Midwest Food Connection

Support from donors like you allows us to teach thousands of children about healthful eating in a world of serious challenges. 

Two serious factors are challenging the health of our youth and communities. At the corner store, fast food stop, and grocery store, food companies are doing all they can to promote processed foods with hidden sugar and fat, which are known to cause obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. By exposing children to healthy food and recipes, food education in schools is essential in combating the effects of negative food marketing. 

Additionally, climate change is already altering where food grows - and it will continue to impact how we all access healthy food. We need to teach kids to think critically about these issues and their connection to our food, water and planet. In this way, we can prepare our young ones to spend their food dollars wisely, cut down on food waste, and explore new food options like seaweed and legumes.

Thanks to past support, Midwest Food Connection is fighting these trends.

• We are again on track to teach 5,000 students in 30 schools across the Twin Cities Metro. Young people are cooking, gardening, experiencing new foods, and learning healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime. Thanks to your support, most of our students experience multiple visits from our professional educators
• Food waste and climate change are top of mind as we refashion our winter unit “Smart Eating for You and the Planet.” Students are learning how to conserve food, use leftovers, and purchase less plastic - in the classroom and at home by practicing these skills between our lessons.*
• We are developing new curriculum on Hmong and Indigenous foodways in Minnesota, in collaboration with community partners. Our partners have been instrumental in this work, hosting field trips, sharing cultural recipes with our classes, and co-authoring lessons. This curriculum is more representative of the children we teach and broadens all students’ exposure to healthy food options across cultures.**

Your support sustains this work - make a donation today to help us meet our end-of-year goal.

Learn more about what we do on our website and keep up with what we currently working on through Instagram and Facebook.

*This work is made possible through a Green Partners Grant from Hennepin County.

**This work is made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.