Urban Agriculture Summit, March 7-8, 2014
SAVE THE DATE! March 7-8, 2014, Sabathani Community Center. Follow the Facebook page and check out the website for up-to-date details!
Over the past decade Urban Agriculture has made its way from concept to communities across the country.
Urban agriculture has offered hope to many that want to facilitate change in urban communities. Many communities hope that Urban Agriculture can provide more than food for communities that are without access to healthful food choices.
Activists, non profit professionals, academics and entrepreneurs hope that urban agriculture can be a source of jobs, income and wealth creation. However, the economics of urban agriculture remain a mystery to those involved in its work.
Urban agriculture professionals face many challenges: securing land that is affordable with healthy soil, training a labor force, understanding the market demand for fresh or value added products, obtaining the skill necessary to grow for market, identifying markets to sell products and meeting market demand products when ready for sale. Issues of food safety, harvest and handling and marketing need to be addressed from the scale that urban agriculture thrives within. Additionally, urban agriculture is an important aspect of enterprises/entrepreneurial ventures that are trying to address social justice issues such as poverty and hunger relief.
To meet these challenges urban agriculture professionals, entrepreneurs and activists must have an opportunity to gain the skills necessary to meet the challenges that will allow the field to reach its full potential.
Join your colleagues and learn from one another as we all get our summer growing plans together. Keynote presentation by Monica White!
Presented by the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in collaboration with Gardening Matters, The Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program, Afro-Eco and Appetite For Change.
Urban Agriculture Legislation Introduced in 2014 Session
There are two bills supporting urban agriculture being introduced in the 2014 legislative session. Please stay tuned for more information on hearings and other opportunities to support these initiatives!
Follow the bills here:
Urban Fresh Food Access and Food Desert Eradication Initiative
Community Food Forums
Saturday, March 29th
11:00am- 2:00pm at Waite House, 2323 11th Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55404
12:00-1:00 Lunch - Potluck!! With some supplements provided
1:00-2:00 Conversation and Collaboration (translation will be provided)
2014 Community Food Forum calendar
April- TBD (St. Paul)
May- None, plant distribution events
June- TBD (Minneapolis)
July- TBD (St. Paul)
December- None, Happy Holidays!
Hot off the Presses! February E Newsletter!
Take a look at our latest "DON'T DESPAIR- SPRING IS COMING" enewsletter!
What is a Community Garden?
What is a community garden? A community garden is any land that is maintained by a group of people to meet the needs of that group of people. It could be for planting flowers or vegetables; large or small; urban or rural - what is important is that this group of people actively participate in a democratic decision-making process and that the garden reflects the community in which it is located.
Local Food Resource Hubs Membership
As a member of the Local Food Resource Hubs, you get:
- Seed and plant bulk order discounts
- Access to unlimited classes/skill-shares
- Tool-lending library access
- Discount on Gardening Matters leadership training
- Connected to other gardeners in your neighborhood, making it easier to share resources
Garden Packages:
Small- $15
10 packets of seeds & 12 seedlings
Retail value $45
Pre-ordering preferred
Medium- $30
20 packets of seeds & 24 seedlings
Retail value $85
Pre-ordering preferred
Large- $90
40 packets of seeds & 72 seedlings
Retail value $225
Must be pre-ordered by March 31. New orders may NOT be placed on the days of the distributions.
**Partial scholarships are available for all package sizes.**
Hub Areas:
Gardening Matters uses geographical groupings for Local Food Resource Hubs members in order to:
-make ordering and distributing garden resources easier
-share information about gardening opportunities & resources with people who live nearby
-encourage collaboration for local projects to take flight
Even if you don't live in Minneapolis/St. Paul, you can still become a member! Our events and energies, however, will be in these Hub areas.
(You must sign up again even if you were a member last year or in previous years. Membership is annual.)
Or download the pdf form, and mail in the form and payment to: Gardening Matters, 310 E. 38th St, #204b, Minneapolis, MN 55409
Spanish form coming soon!
To see when the seed and plant distributions are, click HERE and check out the Events Calendar.
Click HERE to download the list of seed and plant varieties available. These varieties are first-come, first-served at the distribution events.
We order the seeds from Johnny's Selected. They are non-GMO, and we order the open-pollinated, heirloom, and organic varieties when they are available.
We order the seedlings from Glacial Ridge Growers in Prior Lake, MN. They are grown sustainably, without chemicals. (The plants are not certified organic, although they are grown in the same way.)
So you're a Hubs member... now what?
- Make sure you regularly check our Events Calendar to find out when skill-shares and other gardener events will be happening. (Like the monthly Community Food Forums)
- You are automatically added to our e-newsletter list- watch that for events and announcements.
- Join the Local Food Resource Hubs facebook group to connect with other members in your area and across the Twin Cities. (And "like" the Gardening Matters page to stay in the loop!)
- Sign up for ComGar, the community garden listserv.
- Use this network of gardeners in your area for good: What interests do you have and would like to share (ie hugelkultur)? What local food project would you like to make happen in your neighborhood (ie seed saving library)? What resources do you have that you're willing to share with your neighbors (ie food dehydrator)?
Always feel free to contact us at info@gardeningmatters.org or 612-821-2358 with questions, ideas, feedback, and more.
We look forward to connecting with you!
Join our Local Food Resource Hubs Group!
Join COMGAR! A virtual gardening community for Twin Cities growers to seek and share information and resources. 
Gardening Matters - 310 E. 38th Street, #204b, Minneapolis, MN 55409