Minneapolis, MN

Cannon Falls couple provides both entrees for Minneapolis School Districts' Minnesota Thursdays

Published

4 months ago

March 19, 2024

Cannon Falls couple provides both entrees for Minneapolis School Districts' Minnesota Thursdays

MINNEAPOLIS — The lunch menu on March 7 at Minneapolis Public Schools included beef and cheddar sandwiches from BAMF Meats and plant-based sloppy joes from Deeply Rooted — both produced in Cannon Falls, Minnesota.

Bertrand Weber, director for Minneapolis Public School Culinary and Nutrition Services, said once a month for the last 10 years, the school district celebrates “Minnesota Thursdays” over the lunch hour. Everything from entrees to desserts are sourced from around a 200-mile radius outside of the Twin Cities, Weber said.

“It’s a celebration of local harvest, and we try to really showcase those items to our kids,” Weber said. “The acceptance is different based on the grade level, but they always look forward to it on a regular basis.”

On March 7, the menu consisted of a beef and cheddar sandwich from BAMF Meats in Cannon Falls with cheese from Bongards in Perham; a plant-based sloppy joe from Deeply Rooted in Cannon Falls; sweet potato JoJo from Fifth Season Cooperative in Viroqua, Wisconsin; cole slaw from Driftless Organics in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin; and a freezer pop from JonnyPops in Elk River.

The two entrees came from Kayla and Wade Beyer, who were on hand March 7 to enjoy the school lunch inside of Franklin Middle School in north Minneapolis.

“Today was awesome,” Kayla Beyer said after the lunch. “It really was like the pinnacle of the story we’re trying to share. It’s not all about just eating meat or all about eating a plant-based diet fully — it’s about having better choices and making deliberate choices with every meal.”

Students at Franklin Middle School in Minneapolis eat lunch on March 7, 2024.

Noah Fish / Agweek

Wade Beyer is the owner and operator of

BAMF Stock Farms

in Cannon Falls. The calf-to-cow finishing operation runs about 200 head while also raising hogs and crops. Aside from the eight steers worth of roasts he sold to the Minneapolis schools, the farm has sold hamburger to the Pine Island School District, which is about 20 miles outside of Rochester, for about a year.

“It was different, but they did a good job,” Beyer said of eating the food he raised at a cafeteria table inside of Franklin Middle School. “I thought it tasted great.”

He said it can be a challenge for farmers to make the leap to sell to school districts and to know where to start that process.

“If it weren’t for my wife, I probably wouldn’t have done it,” he said. “She’s already familiar with that network.”

Minnesota Grown, which the farm is a member of, is a place for schools to look if they are interested in connecting with local farms, Beyer said.

“Otherwise, just talking to your local schools, and go from there,” Beyer said.

Kayla Beyer is founder and CEO of

Deeply Rooted

, which began around four years ago and provides shelf-stable plant-based crumble in flavors like Italian, Mexican and Korean barbecue. Consumers simply add water to the product, and she said that 4 ounces becomes 1 pound.

“I’m a food industry veteran who was working for big corporate America — big CPG brands — and wanted to start a food company that makes a bigger impact,” said Beyer, a mom of five who grew up on a dairy farm. “I worked in mass manufacturing where I saw how processed food was, and so not only did I want to put a better product on the retail shelf, I wanted to put a better product on my kids’ trays at school.”

Beyer said the way she made the farm-to-school connection with Minneapolis Public Schools was by making a simple phone call to Weber, who told her exactly what the program needed for Deeply Rooted products to be served to students.

The crumble served at Minneapolis schools went through a sodium reduction process to meet USDA standards, which she said made the product taste better in her opinion.

“I tasted my original formula now and it’s salty to me, so it’s a very good change,” she said. “We just lowered the sodium, the salt, and increased the other spices. So it wasn’t a big deal for us to do that, and we did it willingly.”

Beyer said unlike the many plant-based companies that have popped up in the past few years, she said Deeply Rooted has nothing against meat that’s raised on a farm.

“I thought what a great opportunity to change that narrative and bring it from an agricultural perspective that I have had all these years,” she said.

Another reason Beyer was interested in selling Deeply Rooted products to the K-12 market is that it’s much larger than the retail space, she said. In retail, products like hers are targeted towards vegans and vegetarians, which she said the company’s mission doesn’t align with.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a meat company, and there’s nothing wrong with having a plant-based option,” Beyer said. “Let’s make it palatable, so it tastes good, and they actually come back for more.”

Noah Fish is a multimedia journalist who creates print, online and TV content for Agweek. He covers a wide range of farmers and agribusinesses throughout Minnesota and surrounding states. He can be reached at nfish@agweek.com

He reports out of Rochester, MN, where he lives with his wife, Kara, and their polite cat, Zena. He grew up in La Crosse, WI., and enjoys the talent from his home state like the 13-time World Champion Green Bay Packers and Grammy award-winning musicians Justin Vernon and Al Jarreau.

Source link

Click to comment

Minneapolis, MN

Davide Harabagiu Highlights Night 3 On Minneapolis Futures With 52.95 100 Fly

Published

23 mins ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

Davide Harabagiu Highlights Night 3 On Minneapolis Futures With 52.95 100 Fly

2024 FUTURES CHAMPIONSHIPS- MINNEAPOLIS

Davide Harabagiu highlighted night 3 of competition in Minneapolis swimming to a 52.95 in the 100 butterfly. That was just off his personal best of a 52.75 from Settecolli in Rome last month. Harabagiu swims collegiately for Minnesota but originally hails from Italy.

Also highlighting the night was Annike Parkhe who swam to a 58.85 in the 100 fly, the only swimming under the 1:00 mark. Parkhe has a best time of a 58.58 that she swam for 13th during prelims of US Olympic Trials last month. She finished 16th in semifinals in a 59.02.

Finishing behind Parkhe in the 100 fly was Grace Rabb who swam a 1:00.28. Later in the session, Rabb earned a win touching in a 2:32.69 in the 200 breast. Rabb, a Florida commit, swam a best time in the 100 fly as her previous best was a 1:01.36. Her 200 breast best time stands at a 2:32.39 from May.

The final winner on the women’s side was Katie McCarthy who won the 400 free in a 4:15.81. McCarthy was 34th in the event at US Trials in a 4:14.90 and has a best time of a 4:14.89.

The men’s 400 free was a battle as Jiarui Xue earned the win in a 3:59.16 touching just ahead of Chase Maier who swam a 3:59.24. Xue has a best time of a 3:59.00 and is committed to Princeton while Maier dropped a huge best time as his previous best was a 4:05.01.

Sirui Wang won the 200 breast in a 2:17.24, almost a five second drop from his previous best of a 2:22.05 from May. He was a 2:22.65 in the event at the last summer.

Source link

Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis City Council introduces new safety plan with alternatives to police response

Published

7 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

Minneapolis City Council introduces new safety plan with alternatives to police response

Minneapolis leaders lay out new safety plan

The new plan folds in efforts already underway like the behavioral response team which is sent on some crisis calls where police are not necessary, or a new traffic control unit that is staffed by people who are not sworn officers. But the real purpose of the Safe and Thriving Communities plan is to offer a sort of road map to public safety.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis City Council members are asking the public for feedback on a new public safety model that they hope will restore trust in public safety services.

Officials say the Public Safety Beyond Policing Action Plan is based on an outline of a community safety system that will include “preventative, restorative and response services beyond policing.”

What we know

City leaders say they are moving to codify the Public Safety Beyond Policing Action Plan after the Minneapolis Safe and Thriving Communities Blueprint that was announced last year.

READ MORE: Minneapolis leaders lay out a new plan for community safety

The first draft of the Public Safety Beyond Policing Action Plan was presented earlier this week. City officials say public comment and feedback on the 10-year plan will be taken for 45 days.

An overview and briefing detailing the progress of the Safe and Thriving Communities Report was presented during Wednesday’s Public Health and Safety Committee (PHS).

Public engagement and comment sessions will also be held in front of the PHS committee before the final adoption of the plan, which is expected to happen in the fall of 2024.

What they’re saying

Minneapolis officials say “there has been little or unclear movement on implementation by the administration” since the last city-wide community safety plan last year.

A news release announcing the latest policing plan said there are concerns over a “lack of seriousness” about the city implementing a new comprehensive safety system.

Vice Chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee and City Council Member Robin Wonsley said the following in the same news release: “Council is serious about realizing the comprehensive public safety system that our residents have asked for since May 2020. We can have a city where there are a multitude of preventive, responsive, and restorative services to meet our public safety needs efficiently and equitably. The Safe and Thriving Communities Report and the Public Safety Beyond Policing Action Plan includes a clear ten-year guide to make this vision a reality.”

Public Health and Safety Chair and City Council Member Chavez said “Ward 9 is home to one of the most diverse communities in the whole state and residents are deeply engaged in leading on public safety work. Residents are tired of empty promises and slow progress when it comes to their safety needs. The time to act is now and the Council is ready to continue to lead on keeping all of us safe.”

Minneapolis City Council President Elliot Paynes released a statement saying “This is the City Council flexing our oversight responsibility. The administration put forward a plan with the Safe and Thriving Communities report and we are making sure the promise of this plan is fulfilled with transparency and with the input of our community at the center of it.”

Background

This is the latest development after the Safe and Thriving Communities plan was announced last year. Advocates say it took a “holistic approach” to public safety.

That plan came after the development of a plan was requested by Mayor Jacob Frey in 2021.

City officials say they are currently in phase one of implementing the Safe and Thriving Communities plan.

The Minneapolis City Council also approved a new police contract earlier this month that includes a nearly 22% pay raise for officers over the next three years.

Source link