaign are to expand local markets for local growers, increase the consumption of fresh, healthful food in the St. Croix River Valley, diversify the economic base, and protect ecological and scenic resources in the region by reconnecting food systems with ecosystems.

This project is guided by a steering committee that includes staff from the Minnesota Food Association, Women's Environmental Institute, University of Wisconsin Extension and the West Wisconsin Land Trust. A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmer and an independent organizational development specialist are donating time to the steering committee. An advisory committee of farmers, chefs and community activists are also helping shape the project. During 2007, we will be inviting growers, processors, retail groceries, restaurants, tourist agencies, arts organizations and other community groups to become BFBL partners and support the larger movement to develop sustainable local food systems in the St. Croix River Valley.

For more information, contact Dana Jackson in the Land Stewardship Project's White Bear Lake office at 651-653-0618 or danaj@landstewardshipproject.org.

St. Croix River Valley BFBL Resources

• BFBL Profile of Café Wren
This article describes how one St. Croix River Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local partner, Café Wren, is working with local farmers to bring fresh, local food to diners in a rural Wisconsin community. Click here to read the story and see photos.

• BFBL Podcast: Café Wren & The Good Luck Farm
This LSP Ear to the Ground podcast features Stephanie Lundeen of Café Wren and John Adams of The Good Luck Farm talking about how they work together to bring local food to a small community in western Wisconsin. To listen, click here.

• BFBL  St. Croix River Valley Brochure
This brochure offers general background on the Buy Fresh Buy Local St. Croix River Valley initiative and provides a list of reasons for supporting local food systems. Click here for a pdf copy of the brochure.

• Farmers' Market Survey
On Sept. 15, 2007, the St. Croix River Valley Buy Fresh, Buy Local Campaign, along with an intern in community-based food systems and a University of Wisconsin Extension horticulture educator, surveyed Stillwater Farmers' Market shoppers about where they come from, how frequently they shop at the market, how they learn about the market, and what the market should do differently. For a copy of the market assessment's results, click here.

• Market Partners Program
St. Croix River Valley farmers, farmers' markets and vendors of Valley food products are eligible to become Market Partners of the St. Croix River Valley BFBL Chapter. Being a Market Partner means you have access to BFBL resources and services that help with marketing and outreach to local consumers. Click here for a pdf document that has details on Buy Fresh Buy Local and the Market Partners initiative, including a "Partner Participation Agreement" that can be signed and mailed in.

• St. Croix River Valley BFBL Media
Press Release: July 25, 2008: Wanted: St. Croix River Eateries for Special 1-Day Culinary Event
Press Release: August 30, 2007: National Local Foods Movement Arrives in St. Croix River Valley with 'Buy Fresh, Buy Local' Campaign
Press Release: August 28, 2008: 18 St. Croix River Restaurants to Participate in Dine Fresh Dine Local Event Sept. 11

• Grower Survey
Part of this project's goal is to determine what food is being grown and offered for sale in the St. Croix River Valley. Click here for a copy of the grower survey.

• St. Croix River Valley Farmers' Markets
This resource lists locations and schedules for 25 Minnesota and Wisconsin farmers' markets in the St. Croix River Valley area. For a pdf copy, click here.

• Local Foods Directory
For a 2007 directory of local foods in western Wisconsin, see: http://www.wifarmfresh.org/contact.cfm.

• Food Routes
Buy Fresh Buy Local St. Croix River Valley is part of the Food Routes Network, a national nonprofit organization providing technical support to over 40 community-based groups across the country working to strengthen regional markets for locally grown foods. Click here for more information. (http://www.foodroutes.org)

• Our Partners
Minnesota Food Association (http://www.mnfoodassociation.org)
Women's Environmental Institute (http://www.w-e-i.org)
University of Wisconsin Extension (http://www.uwex.edu)
West Wisconsin Land Trust (http://www.wwlt.org)

• PRIDE OF THE PRAIRIE: Buy Fresh Buy Local St. Croix River Valley is the second Buy Fresh Buy Local initiative LSP has helped launch in the region. Click here for more on the Pride of the Prairie initiative, which is based in western Minnesota. (http://www.prideoftheprairie.org)

Food Alliance Midwest
Food Alliance Midwest (FAM) is a third-party certification program that uses a certification seal in a public education and consumer awareness campaign to support local farms and foods. By looking for the FAM certification seal, consumers can choose and purchase foods from farms that are local, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible. Food Alliance Midwest is the only certification that combines these healthful elements into one certification seal.”

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Buy Local Brochure
The Land Stewardship Project has developed a handy brochure on how consumers can support local farmers who are using sustainable methods to produce food. It contains information on certification labels such as the Food Alliance Midwest (FAM), resources for buying direct and tips on other ways to support a local food system. This brief fact sheet is perfect for local foods dinners, farmers’ markets and other similar venues. Click here for a PDF version of the “Buy Local” brochure. For information on obtaining the “Buy Local” brochure in print, contact us at lspwbl@landstewardshipproject.org or
651-653-0618.

Local Foods Dinner Planning Guide
The Local Foods Dinner Planning Guide has been prepared to give you some ideas and suggestions on how to get started. It also contains information on why holding this kind of an event is important. Our food choices make a difference when we buy from local farmers who are working hard to farm in ways that preserve soil, protect water, and support their natural and human neighbors. Bringing people together around good food provides an excellent opportunity to educate and engage them in the issues of food and land stewardship while enjoying an excellent meal and lively conversation.

We hope this planning guide is helpful. Comments, suggestions and additions are welcome — call us 651-653-0618. We would also appreciate if you would return the feedback form included with this guide. It will help us learn from your experiences and in turn pass that learning on to others.

Resources to help you plan a Local Foods Dinner:

• Planning Questions and Ideas

• Planning Checklist

• Recipes from past dinners

• Lessons from other dinners

• Feedback Sheet

• Stewardship Food Directory - a listing of farmers in the Midwest selling sustainably raised food

• Buying Directly From a Farmer fact sheet (PDF document)

• "Guidelines to Increase the Use of Local Foods at Meetings" brochure can be found at the Society for Nutrition Education website.

• A Guide to Serving Local Food at Your Next Event By Gary L. Valen and Meredith R. Taylor

Resources to introduce your guests to the Land Stewardship Project:
• Land Stewardship Project Brochure
• Land Stewardship Project Description and History
• Land Stewardship Project Program Information
• Land Stewardship Project Benefits of Membership

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Breaking Down Barriers Between Producers & Buyers
Through its work coordinating the Pride of the Prairie initiative, the Land Stewardship Project is working to break down the barriers that sometimes prevent local food from being purchased by local food service operations. In 2002, nutritionist and consultant Lynn Mader surveyed 25 food service operations and found that purchasers sometimes did not buy locally produced foods because they believed local farmers did not qualify as an “approved source.” It appeared that clarification of food safety and regulatory requirements was necessary before more local foods could find their way to local menus.

LSP joined forces with the University of Minnesota Extension Service, the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, farmers and restaurateurs to develop a set of local food handling fact sheets. These fact sheets are written for farmers, commercial food operators, and anyone else who needs answers on how to safely and legally handle locally sourced food. These fact sheets were made possible by the USDA’s North Central Sustainable Agriculture Professional Development Program.

Food Handling Fact Sheets:
• Sale of Shell Eggs to Grocery Stores and Restaurants (pdf document)
• Sale of Meat and Poultry to Grocery Stores and Restaurants (pdf document)
• Providing Safe Locally-Grown Produce to Commercial Food Establishments and the General Public (pdf document)