We’re so ready to kick off this White Bear Lake Winter Farmers Market season. What started small has grown to be a much anticipated community-wide event each winter.

This season’s market dates are set for November 13 ^th , December 11^th and January 8^th. The markets will run 10am to 2pm outdoors, right in front of Tamarack Nature Center. Bringing together local farmers, makers and community is the driving force behind the event- which continues to evolve each year.

Last year because of Covid, we moved the event outside and you, the community, didn’t skip a beat! Local food lovers don’t seem to mind an outdoor event, and with Ramsey County Park buildings still closed, we’ll be staying outside again this year. Of course, we’re making it extra cozy, with free hot apple cider from Pine Tree Apple Orchards, and a warming fire pit courtesy of Tamarack Nature Center.  

Market Details

Shoppers will find twenty local farmers and craft food makers with fan favorites and specialty items you won’t find anywhere else. A sampling of items available include fresh microgreens, sauerkraut, scones and cookies, apples, meats, eggs, cheeses, sourdough breads, kombucha, jellies, salmon, soups, hot sauces, fermented veggies, maple syrup, freeze dried fruits and veggies, winter storage crops, croissants… and even dog treats. Whew!

Top that off with a food truck (Brick Oven Pizza Bus in Nov + Jan) and some cider by a fire, a walk in the woods around Tamarack and you’ve got a fun family outing while supporting local food and small businesses!

I’m so proud of the great partnership with Tamarack Nature Center and recently wrote them and their Teaching Gardens a love letter of sorts. If you’d like to know a little more about the Nature Center and all it has to offer (hint, I bet it is more than you think) check out my article HERE.

Local Food Love

We keep the farmers and vendors hyper local, right from the surrounding areas- except the flash frozen Alaskan Salmon, which comes straight from Matt’s fishing boat in, you guessed it, Alaska I also keep this winter market focused on foods, there are some natural crafts and green living products sprinkled in, but my passion -and the vendors’- is eating local food all year long!

Wanting to share information about eating local is why I started both Forks in the Dirt and this winter market. I truly believe that if we all ate more local and less food shipped in from across the country we could live healthier, grow the economy and make a huge impact on climate change. We get to vote with each meal! Find out more about why I eat more local year-round HERE.

I’d like to give a shout out to the “Local Food Is Essential” Campaign here in Minnesota and Wisconsin. They work to brig local food to the forefront with small changes. Take their Local Food Pledge today!

Farmers + Vendors

I’ve curated a diverse and high-quality crew of vendors and farmers again this year! Find out more about each of them from the Market Page.

THANK YOU FARMERS
+ CRAFT FOOD MAKERS!

AppleCrest Orchard

Bad Apple Dog Treats

Bamboo Switch

Bell’s Maple Syrup

Chef’s House Virtual Cooking Classes

Davis Urban Farm

Eichten’s Cheese

Fiddlehead Farm

Gilbertson Farms

Great Harvest

Hoppel Poppel Breads

KDE Farms

Kiss My Cabbage

Mhonpaj’s Garden

My Goodness! Kombucha

Perry Family Farm

Pine Tree Apple Orchard

Sailor Mercy Elderberry

Sassafras Health Foods

Wild Run Salmon

Xssant

Community Partnerships

The farmers and vendors are a huge part of why you come to shop the event, but behind the scenes are a few key community players as well! Big thanks to Tamarack Nature Center for hosting the event, and making it work both inside and out over the years. Pine Tree Apple Orchard has supported us with free hot apple cider for each event all the years- now that’s a LOT of good local cider!

The event itself began because of a community grant awarded to Michelle of Forks in the Dirt by “Bear Power” a part of Power Up, a local initiative to get families eating healthy and moving more! We’ve had community groups from the WBL Seed Library, the WBL Food Shelf, the Ramsey County Master Gardeners and the Pollinator Friendly Alliance sharing local living green information as well.

We will be following MN State and CDC Covid safety guidelines. For now this means attempting to stay socially distanced, and if unable to do so wearing a mask. Vendors will have extra precautions in place, and many of them do have pre-order options available as well!

Connections

I love this market for all the connections it facilitates! Follow along on the Facebook Event for updates, vendor and item highlights- plus there might just be a fun giveaway or two over there as well…

This season promises to be another full of local food love, community support along with a chance to get out and get together as a community during winter- even during covid. We hope to see you there!

Dig Into local food with us!

Michelle

The post Welcome to the 5th Annual White Bear Lake Winter Farmers Market! appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

As more people are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, they’re finding decreasing food miles can make an immediate impact. There’s a simple way to focus on eating local- cooking up a 100 mile meal!

Whatever lens you look at local food through- food miles, local economy, food waste, ecology, soil health, humane animal care, climate crisis, community building, nutritional content or simply TASTE- local food wins. Hands Down. Hands in the ground.  

Let’s savor the ideas of “Growing Your Own + Knowing Your Farmer” as a two tined approach to digging in and eating more local.

Forks in the Dirt

By the Numbers

Figuring out food miles can be a little shocking at first. It is estimated the average item you pick up from any grocery store has traveled around 1,500 miles before you find it on a shelf. Think of different common foods you buy if you pick up around the Twin Cities Metro Area:

• Raspberries from Mexico- 2,000 miles
• Garlic from China- 5,000 miles
  (90% of garlic comes from China)
• Oranges from Florida- 1,800 miles
• Avocados from California- 2,000 miles

Now do that for each item.
Every time you shop.
You can see how quickly just the food miles add up.

In Hope Jahren’s 2020 book, The Story of More: “How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here” she talks about the many ways we have accelerated climate change. She lists buying locally, along with driving less and opting for less meat as solid options for living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Local Location

Did you know Minnesota’s in-state food systems offer ample ways to bring together entire meals from under a 100-mile circumference? We are truly blessed to experience the best of both worlds; thriving urban areas with top shelf art, medical and educational resources while nestled right up to lush farmland.

Our unique location, coupled with a meaningful resurgence of small scale family farms have recently opened up even more local food options. There is all this food surrounding us just waiting for us to dig in!

Digging In

There’s no better time to start practicing the 100 Mile Meal than at the Holidays. When you’re taking extra time and care to serve family favorites it make sense to show the love not only to those gathering at the table with you, but also to the land that grew the food. Your local food purchases also show that love to those that grew the food.

Farmers Markets

The White Bear Lake Winter Farmers Markets are a great way to gather hyper-local foods for your family- especially those holiday meals. We’re partnering with 20 different local farmers and craft food producers to bring you options for everything from the turkey, to the potatoes and apple pie! With monthly markets in November, December and January we bring local food into the winter even here in Minnesota. Even during Covid we’re finding ways to gather together, safely distanced to bring our neighbors good real food. Follow the Facebook Event for up to date information.

Choosing Local Food

I believe strongly that adding in more small-scale family farms can have a lasting impact on so many of our ecological and economic issues. For more information, check out my Local Food for Thought article. If you’d like to get a peek into my local food journey’s winding road, check out Springing into Local Food.

You could also take the pledge at Local Food is Essential. This is a campaign in MN + WI giving people resources on why + how to buy local.

If you’re interested in a step by step overview of Minnesota Local food practices, you should check out “Local Food: Where to Find it, How to Buy it”. Developed by MISA in cooperation with our many partner organizations and beautifully designed by the Renewing the Countryside folks, this book steps you through everything from finding a nearby farmers’ market, ordering through a network of nearby farmers, to freezing summer produce for winter eating.

I’ll also give a shout out to MN GROWN for all they do to promote access to local food, and to support our farmers. They have a great searchable online database for farmers markets, or search by product.

As we gear up for the holiday season, please consider thinking more about the food miles attached to what’s on your menu. I bet you’ll be able to taste (and feel) the difference at the table.

If you have favorite ways to eat more local food, let me know – there’s always more to learn on the back country roads of eating local.

Dig In,

Michelle

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As you drive up the country lane you can’t help but feel the at home arriving to this teaching farm. This unique farm combines a quaint country landscape with wagon loads of knowledge and passion to empower people with developmental disabilities.

This is one of those magical places where time stands still, and you get to simply BE in the moment; whether you are visiting the apple orchard, chickens, cats, goats, donkeys, cows, bee hives, gardens or meandering wildflower paths.

But there is a lot more than wondering and wandering happening on these 21 acres. just north east of the Twin Cities.

Teaching Farm

As a teaching farm, the space is specifically designed for adults and children with disabilities. They offer seasonal day programming and special events throughout the year as a way to “foster inclusive connections that are rooted in real life.”

What a gift to the community the three main staff have cultivated with sweat equity – and a guardian angel who wishes to remain anonymous.

I first met up with the team on a frigid + snowy day in January, and like all good farm folks, they were deep into dream mode! Even in the snow they shared their vision of hands-on activities giving those with disabilities a chance to commune with nature and each other.

That dreaming and planning paid off this summer. Even with Covid, they continued with programming for most of their farmers, a huge feat considering the current situation. I see it as more evidence of the commitment to their vocation, the farmers and animals who know this teaching farm as home.

It certainly takes a deep commitment to keep a farm like this up and running. Three highly trained and passionate staff keep things sprouting and running.

Meet the FarmHers

Meet the brains, brawn and heart of 21 Roots. Like any great team they create a synergy together that is inspiring to watch.

Amy – Co founder and Farm Operations
Brittany– Co founder and Program Manager
Laura – Farm Manager

The Origin Story

Amy and Brittany were college friends and the dream to open something like 21 Roots Farms took hold shortly after they graduated. After gathering ideas and experiences, they are living the dream! They purchased the farm (with the help of a guardian angel) in October of 2018, have now gained 501(c)3 status and are offering the nature-based programming they’ve dreamed of.

The Farm Land

A variety of hands-on experiences center around sustainable farming practices. They have an orchard full of fruit trees; cherry trees that produce enough to be used by Sarah’s Tipsy Pies, and apple trees heavy with fruit every fall! The chickens also hang out up in the orchard and are much loved (read chased!) by all the visiting farmers!

The larger animals; their cows, donkeys and goats are kept in the big red barn seem to be the real stars…They have an adorable page dedicated to their animals, I highly recommend visiting the “Meet the Animals” page on 21 Roots to get in your daily does of cute!

They have a few different field and garden spaces where they’re growing food crops as well. Raised beds with square foot gardening grids sit next to wide open rows of crops.

The garden area even has a fun potato growing bin- my kids thought this was the coolest potato plant they’ve ever seen- because they could actually SEE it! I mean really, how cool is that!

The underground worm bin and hot compost in the chicken area are other working experiments that show the love of learning from real life that the farm provides.

The wildflower fields are thanks to the previous owners’ prairie restoration project that was started a few years back and is flourishing now.

The Programs

The farm offers day programs, which were able to continue even during Covid as all activities are held outside and were capped at 10 ‘farmers’. Different days focus on slightly different facets of the farm, but all days include time to love on the animals and appreciate nature doing her thing. The personal attention and innovative farming and teaching techniques make for a bit of learning magic!

The Popular ‘Farm to Home’ videos cover bite size pieces of information while up close and personal with animals. Sometimes reading children’s books, sometimes just hanging with the cast of animal characters on the farm. Another gift they freely give to us all.

I joined in the fun this summer during one of their “Wednesday Explorers” sessions. We talked about seed saving, walked their wildflower fields and made pollinator seed bombs. What a fun way to spread my love of gardening!

We’re planning a seed saving event of a larger scale this fall as well- if you’re interested in saving seed from this farm’s prairie restoration area for use in local Seed Libraries, please contact me directly by commenting on this post, or messaging me on social media!

Get Involved

Like any nonprofit 21 Roots always benefits from both volunteers and donations. They have a volunteer interest form you can fill out online and a link to donate as well.

Your time and efforts will reap more than you sow – it’s just that kind of place. Every time I visit I leave feeling good knowing this farm is out there, ready and waiting to serve as inspiration to keep adults and children with disabilities learning from and connecting with nature.

Simply being at 21 Roots Farm helps your spirit roam wild, while cultivating a sense of community. Choose to volunteer or donate and be part of living out the motto “it’s not the destination it’s the journey”.

Go to 21rootsfarm.org for more information on programming and how you can help today.

Find a way to dig in to this local teaching farm and you’ll be happy as a Kid again

– Michelle

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The second annual BearPower Harvest Party will feature FREE small bites crafted by local chefs from local food. We’re pairing delicious food with family activities and eco-friendly information.

This is your chance to celebrate community grown food! Join us 12-3pm on Sunday, September 22, 2019. The event will take place at the White Bear Area YMCA Community Gardens, at 2100 Orchard Lane behind the YMCA building. We’ll be serving food until we run out, so join the party early. We’ll be inside the YMCA if the weather is really bad, so this is a rain or shine event!

Follow the Harvest Party
Facebook Event
for Updates and Fun!

Local Food 

Much of the produce was grown in local community Gardens. Our own WBL School District (Central, Lakeaires, Matoska and Oneka) the WBL Health Partners Clinic Garden, Tamarack Nature Center Garden and the YMCA Community Gardens are all sharing produce for the event. Local organic farm, All Good Organics, will again be donating lots of organic grown goodness to round out our garden harvests.

Local Chefs

Chefs Matt Ellison of Bonfire Restaurants and Peggy Doran of Margaux’s Table are donating their time and talents to turn the food into tasty meals. They’ere even inviting a few lucky kids to help them prep food before the party starts! Contact me directly if you are interested in helping the chefs too. Local fall veggies will delight your taste buds; think Fall soup + rustic salad… but the exact recipes will have to wait as the chefs see what produce rolls in the day before!

In addition to the veggies, BearPower has brought more community goodness together. Pine Tree Apple Orchard and the White Bear Area Emergency Food Shelf are teaming up again to hand out apples and raise awareness of local hunger issues and how you can help. Farmers Market favorite, Great Harvest Bread Company, is donating bread to use in the small bites that will be served. All Good Organics will be on site to talk about organic farming and will likely have something delicious to give away!

Activities

The YMCA will be holding a few Kids’ Fitness classes in the garden. The White Bear Lake Seed Library will be giving seed saving demonstrations and information on their organization, housed in our downtown public library. BearPower is bringing family fun with giant yard games and ways to make healthy eating and activities a part of your routine. Everyone’s favorite carrot, Chomp, will be on site to get kids pumped about living healthy.

The WBL schools will have a table about their gardens, and teachers on site to talk about schoolyard gardens. Ramsey County Master Gardeners will be available for your gardening Q&A. Forks in the Dirt will have a table about the impact of eating local, getting kids in the garden and gardening tips. Our local WBL PD will be there as well with ideas for staying safe while out and about.

Event Grew from Love

This event grew from long-time Health Partners physician, Dr. Elsa Keeler, and her commitment to growing healthy families. Dr. Keeler is taking a leave of absence while working hard to fight cancer.

Let’s take some time to celebrate all we’ve grown this season! Hope to see you there… you don’t get to vote unless you sample

Can. Not. Wait. to Dig In to this!!
Michelle

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The golden days of fall are that much better when you get to crunch into a crisp apple you just picked off a tree…

But not many of us grow enough apples to eat our fill- let alone make apple sauce, jelly, and baked goods we crave come fall. Enter the family trip to the apple orchard, one of many Minnesotans’ beloved traditions.

Organic orchard options are popping up around the metro as people are becoming more aware of how pesticides and herbicides often used in traditionally run orchards can come home on even those hand picked apples and harm our pollinators.

Around the Twin Cities there are now a handful of organic options to fill an ever growing demand for organic produce. Growing organic on a small scale is one thing, but growing a large quantity of fruit trees (monoculture) organically takes a combination of skill, grit and fast action. The movie Biggest Little Farm is a great example of this!

Most of these kinds of farms have CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares for sale plus on site farm stands with other products like honey, broiler hens and lots of veggies to pick  while you pick your apples.

Support the small family farm and pick your apples from an orchard free from any harmful pesticides!

Alternative Roots Farm

Alternative Roots Farm is a certified organic farm and orchard growing over 40 varieties of apples. From Honeycrisp and Haralson, to Golden Russet and Ashmead’s Kernal, we grow new and heirloom favorites – preserving diversity and heritage in South-central Minnesota.

They sell picked apples out of their farm store and do amazing deals with apple shares (like a CSA) and make a LOT of apple sauce! They’ve got a sweet deep winter greenhouse to keep locals in their greens over winter to boot.  Follow their Facebook Page for updates.

Carpenter Nature Center

The Carpenter Nature Center cares for a unique orchard started in the 1940’s. As a nature center they work to be as sustainable an entity as possible, but are not certified Organic. I’ve been to the orchard during their wonderful, down home Apple Festival and it is such a great family time. This year’s event is set for Saturday & Sunday, October 11+12, from 10-5.

Sweetland Orchard

Sweetland Orchard is on the West Side of the cities, in Webster and while not certified organic they manage the orchard through minimal intervention. This family operation grows over 30 varieties developed by the University of Minnesota, heirloom varieties, and cider varieties; and they have a passion for cider! They do frequent pop ups at lots of locations around town. Check their Facebook Page for updates.

Applecrest Orchards

Applecrest Orchards is not a certified organic farm but uses IPM, Integrated Pest Management, and common sense in growing great apples. They’ve got over 1,000 trees growing 20 varieties on the Northeast end of town in Hugo. Their IPM program consists of scouting, pest trapping and utilizing the the Cornell University NEWA offerings. This helps them specifically focus any spraying. “We make sure to mow any flowers prior to spraying so we do not contaminate bee forage. The pesticides we use are targeted to specifically mitigate any loss of beneficial insects”. I will say, walking through the orchards in September there is a myriad of insect life between the rows of fruit laden trees!

They sell at local farmers markets and usually have food trucks at the orchard on weekends during the season! They will also be at the WBL Winter Farmers Market again this year.

If you’re ready for a day trip, check out Sap Suckers in Mora or Hoch Orchard and Gardens in Southeast Minnesota, two established organic orchards. For other orchard locations you can check out the MN Grown website.

Make the Most of your Apples

And in case you’re wondering what to do with all those amazing apples once you get back home, I’ve got a blog post, An Apple A Day, to help you enjoy your apple stash for months to come!

I love learning about new farms and orchards, feel free to pass along any other organic orchards you’ve enjoyed- the more the merrier!

Looking forward to digging in to apple season,

Michelle

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This is a place that withstands the test of time and triumphs with knowledge blended with caring. I mean, when was the last time a store’s sales person actually listened to you; and then actually knew what you needed, had it for a fair price and did what it was supposed to. Obviously, their customers love them.

Steve Marier runs the Mill and is a fourth generation Marier Mill Manager (say that three times fast). He could easily double as the town historian. He’s been a part of Hugo’s shift from agricultural land to housing developments and Hugo feed mill is still thriving because he and his family desire to adapt to best serve their neighbors.

Walk Down Memory Lane

Steve remembers shoveling and delivering coal to homes and farms on the rail line, along with the huge pile of corn cobs that would get dumped in the parking lot after combining time. The mill itself was built in 1917, it’s been in Steve’s family since 1925. For many years it was mainly a country grain business, grinding local grains for feed.

I remember being a young girl, 8 or 9, and going ‘up to the Mill’ to get mallard ducklings to raise on our family’s pond. Since then Hugo Feed Mill has held a special place in this Urban homesteader’s heart. More history on their website.

It’s their up-to-date practices, with the latest products and applications mixed perfectly with their ability to help you grow that keeps customers coming back.

Greenhouse

Their greenhouse is open for the season with herbs and bedding plants. They’ll be overflowing with their signature HUGE selection of peppers and tomatoes by May 18th; thank you cold and wet Minnesota Spring.

Steve, aka “Dr. Pepper” estimates around 425 peppers 175 tomatoes varieties to be available in the Greenhouse this Spring.
They hold planting parties and tasting events on site. Steve also gives ‘Pepper Talks’ around town. Follow them on their Facebook Page, or sign up for their “timely tips’ email list to stay in the know on their events and specials.

The Mill is a great community partner as well. They give seed and starter plants to Giving Gardens each year. Giving Gardens is a non-profit helping neighbors grow food for themselves and food shelves.

They also tend a Kids Potting Bench where kids can pot up a free flower. Special flowers and pots available for some special kids over Mother’s Day weekend!

**Mention this blog or that you saw it on their Facebook page to get the special Mother’s Day plants!**

Happy Mothers Day from Hugo Feed Mill

Garden Supplies

A full line of soil amendments, fertilizers and seeds is waiting inside the store. From sprinklers to live traps they have everything the home gardener could need- and if its not in their store they can likely order it for you. I learn something new each time I shop there.

Chick Orders

Their chick orders, minimum order of 5 per breed, run now through the end of May. They have over 20 breeds of chickens, and mallards. This is the first place I bought chicks, a dozen years ago. If you stop in when they have the chicks waiting to be picked up you might even catch a glimpse, and they sometimes have extras (another good reason to follow them on Facebook). More about raising urban chickens HERE.

I also get all my straw from them for my backyard flock’s coop bedding. These bales also make a great base for straw bale gardens!

And their organic chicken feed, Nature’s Grown Organic, is my girls’ absolute favorite.

… & Hardware

Find farm supplies like fencing and stock tanks. Horse supplies like bedding and barn lime, bird feeders and seed and pet foods, even plumbing and electrical items (which I admit I didn’t really know!).

The Old Mill

Attached to the old mill is the storage and granary part of the business. Backing up to the loading dock always makes me feel like a little more of a farm girl than I really am

There is always something new to find at Hugo Feed Mill, whether feed, seed or knowledge you’ll have to go find out for yourself.

I feel lucky to have had Hugo feed mill in my neighborhood for all of my years here, and close to 100 years in their family.

Let me know if you stop into Hugo Feed Mill- and be sure to tell me what you learned when you were there. They’re great at helping you get your fork in the dirt too!

Dig In,
Michelle

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Local Info to Get You Growing

More Americans are growing their own food – the numbers have been rising and were bumped up with the pandemic last spring, and the trend is here to stay!

Let’s take a tour of the places and faces of our local gardening scene!

Minnesota Garden Organizations

We’re so lucky our state values agriculture in all it’s forms!

The Minnesota State Horticultural Society has a long history of being at the forefront of helping northern gardeners thrive! Their resources include classes, Magazine The Northern Gardener, blogs, Seed collecting and distribution and bringing ‘Garden in a Box’ kits to communities across the state.

Part of the University of Minnesota extension services, the Master Gardener program educates volunteers. These volunteers educate residents in proven, eco-friendly gardening techniques to improve our environment. The Master Gardeners also accept questions via email via the “Ask a Master Gardener” link on the site. This site goes from soil sampling and seed sowing, to preserving the harvest.

The U of MN BEE LAB is another amazing resource for gardeners looking to work with nature and her ultimate pollinating machines. Resources on plant options, City Beekeeping rules and native pollinator trends abound.

Wild Ones is all about Native Plants + Natural Landscapes. They teach people about the importance of native plants, for the health of the environment and everything living in it. Our goal is to get more native plants in the ground in all landscapes — homes, businesses, schools, and more. They have a few different MN chapters so be sure to find the best fit for your area!

Local Plant Sales for 2023

These plant sales will start your garden off right! Good for your garden, the pollinators, your harvests and the community. Plants grown for these sales are never treated with Neonicotinoid pesticides, are non-GMO, locally raised by experts- and the sales directly benefit some great gardening programs.

Friends School Plant Sale
May 12th-14th, at the State Fair Grounds

With 1,000’s of plant varieties this may be the largest single plant sale in the U.S. It is a fundraising event for the Friends School of Minnesota, a small Quaker K-8 school in St. Paul. Plants are grown as naturally as possible, 80% from local growers.

Ramsey County Master Gardeners Plant Sale
May 20th, 2022 – 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.​

Church of the Holy Childhood
1435 Midway Pkwy, St Paul

Over 300 varieties of plants grown by local master gardeners. The proceeds from this sale benefit the University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener programs in Ramsey County. 

Garden Clubs

Garden Clubs are a great way to get involved with your group of local gardeners. Most hold monthly meetings with speakers during the off season (Sept-April) with plant sales, community garden and other causes they support. Many towns and counties have their own clubs, here are a few I know and love.

Wild Ones

Mahtomedi Garden Club

Dakota County Garden Club

Northfield Garden Club

Community Gardens

Our town boasts some fabulous community gardens. I’ve got an article about community gardens and why they matter. These are places where all levels of gardeners grow together. Some of these have classes, and ‘in service’ times when a more experienced gardener will be on site.

Seed Libraries

A seed library is just what it sounds like, a place where you can “check out” a packet of seeds to grow, enjoy the fruits or flowers of your labor. Then, bring back enough seeds to replenish and hopefully increase the seed stock for the next season, for FREE! More info in the article Seed Saving Starts Now !

Our very own White Bear Lake Public Library houses the volunteer run WBL Seed Library. Join their email list at the website above to stay in the know about packing and class events

The Minnesota Horticultural Society runs the MN SEED project and the pop up Como Community Seed Library are also great resources for local seed.

Many Paths to Eating Local

If you love fresh and local food but not gardening, you can support our local farmers by signing up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and I have a blog post all about some great local CSA options in the CSA’s So Many Ways Blog Post. Or if you’re like me and grow a lot, but not everything your family eats, try shopping our very own White Bear Lake Farmers Markets, starting up the last Friday in June. I have some Farmers Market Shopping Tips for you too. If you’d like to check out more on some specific farmers, dig into my Farmers page, which links to interviews with local small farms.

For more “How To” info, you can always check out the Forks in the Dirt Blog, or Instagram feed where I sift through lots of local food info and have full blog posts on CSA’s, gardening tips, upcoming garden events and recipes for using your harvest.

Whichever way you choose to eat locally, I hope you Dig Your Food!
Michelle

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This Harvest Party grew from the BearPower organization. White Bear Lake is lucky to have the efforts and talents of this group of dedicated people. They’re working to bring healthy living to our community in so many different ways.

I’ve been digging into coordinating this BearPower Harvest Party with the BearPower team and loving finding the best of the best to help celebrate community grown food. We’ve brought together the cream of the crop local chefs to prepare all that lovingly grown food. Add to that a great mix of activities to take over our White Bear Area YMCA gardens for the day and you’ve got a can’t miss event! We’ve got FREE food,  games,  information, samples and activities to get you growing your love of good food!

More Information by clicking on the -> Facebook Event Page

The Details:

Sunday Sept 23rd @12:00-3:00PM
White Bear Area YMCA Community Garden
2100 Orchard Lane, White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Indoors @ the YMCA if raining

Harvest Party Food

Tamarack Nature Center Gardens

All the food at the harvest Party was grown in local community gardens, including WBL district schools, HealthPartners White Bear Lake Clinic, Tamarack Nature Center, and the YMCA community gardens! 5 of the beds growing food for the event are part of the awesome local initiative, “Giving Gardens“. Making sure we have enough food to fill in the gaps, All Good Organics local farm has pledged to donate from their recent harvests as well!

Chef Challenge

A chef challenge meal, created from all the locally grown food will be served starting at noon. We’ll keep serving until every last veggie has been eaten. If there’s simply too much food, extras will go the White Bear Area Food Shelf.

The food service will include some freshly made soups and grilled veggies. Huge thanks to  local chefs, Ben Pratt of Ingredients Café + The Burger Bar and Matt Ellison of Bonfire Restaurants, who will be creating tasty creations with all the veggies we throw at them! I can’t wait to see what they come up with

Vote for your favorite food on your way out!

Glen Oliphant of United Methodist Church, WBL with freshly harvested potatoes and herbs to go into the breads!

Bread baked by White Bear Lake United Methodist Church in their Community Bread Oven during a community bread bake on Saturday will also be donated. Ciabatta and Focaccia were mentioned when I was talking with one of the bakers! Our garden-grown herbs and potatoes will be used in making the breads.

Nancy Jacobson with some freshly harvested apples!

Pine Tree Apple Orchard is donating crates of freshly picked apples for the event as well. The apples will be handed out by volunteers from the White Bear Area Emergency Food Shelf. Please think about making a monetary donation to the food shelf to help make sure all our neighbors have access to good food!

It is so amazing to be able to say that ALL the veggies were grown and/or donated by community members!

Harvest Party Activities

We’ve got a little something for everyone during the Harvest Party!

Chomp at an earlier YMCA Garden Event

BearPower ‘larger than life’ games and the famous carrot mascot, “Chomp” will be perusing the party ready for photos.

Insect Hotel We will be group building a “beneficial bug hotel” Stop by to add your mark and help pollinate our YMCA gardens!

Beets from the YMCA gardens

White Bear Lake Schools will have a table, highlighting the gardens and gardeners (mostly kids) that grew food for the event!

The YMCA will have information on renting a garden bed in the gardens next season. We will also be handing out a limited number of strawberry plants that YMCA Summer Power kids helped propagate!

Sunflowers in the YMCA garden

White Bear Lake Seed Library will be doing Seed Saving Demos with plants growing in the gardens. Take home Seeds to get your garden growing next year! We’ll be working with sunflower and marigold seeds to name a few!

Ramsey County Master Gardeners will be onsite ready for your questions, and info on getting the most out of your Fall garden, and how to prepare it for Winter.

Health Partners Health Club will be onsite with info on eating healthy and demos.

All Good Organics farmer will be onsite with info on growing organic and a few surprises. This farm has dedicated to fill in produce that we need to round out the harvest party meal.

Butch and Kris from All Good Organics

Keeping it Local

As YMCA Community Garden coordinator, I’m wearing a few hats during this event, I’ll be onsite with a Forks in the Dirt information table about the impact of eating local and samples to share!

I LOVE how this whole event began; a well-loved local doctor, Elsa Keeler, had a vision to bring families together over locally grown healthy food. Just look what that one well rooted idea has become!

Staying True to Doing Good

Hanging with some of the YMCA garden Club kids

One of the reasons I started blogging was to highlight all the good that is happening around us.

Forks in the Dirt’s motto is “Crossing paths with Farmers, Food and Doing Good”

And with this event, I got to be part of making that good happen. I have learned so much about our community and how strongly we believe in AND follow through with showing up for one another. It makes me proud to be part of this community

The amount and diversity of Community Gardens in our area truly amazes me. It really is a testament to people wanting to be more connected to the food they eat, and the land they inhabit. If you are interested in joining any of the local community gardens, read my earlier blog post all about our local gardens!

Can’t wait to Dig into some good food and good conversations- hope to see you there!

Michelle

The post Harvest Party to Celebrate Local Food! appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

**Updated 3/03/2026 with current links**

CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) have been around for in some form or another since the mid 1980’s- which first struck me as a much shorter history than I’d imagined. But, then I realized that the CSA idea came about jointly from both Farmers and consumers looking for new ways to grow good food- and eat good food.

This was one way to make a concrete change in how those consumers ate, and who grew their food. The basic idea of a CSA is that farmers get the purchase price up front to help cover costs of the upcoming farming season. With farmers knowing that they have that money, they are able to move forward with confidence, and maybe without a bank breathing down their necks…

The rewards for a member of a CSA are manyfold; fresh in-season produce boxed up and ready to go weekly at a pick up location of your choice, often with a newsletter or recipe ideas included. As I see it, the biggest reward is building a relationship with a farmer.

My husband and I purchased our first CSA back in 2010 while I was still working full time. It is kind of funny that I can’t remember the name of the farm, but I do remember I picked up my weekly boxes from one of the quaint little shops (The Nest) in downtown White Bear Lake. I never met the farmer, and there was never an invite from the farmer to do so.

Things have changed, on both the farmer and the consumer sides. Farmers are being more proactive in forging relationships, and consumers are looking for more than good food grown cheap- more and more, the people buying CSAs are doing it for a chance to connect to a farm, a farmer, a piece of land…and to benefit from the GOOD food these farmers provide.

Now that the CSA idea has had time to take root- it has also branched out in a few different directions. For this article, I’ve chosen a few local farms that represent the wide variety of options available to those of us lucky enough to live around the Twin Cities. Each of the following farms has a unique twist to them, showing again there’s so many ways to grow good food!

I would absolutely recommend any of the farms covered- but I’d also urge you to do your own research too, there are more and more (yay!) CSAs popping up every year. Currently, according the powerful MNGrown CSA search engine there are 86 CSAs in Minnesota. Use these ‘case studies’ as a launch pad to get yourself thinking what you want out of a CSA…

All Good Organics

This is the family farm that decided to build their own little Farm Store instead of packing up and taking their food to Farmers Markets (except the ones I run!)

Their Farm Store is open year-round 8am-8pm and is run mostly on the honesty policy. They do things their own way, and wow- is it working! This is truly your local, organic family run farm. You could go and pick out your veggies each week from what’s out in the farm stand, but you’re guaranteed the first flush if you sign up for the CSA.

They grow over 70 varieties of veggies. They also have eggs, meat chickens and whole and half hogs available for purchase. They’re open to possible farm tours and have a hay wagon at the ready.

For those of you that made it out to the last White Bear Lake Winter Farmer’s Market, this was the farmer table with all the fresh produce- and awesome sour kraut, salsa and frozen veggies. Butch mentioned how excited they are for this up-coming growing season, “We already have spinach, Romaine, Radish, Kale growing in green house now.”

All Good Organics

6657 Centerville Rd,
Lino Lakes, MN

16 Weeks
On Farm Pick Up

All Good Organics CSA ONLINE SIGN UP

TC Farm 

TC Farm is a group of sustainable family farms dedicated to raising
the very best food.

High Standards:

• Regenerative Practices – Building soil and protecting the planet
• Pasture-Raised – Animals on grass daily, not “access to” pasture
• No GMO’s – Ever. In feed, in fields, or on your plate
• No Drugs – No hormones or growth stimulants ever
• Certified Organic Produce – No synthetic pesticides or fertilizers
• Community First – Supporting local farms and families

TC Farm CSA

• Full Season – 20 boxes – Starts June 22nd (weekly-only)
• Half Season – 10 boxes – Starts June 22nd (weekly or bi-weekly)
• Quarter Season – 5 boxes – Starts mid-July (weekly or bi-weekly)

CSA Sign Up 

 THE GOOD ACRE

I hung out at The Good Acre a while back to understand more about what all this Food Hub does on the East side of the Twin Cities. Full article HERE. One of the most impressive pieces to their food cycle help, is the way they bring together so many farmers to offer the public a unique “Farm Share”. The new term represents their CSA well because of the large number (20+ this season) of different farmers working together to grow for you.

While not all organic, “Growers verify that they are using growing practices we deem safe for the land, air, and water around their farms. They are able to do that with the help of their full-time Grower Support Specialist, David VanEeckhout. David has over 20 years of organic farming experience, and he works very close with TGA’s growers during the season to help them with crop planning, pest and disease management, as well as soil fertility and growing in hoop houses,” Nikki  Warner, TGA’s Marketing Manager explained. The farmers own their own land, but use the power of group sourcing with TGA as a way to market their produce more effectively. The results are delicious.

The other reason this CSA made the list is their truly phenomenal list of possible add-ons. Because part of TGA’s Food Hub is their community kitchen where many local  food producers got their start, they have access to an amazing array of hand crafted products made from locally sourced foods. Such as: breads, honey eggs,  jams, kimchi, kombucha, salsa. I know, I’m drooling too.

The Good Acre CSA
1790 Larpenteur Avenue West, Falcon Heights, MN

18 weeks
26 + Drop sites

The Good Acre CSA 

EAT LOCAL!

Of course, farmers markets are my happy place, so if a CSA seems like to big of a commitment, check out your local farmers markets for others ways to support local food and the people that grow it!

Many of these farms have early bird pricing that is almost up, so check them out while the getting is good. If you’ve been on the fence about jumping in and buying a CSA, hop down off that fence and into that greener pasture- you AND your farmer will be happy you did!

Can’t wait to Dig In,

Michelle

The post CSA’s So Many Ways appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

The first White Bear Lake Winter Farmers market is tomorrow, Saturday December 9th from 10am-2pm, at Tamarack Nature Center. Link to map and directions HERE.

This is a one day only event and a great way to fill your holiday tables and check off gifts with sustainable items from your neighbors.

HERE is a previous post all about the market, from vendors and community tables to the donated apple cider.

The Facebook Page, HERE will continue to have updates, like this  basket of goodies I’ll be raffling off at the market!

Thanks for following along on this journey to find good, simple, local food- I truly appreciate it.

Can’t wait to Dig Into the food this Saturday!

**Looking forward to sharing recipes made with all the local food I bring home from this market!**

Michelle

The post Winter Farmers Market Tomorrow! appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.