Midwest Food Connection

Help Us Reach Thousands of Students with Food Education When It's Needed Most

Midwest Food Connection recently celebrated 30 years of teaching food education to students across the Twin Cities and beyond. Since our beginning, we have focused on helping children benefit their bodies, communities, and the earth through activities like cooking, gardening, art, and tasting.

Through funding challenges and changing food trends, our mission has remained timeless. It was just last year that 1.7 million people lost access to food education with the elimination of SNAP-Ed, a federal food education program. As food education resources dwindle, Midwest Food Connection’s work is more important than ever.

Can you make a donation to ensure this critical work continues when it's needed most? By making a donation during Give to the Max, you make a positive impact on the thousands of students we teach every year in Minnesota. Help us reach our goal of $3,000 by the end of Give to the Max Day on November 19. 

Our programming includes rare interactive elements that encourage kids to get their hands dirty, explore new foods, and continue learning at home, including: 

• Grow a seedling: During the spring, students grow their own tomato or cucumber plants. At the end of the unit, students are taught how to transfer their seedlings into a larger container before they bring their plants home to continue growing. Seedlings encourage students to learn how to grow their own food and the activity builds a connection between home and the classroom.

• Healthy recipes and tasting: In our classes, students see, touch, smell, and TASTE. Most classes feature a healthy recipe we make together in class, which is then sent home for students to replicate with their families. Hands-on experiences immerse children in a world of healthful food.

• Art and song: Students draw their own organic gardens, do the “bee dance” to learn about pollinators, and make dragonflies out of corn husks to repurpose food scraps. These elements allow students multiple ways to absorb food education programming.

We’re looking forward to another 30 years of food education, and we need your help to make it happen. Help us continue this essential work by making a donation today.

Thank you for supporting Midwest Food Connection and Minnesota students with a gift on Give to the Max Day!

You can learn more about what we do on our website and keep up with what we're working on through Instagram and Facebook.

Students at Mhonpaj's Garden, the first Hmong-owned organic farm in Minnesota.Students in the process of making a Hmong dessert with squash and coconut milk.Students with dragonflies made of corn husks in the Indigenous Conservation lesson.