Impact

We connect more than 250 families with land access to grow their own food.

30% of our farmers preserve more than 100 pounds of food per year, primarily through freezing.
Culturally specific greens are the #1 food that our farmers preserve.
40% of our farmers are interested in growing their own farm business and earning income from farming.
15% report earning "life-changing" income through the food they sell from their farm.
45% are interested in participating in our technical assistance programs to grow their own business.

Walking away after harvesting flowers.jpeg

Collaborations & Projects

The Village is proud to partner with a number of organizations and agencies to further our shared missions.

The mission of the Village Agricultural Cooperative is three-fold:

Connect people with land, water, and culture
Provide education and resource connections
Grow the farmers and food producers of tomorrow

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

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. Learn More

Impact

​

Collaborations & Projects