Mayo Clinic Center for Health Equity and Community Engagement Research 

The Village Agricultural Cooperative, in collaboration with Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer
Center Community Outreach and Engagement, is dedicated to enhancing community health through education, engagement, and empowerment. This partnership aims to address health disparities, promote cancer prevention, and create sustainable educational campaigns for farmers and community members.  Learn More

Olmsted County Public Health

Olmsted County Public Health has been a partner in our efforts from our founding days, connecting us with support from State Health Improvement Program funding, volunteer hours, serving on our governing board, and building our community spaces. The Olmsted County Public Health department works through programming with our organization to develop healthy families within Rochester and disseminate information to the community.

Minnesota Farmer's Market Association

We have collaborated with MFMA on a grant project to include market values among diverse communities. This organization remains a resource for connecting to market needs and learning about programs such as SNAP, FMNP, and market bucks. For the past 6 yeas, Kathy Zeman has taught several important trainings to our community including Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Cottage Food Licensure. In coordination with Renewing the Countryside, we've collaborated in other agricultural programs. 

SMIF Programs

Grow a Farmer 

Inclusive and Equitable Communities Program,

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, 2024 - 2025

​

New Farm at the Old Farm

Inclusive and Equitable Communities Program,

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, 2023 - 2024

Food for Everyone: Diversifying the Market

Inclusive and Equitable Communities Program,

Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, 2021 - 2022

​

The overarching goal of these projects is to build entrepreneurial power for marginalized communities and diversify our produce markets: we will focus on increasing capacity, knowledge, and support for 5 - 10 immigrant farmers in the Rochester area who have already demonstrated their abilities to grow culturally relevant food. The farmers will receive further access to land, education on marketing their produce according to state guidelines, a platform where they can share their successes and challenges, opportunity to represent their culture at a recurring city-wide event, and build a more equitable society, building trust and opportunity for the future. These funds will also support the further development of infrastructure at our farms. 

Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, 2024

Purpose: helps local farmers sell their food to nearby communities, supports sustainability, and provides fresh, healthy food to people in need through local food shelves.

The Local Food Purchase Assistance Program made it possible for The Village to partner with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Channel One Regional Food Bank, and The Good Acre to support emerging farmers and strengthen our local food system. Together, we donated $146,000 in local food to area food banks—$112,400 in fresh produce from 14 Village farmers and $34,000 in poultry from Tree-Range Farms.

University of Minnesota - Rochester
Community Collaboration Course

UMR students are required to take a community collaboration course as part of their education. While several faculty members have already supported The Village through their involvement as founding members and by writing our founding grant, they have continued to strengthen this partnership by creating a learning model that integrates students into the community garden throughout the year. UMR students not only build and tend their own gardens but also volunteer to enhance community spaces, maintain pathways, and assist with the Summer of Service youth projects.

American Rescue Plan Act

The primary goal of American Rescue Plan Technical Assistance Investment Program is to “ensure improved understanding of and equitable participation in the full range of USDA programs and services among underserved farmers, ranchers, forest land owners and operators through supporting the organizational delivery of technical assistance projects and establishment of technical assistance networks.” Learn More

Rochester Community Education - Summer of Service

Summer of Service is a service-based summer program for youth entering grades 5-12. Since 2021, we have collaborated with over 2000 local youth in the maintenance and management of our community areas. With support from UMR students and faculty, as well as the Master Gardeners of Olmsted County, The Village and these youth worked together on a variety of projects:

• Fencing and learning about pest management

• Building bee boxes and learning about pollinators

• Constructing and painting raised beds for farmer use

• Planting pollinator beds and mulching community areas

• Building handwashing stations

• Supporting farmer elders' needs

Master Gardeners of Olmsted County - UMN Extension

Several MGOC members have made significant contributions to The Village by providing connections to continuing education, recruiting Village members to become Master Gardeners, supporting the building and management of composting systems, and collaborating with youth programming. They have been an inclusive and welcoming addition to our efforts, also providing educational signage in six different languages throughout our spaces.