Locations | Pillsbury United Communities

Joe Eichele

August 28, 2023

“Our Stories Our Lake Street” Showcase

On Friday, August 18th, seven of our youth interns voiced their concerns and advocated for change in their community during the “Our Stories Our Lake Street” Showcase at Urban Ventures in Minneapolis. The event was a partnership between Pillsbury United Communities and the Minnesota Humanities Center to celebrate youth voices from in and around East Lake Street.

Our youth interns put in time and effort over the summer to research issues in their community, interview locals, and craft speeches and to create a final film that encapsulated their perspectives. With the mentorship of their youth leader, Kay Carvajal Moran, they created a piece of work that reflected their beliefs and findings. The efforts of their work were on full display during the event.

The evening started with a social hour as party-goers chatted with the numerous vendors in attendance. Tables were set up for jewelry, fruit, artwork, and more. A food truck occupied the street right outside of the entrance. One of the wildest attractions of the showcase were two piñatas just outside of the building. Both were quickly raided for their sweet treats by the children in an exciting frenzy.

After all the fun festivities, the crowd gathered at the stage to welcome the interns who were ready to present their work. Each intern began with a prepared speech that talked about the different issues citizens face on and around Lake Street. To cater to the audience, a mix of English and Spanish were used. The issues they spoke on ranged from drug and alcohol abuse, housing insecurity, food access, education, etc. It was clear that their time spent on these topics either taught them new things or reinforced what they already felt.

Following their powerful words was what had originally been a set time to screen their film. Due to unforeseen technical issues, the attendees were not able to complete their screening. In lieu of this, however, members of the audience were invited to the stage to share their own words, speeches, or poetry in a moment of impromptu magic. Everyone in attendance left the event feeling assured with the future of Minneapolis being in these students’ hands.

Joe Eichele

North Market 5-year Anniversary

After half a decade of service, the people of North Minneapolis came together for a celebration of food, health, and community. The North Market 5-year anniversary was held on August 19th in the parking lot just outside of the store. Dozens of people were in attendance and partook in the festivities.

Market-goers at the event were given a free tote bag, yard sign, and meal ticket for a Quince Mpls Mkt breakfast burrito or Wendy’s House of Soul roll. Alongside these attractions was a host of numerous local businesses selling their wares. Books, jewelry, and artwork filled the lot as more and people roamed from tent to tent. Twin Cities Skaters also set up camp and lent out free roller skates to anyone looking to ride.

The morning wrapped up with a live dance fitness Afrokaribe class hosted by North Market’s Coach Val. Val and her class enjoyed the sun as their music and dance spread an infectious jitterbug to all those around. Her’s, along with a number of other classes and programs are held each week inside North Market’s Community Room and Conference Room.

The support of the shoppers, class students, and donors helped make North Market’s first five years so special. The anniversary celebration showcased that they continue to support a non-profit that puts priority on neighborhood needs, provides great food and services for fair prices, and continues to be there for the community of North Minneapolis.

Joe Eichele

August 11, 2023

The 2023 PUC Summer Youth Showcase

Rather than enjoying time by the lake or playing video games inside, this summer was spent by our youth interns working vigorously at various social enterprises of Pillsbury United Communities. These students spent a large part of their time working as journalists, theater tech interns, radio hosts, film crews, fashion designers, and horticulture workers. To celebrate the work they’ve done, PUC held a very special celebration at Pillsbury House + Theatre on Thursday, August 3rd with the culmination of these interns’ work on display.

The event began just outside the venue where “inside out cars” were on display thanks to the creative theater tech interns. Inside was a booth with a spectacular sound system set up by KRSM Radio. The KRSM interns maintained a live broadcast of the event throughout the night where people of all ages could go live on the air and give a shout out at the event.

Located on the second floor was a hot sauce competition led by the Growing Good interns which, as many could attest, was incredibly spicy. Beside them was a strategically placed cucumber water stand to help combat the heat of the contest. In addition to that was a free produce table where community members received free vegetables grown by the Food Systems interns. North News and the East Lake Street Cohort had displays across from them with storyboards and photos of the amazing work they had done this summer.

Finally, a film screening was projected in the theater. The films were directed, shot, and edited entirely by the students and focused on some of the harsher aspects of life in Minneapolis. Following the film screenings was a fashion show put on by interns at Sisterhood Boutique. Unlike some fashion shows, the models walking were the interns themselves who had designed and crafted pieces of clothes using up-cycled materials as a commentary on the fast fashion industry.

Many thanks to the wonderful community members who came and supported our youth interns. An additional thanks to our parters Best Buy Teen Tech Center and the University of Minnesota. This night was a showcase in how investing in our youth can lead to monumental change for a just society.

Becca Tripp

April 19, 2023

PUC’s Jovita Morales on the long fight to get Driver’s Licenses for All

Jovita Francisco Morales, an Indigenous Mazahua immigrant from Mexico, has organized Latine community members out of our Waite House Community Center in East Phillips for more than 15 years. “Waite House is kind of like my house. So much is accessible here,” she said.

After years of fighting, she was one of the leading forces that secured Driver’s Licenses for All in Minnesota during this year’s legislative session. At the end of March and the end of a sabbatical she took to focus on advocacy for the Driver’s Licenses bill with her organization Minnesota Immigrant Movement, she spoke with the Pillsbury United communications team about that recent victory, food access as an organizing tool, and the power of Indigenous women.

Tell us about your relationship with Pillsbury United. How long have you worked here?
I started volunteering in 2002. In 2005, I started work as a regular employee at Waite House. My first job was smoking cessation work. Then I worked at the front desk as a receptionist. Then I worked in the food shelf. And then I started community organizing during our produce giveaway. 60-100 people were showing up to presentations on produce day. We [eventually] organized those people to fight for municipal IDs and Driver’s Licenses for All. It became statewide.

Why have driver’s licenses for all Minnesotans regardless of immigration status been such an important issue to you?
I have been working for so many years at Waite House, and I see community every single day that is in need of food. To have no hunger in the community, we have to look at the policy that makes people vulnerable. Having licenses will let people work; they will have money to bring food to their tables and there will be less trauma; this has caused trauma for 20 years. The system has forced people to take risks and made it hard to take care of themselves by removing their right to a license. There’s a lot you can do with a state ID, like rent housing. The economy will be better because of this.

You’ve been a leader in the movement since the beginning. How did you get involved?
From 2008-2009, collective tables began to form to lead this initiative. At Waite House, we started as Latinas Creativas which became Mujeres en Liderazga and then Mesa Latina, and then Minnesota Immigrant Movement. We wanted Waite House to do training and development to do something in community. That led us to develop the Driver’s Licenses for All bill and to work on getting municipal IDs in the City of Minneapolis, beginning in 2009.

Tell us about the process of working for more than ten years to get the bill passed.
We asked many legislators to carry our bill in the beginning and they said no, but former Representative Karen Clark said yes right away. She recommended Scott Dibble in the Senate who passed it to Bobby Joe Champion. Clark and Champion became our fighters. Our first bill was introduced in the state of MN in 2010. We weren’t successful. In 2012, the bill passed the Senate but not the House. Then we passed it three times in the Senate but not in the House. We did work all over the state promoting the need for it. We had so many meetings. We did hunger strikes twice. We were camping every legislative session outside of the Capitol. The weather was so cold. We were also sleeping inside the Capitol at times. Governor Dayton said he wouldn’t support the bill, so we went to all his election events. We did a lot of rallies and marches. At one point Republican Rod Hamilton became the house author. He tried to bring other members, but he couldn’t. Finally, Senator Zaynab Mohamed and Representative Aisha Gomez carried it in the end joined by Senator Bobby Joe Champion and Representative Maria Isa Perez Vega. Most of the work being done was women. We started with women and ended with women.

Tell us more about the work and power of women in this movement.
I come from an Indigenous community where machismo is still there, adopted from colonialism. Women were minimized and forced to do things. This movement proves that women can do so much, even without degrees. I didn’t have the opportunity to finish high school or go to college but have built so much political connection and power. This movement shows the resources we have—they come from the grassroots community members. When you work with your heart, everything you harvest will be love.

Now that the law is passed, there’s still quite a bit of work to be done to implement it. What is that looking like?
This month we’ve re-visited ten cities around Minnesota doing education and consciousness work. We’re telling people we won; showing them that this is what happens when you don’t give up and you resist. We talk about what the law means, the story of how we got here, and then the bill itself. We want to prepare people to meet the requirements to get a license. We’re talking about responsibility and driving safely. We want people to take care of Minnesota like they’re taking care of their own lives.

Do you have other dreams for Minnesota? What are they?
If I had more money, I’d create more programs, especially housing. Especially in rural MN, we can do a lot to use the food system to organize people and change policy. I also want to see paternalistic systems dismantled. If we say we want justice for everybody, or if we say we want to empower community, what does that really mean to us? My experience is that organizations minimize us or take credit for the work that community has done. How do we recognize all the good work without territorialism?

What are your dreams personally and professionally?
I have been asking myself that. One of my dreams is just to be happy and see people happy. When you see a family that has a lot of love, it’s partly because they are ok. Better jobs and better housing create love and harmony in the family. Need gets in the way of love. We have to share resources and remove barriers in order to live equitably.

MonicaM

December 13, 2022

Shop local at PUC and invest in community this holiday season

It’s December, and we know you are looking for that special gift for all your family and friends. With a broad range of local offerings, Pillsbury United Communities’ social enterprises have you covered this gift-giving season. Not only will you be supporting local small businesses, but you will also be contributing to strong communities.

Sisterhood Boutique
2200 Riverside Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55454
Hours: Monday – Friday, 1 pm – 6 pm

At Sisterhood Boutique, you will find colorful selections of gently used women’s clothing, accessories, and shoes. Shop sustainably from curated thrifted pieces by the enterprising and stylish women who run the boutique. If you have attended their summer fashion show, you know your style is in good hands! Visit their boutique to gift style to your loved ones, shop sustainable slow fashion, and support a small, local, Black-woman-run business.

Full Cycle
3515 Chicago Ave S Minneapolis, MN 55407
Hours: Tuesday – Friday, 12 pm – 6 pm

Full Cycle Bike Shop in South Minneapolis is a one-stop shop for your next bike project. From refurbished bikes to plentiful bike parts, accessories and apparel– they’ve got it. Full Cycle isn’t just a used bike shop; the business supports youth experiencing homelessness by providing training and employment, free bikes for transportation, and emergency food access. Stop by during their store hours to find a gift for someone special from their selection of bikes and to support this small business that’s doing big things.

Pillsbury House + Theatre
3501 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55407
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm

Pillsbury House and Theatre is a catalyst for arts-powered social change in the region. Home to “Breaking Ice” and the “Chicago Avenue Project,” the theatre just announced it’s 2023 season line up which includes productions such as “bull-jean stories” and “Naked Stages.” You can buy tickets on their website for your family and friends to enjoy and support community theatre. You can buy tickets on their website for your family and friends to enjoy and support this community theatre.

North News
www.mynorthnews.org

Since its inception in 1991, North News has been the primary local news source in the North Minneapolis community. This year, North News won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Page One Awards Ceremony, including first place for breaking news coverage and columns, second place for the best issue, and third place for best feature. Gift your family and friends a subscription to North News to keep them apprised on North Minneapolis news from an award-winning publication. Subscriptions are $50 and can be purchased by emailing North News Editor David Pierini at DavidP@pillsburyunited.org.

KRSM Radio
www.krsmradio.org

Our community radio station KRSM broadcasts on 98.9 FM from the East Phillips Community in South Minneapolis.Programming is in 6 different languages: English, Spanish, Somali, Ojibwe, Hmong, and Haitian Creole. In addition, KRSM has a yearly intake of over 200 interns learning media skills through practice. Visit krsmradio.org to support this South Minneapolis community beacon through a donation in your loved one’s name.

North Market
4414 N Humboldt Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55412
Hours: Monday – Sunday 9 am – 9 pm

North Market is a grocery, community wellness, and neighborhood health center with an array of activities, classes, and programs that bring the community together. This local business hires from its Northside neighborhood and stocks produce and products from local vendors. They recently partnered with Wildflyer Coffee, a local coffee shop in the neighborhood. So, stop in at North Market for your groceries and pick up some Wildflyer Coffee for yourself and someone special.

Becca Tripp

March 23, 2022

Support Foodshare Month!

At Pillsbury United Communities, we are working to create a long-term solution to food insecurity while meeting the most urgent needs of community. In 2021, we gave away close to 2 million pounds of fresh produce and nutritious ingredients tailored to the unique cultural tastes of our East African, Latin, and Indigenous neighbors. We couldn’t do it without your support. All donations to our food shelves through April 10 will receive a partial match from our partners at Minnesota FoodShare.

To make a monetary donation, visit:

https://pillsburyunited.org/foodshare22/

samd@pillsburyunited.org

August 26, 2021

A look back at summer 2021

Young women displaying their summer work at Brian Coyle Center

For Pillsbury United Communities, 2021 was a summer to remember! After last year’s summer programs were forced to operate remotely due to COVID-19, we were so pleased to reconnect with our young folks in-person for summer 2021.

This year, 145 young people in middle school and high school completed paid summer internships through Pillsbury United programs—our largest ever class of interns! Our young folks explored new opportunities in technology, business, media production, and more. (For photos from some of our summer activities, take a look at a couple of recent albums on our Facebook page.)

Read on to learn more about our summer internship cohorts—and the dedicated youth program leaders who made it all possible.

Amplified Youth Storytelling at Brian Coyle Center

Emery

Jose

Our Amplified Youth Storytelling cohort was based out of the Best Buy Teen Tech Center at Brian Coyle Center. Under the guidance of our experienced youth mentors, 16 interns learned audio production and podcasting skills. Special thanks to The Clubhouse Network and the city of Minneapolis’ Step Up program for partnering with us to offer this unique opportunity.

This cohort was led by Emery and Jose. Emery recently completed his term with Public Allies Twin Cities, through which he served as Content Specialist at the Teen Tech Center. Jose also works with our Coyle youth programs as our Pathways Coordinator, helping young people plan for college and a career.

Arts & Agriculture at Waite House

Angelica and Ebony, summer cohort leaders

Angelica (left) and Ebony (right)

Our Arts & Agriculture youth group at Waite House led 12 interns in exploring the intersections of food, art, culture, and social justice—connecting to the land by working hands-on at our Pillsbury United Farms, and sharing their experience through the visual and performing arts.

Our cohort leaders were Angelica and Ebony—both artists and activists. Angelica is a performance artist who has previously led our youth spoken-word and tutoring groups. Ebony is a visual artist and an alumna of our youth programs, returning to Pillsbury United this summer after graduating from Clark Atlanta University.

Cinematography & Business at Brian Coyle Center

Sisco

Gonkama

Based out of the Best Buy Teen Tech Center at Brian Coyle Center, our Cinematography & Business cohort provided opportunities for 16 interns to explore filmmaking, editing, scoring, and sound design—while also learning to make a business plan to support their activities as independent artists and creators. The cohort also participated in a site-visit to the Institute of Production and Recording to learn from working professionals in the field of media production.

The cohort was led by Gonkama and Sisco, two youth leaders who are deeply rooted in the Cedar Riverside community. Gonkama is a seasoned youth worker and recent IT grad with experience in hip-hop production. Sisco is a graduate of our Coyle youth programs and a professional filmmaker and photographer.

Cyber Seniors at Brian Coyle Center

Kenya

Hassan

This unique cohort focused on intergenerational engagement between young folks and community elders living in Cedar Riverside. Our six youth interns partnered with volunteers from Best Buy to work with Cedar Riverside community elders and assist them with technical support. Through twice-weekly clinics at Currie Park in English, Somali, and Oromo, these young folks stepped up—helping our elders install apps, configure webcams, and other essential tools to stay connected in the post-COVID world.

Our cohort was led by Hassan and Kenya, two very talented undergrads. Hassan joined us this summer after many years of participation in youth programs at Brian Coyle Center. Kenya was brought on through the ServeMinnesota emergency response program.

Girls & Femmes in STEM at Brian Coyle Center

Fardowza

Idil

Our Girls & Femmes in STEM cohort at Brian Coyle Center offered a unique eight-week course in a variety of science and technology-related topics, including astronomy, coding, biodiversity, food science, medicine, and digital art. Our cohort members also took part in a biodiversity field trip to Cedar Creek with a University of Minnesota professor, tested the new flight simulator at the Best Buy Teen Center, and participated in Scrubs Camp at Augsburg University.

The cohort was led by Idil and Fardowza, both of whom are studying STEM fields at the University of Minnesota. Idil is a Page Scholar, and she is currently majoring in microbiology and cell biology. Fardowza is a graduate of Sisterhood Boutique, majoring in computer science.

Healthy Living at Waite House

Ivonne

Young folks in our summer Healthy Living cohort at Waite House enjoyed a wide range of activities to support their physical and mental health. This included cycling and bike maintenance with Bici Xicas, a local biking collective; group therapy sessions, in partnership with counselors at Tubman; and tennis at Fred Wells Tennis & Education Center at Fort Snelling.

This cohort was led by Ivonne, a senior at Augsburg University studying political science and an alumna of our youth programs at Pillsbury House + Theatre. Ivonne also managed our 22 off-site interns, including partnerships with Roots for the Home Team and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s Growing Good program.

KRSM Radio

Michel.Be

Our biggest cohort of the summer was at KRSM Radio, broadcasting out of Waite House in the Phillips community. Our interns explored on-air hosting, radio DJing, journalism, and audio production in our brand new youth recording studio. KRSM also partnered with ThreeSixty Journalism, MPR News and MIGIZI to plan and engage BIPOC youth for MPR’s Radio Camp. Click here to see some of their finished projects.

Our cohort was led by Michel.Be, a professional DJ, our agency-wide youth media manager, and a longtime alum of our youth programs at Pillsbury House + Theatre. They were supported by Minneapolis Community Education, who offered a full-time staff coordinator to assist with facilitating this summer’s internships—our thanks to KJ for their invaluable assistance!

Sisterhood Boutique

Ugbad, Kidist, Zikki, youth program leaders

Ugbad (left), Kidist (center), Zikki (right)

Based out of the Cedar Riverside community, our team at Sisterhood Boutique led a cohort of 24 young women—giving them direct experience in managing a fashion consignment boutique, plus ongoing development of their business and leadership skills. Highlights include a site-visit to local apparel brand sota clothing, as well as a week at Augsburg University Scrubs Camp.

The cohort was led by a trio of long-time Sisterhood Boutique leaders and alumni. Zikki is a co-founder of Sisterhood from its very first class, and Kidist is a former Sisterhood intern; both are now leading programs at Sisterhood. Ugbad is a Sisterhood grad and currently an undergrad in phlebotomy at the U of M—a passion she discovered on a Sisterhood field trip.

samd@pillsburyunited.org

July 13, 2021

Our impact in 2020

2020 was not normal. Two pandemics bore down on our community, bringing hardship we could hardly have imagined. One was a virus that isolated, sickened, and killed. The other was the plague of systemic racism, embodied in the horrendous murder of George Floyd and the anguished fury it unleashed.

These tragedies shook our community to its core and hit many of us painfully close to home. Some lost livelihoods. Some lost loved ones. Others lost trust in institutions that were supposed to protect them. Many were retraumatized by continued examples of systemic racism.

The pain continues to reverberate. We will be picking up the pieces for years.

Although no one saw the trials of 2020 coming, Pillsbury United was prepared to rise to the moment. Across our agency, staff moved quickly and fearlessly to ease suffering, rebuild, and respond to the crisis with compassion, imagination, and hope.

In 2020, we…

Distributed over one million pounds of food and household essentials via our Brian Coyle Center and Waite House food shelves.
Disbursed $540,828 in housing relief to neighbors impacted by COVID-19.
Provided 121 young people with paid, virtual internships at our neighborhood centers and social enterprises.
Supported 160 immigrant women with advocacy services via the Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Program.
Connected 341 unhoused young people with housing, employment, and other services via Full Cycle.

And that’s only a snapshot of the work we accomplished last year. Out of a crisis, a more just society can emerge. This is what justice looks like.

Learn more about the magnitude of our impact in 2020—and the broad community support that made it possible—by viewing our 2020 annual report.

samd@pillsburyunited.org

March 11, 2021

Food shelves meeting the challenge of COVID-19

Food shelf worker distributing produce to community members

As we reach the first anniversary of COVID lockdowns, it’s worth looking back at the vital response of our food shelves at Brian Coyle Center and Waite House—and the huge efforts they’ve undertaken to show up for the communities that have been hit the hardest in our city.

It’s hard to fathom the scale of their effort. When the first wave of stay-at-home orders began, our food shelves were serving more than three times their usual volume. We were serving more households, and more frequently, than ever before. We kept up that pace all year—and by the end of December, we had distributed nearly one million pounds of food to our neighbors.

“What we have to understand is the operational context of that volume,” says Ethan Neal, Director of Food Systems at Pillsbury United Communities. With changes to the food shelf’s operational model to facilitate social distancing, staff took on a more active role in packaging and distributing food to clients. “That’s a lot of pounds of food on the backs of our people,” Ethan says.

This was a truly unprecedented effort for Pillsbury United Communities. Here’s more about how we stepped up to the challenge—and how you can help us continue this work in 2021 and beyond.

A creative approach in times of crisis

Social distancing guidelines required our team to physically reimagine our food shelves—finding new spaces, and creatively repurposing others. At Waite House, the food shelf team expanded to utilize space in an unused gymnasium.

“We started seeing such an influx in the number of people we were serving,” Ethan says, “That we needed to stretch our legs and utilize one of the largest properties in Minneapolis Parks & Rec.”

And with the lockdowns also affecting our neighbors’ access to essential hygiene items, our food shelves significantly expanded their offerings of diapers, feminine hygiene products, and other household necessities. At Brian Coyle Center, we partnered with our neighbors across the street at Mixed Blood Theatre to organize essential supply drives as a supplement to our food assistance.

“We became much more than just a food shelf,” Ethan says, “and I think that evolution was important in our response.”

Justice and equity in food access

And while COVID-19 forced our team to think creatively and reimagine their work, it also underscored the importance of several long-standing commitments for our agency’s food programs.

“When you think of a food shelf, you think of a model that’s based on canned food drives,” Ethan says. “At Pillsbury United, we’ve pledged a lot of our dollars to source healthy, culturally specific foods to serve our communities.” That means more access to fresh produce, as well as culturally relevant staples that reflect the tastes of our Native, Latin American, and East African neighbors.

“[As an agency] we talk about food justice and equity,” says Jovita Morales, food shelf coordinator at Waite House. “And if we don’t reflect our diversity in our food shelves, that’s not equity.”

“And you don’t see that everywhere,” adds Luz Francisco, building and volunteer coordinator at Waite House. “People in the community can come to us and know that we have foods they’ll want to eat.”

This approach was central to our work pre-COVID, and only became more urgent in response to the pandemic. To that end, we redoubled our commitment to urban agriculture across our entire food system and installed a walk-in cooler at the Waite House food shelf to house more fresh produce. And for those culturally specific preferences that our food bank partners couldn’t meet, we established new relationships with local, minority-owned grocery stores to help fill the gap.

How you can help

There is so much more to be said about the vital response of our food shelves and our many other staff providing essential, frontline services.

Today, you can help support this work with a financial contribution. During the month of March, our partners at Minnesota FoodShare are offering a partial match for all donations to Pillsbury United food shelves. If you’re able, please give today.

Food assistance is available via the food shelves at Waite House and Brian Coyle Center, as well as via our community meal programs at Waite House and Oak Park Center.

samd@pillsburyunited.org

October 27, 2020

Inside hydroponic farming at North Market

If you’ve visited North Market recently, you may have noticed a new neighbor in our parking lot. In partnership with Freight Farms, we’ve installed a hydroponic farm on-site, providing a year-round growing environment that will supply North Market shoppers with local, fresh greens and herbs.

But when we say that the Freight Farm at North Market is a “self-contained hydroponic growing environment,” what does that actually mean? What’s happening within these corrugated metal walls? What is the journey of a seed as it makes its way to the North Market produce aisle?

Step 1: Germination

The first step in the life of a plant is germination. We plant our seeds in a specialized “grow plug” made of coconut husk and peat moss. This eco-friendly growing material keeps its shape and holds water better than traditional soil, making it a better fit for our specialized hydroponic drip system.

Once the plug has been seeded, it is soaked in water and placed under red-and-blue LED lights. Our seeds require a lot of light at this stage—19 hours of sunlight every day over the next week—and the farmer closely monitors the growing environment to maintain an ambient temperature of 70° F.

Step 2: The Nursery

After seven days, our seeds have sprouted, and it’s time for their first move. Our baby seedlings are relocated to the upper level of the harvest table, which doubles as a nursery. Here, the tiny sprouts are watered every 12 hours with a special nutrient-rich solution to ensure they are free of disease and can begin to grow strong roots.

The baby plants continue to receive 19 hours of artificial sunlight per day. Depending on the particular crop, a seedling can spend anywhere between 2-4 weeks growing in the nursery before it’s ready for the next stage.

Step 3: Growing

Once a seedling has matured, it’s time to transplant. The young crops are carefully removed from their seed trays and transplanted to vertical grow towers. These grow towers take up the majority of space inside the Freight Farm. Each plant is carefully spaced out to avoid the spread of algae, insects, and plant diseases.

Although the grow towers are made of plastic, a felt wicking strip in the center allows water to drip down and hydrate the crops. The interior of the Freight Farm holds 256 vertical towers, each of which holds approximately 16 plants—meaning that the combined grow-area of the Freight Farm equals approximately 2-3 acres of outdoor field space.

Step 4: Harvest

Finally, after three weeks in the grow towers, it’s time to harvest. The farmer uses a special harvest knife to remove the plant from the tower. Although this is the shortest step, it requires very careful planning on the part of the farmer. Ideally, when one plant is harvested, a new seedling is ready to take its place in the grow tower. This ensures a steady supply of fresh produce for North Market shoppers.

After a quick inspection to ensure the plant is ready to go, the produce is packed and transported across the parking lot for sale at North Market.

Did you know?

The interior of the Freight Farm is climate-controlled, meaning that plants can grow year-round—from the hottest summer day to the coldest winter night.
The Freight Farm is slightly tilted! While it’s not noticeable to the farmer, the very slight (3°) angle allows for any excess water to drain back into the Freight Farm’s storage tanks. Reverse-osmosis filtering helps purify the water, making it safe once again for human (and plant) consumption.
The Freight Farm interior is equipped with 4 Bluetooth speakers, allowing the farmer and seedlings to listen to music all day.
“Daytime” for our crops actually takes place at night! The Freight Farm’s LED lights create a lot of heat and can damage the farmer’s eyes without special protective glasses—so it’s easier to run the lights during nighttime hours, when the farmer isn’t present. By using the majority of our electricity at night, we also reduce the farm’s operating costs.

samd@pillsburyunited.org

August 12, 2020

What we need from you now

Community member carrying kid on shoulders at Open Streets on Broadway Ave

The compounding effects of intersectional oppression are prominently on display right now. We have an uncontrolled pandemic, on top of the longtime public health crisis that is institutionalized racism. Our democracy is under threat. People are unhoused in record numbers. Gaps in wealth, health, and educational outcomes between the haves and have-nots in our communities are widening even further.

Reimagined systems are desperately needed, and Pillsbury United Communities is heeding that call. Through the lens of people, place, and prosperity, our leaders are aggressively advocating for upstream change that will build long term power in our communities. Additionally, our agency has launched a public policy team and a community development corporation to reimagine the structures that govern our day to day lives.

While we use our institutional power to lay a foundation for long-term change, we remain committed to immediate and short-term relief for those who’ve long borne the brunt of our country’s violent and inequitable systems. We must be responsive to the needs of today without settling for them as permanent fixtures of life in our city.

We hope you’ll join us in seeking justice. For advice on where to start, we’ve asked a few of our leaders to share their wisdom.

Tsega Tamene, Senior Director of Population Health

Tsega Tamene

COVID-19 has been a truth teller. It has exposed what was already in plain sight to many of us. Black, Indigenous, and communities of color have experienced the disparate economic, health, and psychosocial impacts of racism well before, starkly during, and very well likely after this pandemic—unless we choose a different world.

We must reimagine, redesign, and transform systems toward health justice. In doing so, we must fundamentally shift how we think, speak, and act about health and health inequities. Namely, we must shift from treating health as a commodity to health as a human right. Shift now by:

Supporting frontline workers like ours who everyday disrupt health inequities that are driven by social and structural harms rooted in racism (not naturally occurring biological difference or individual behavior).
Lifting up local wellness and healing justice practitioners who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC).
Joining policy advocacy efforts calling for the transformation of our healthcare payment system to prioritize the health of all people. Amplifying the voices of community health workers, doulas, and other critical roles who are lesser valued by existing payment models.
Learning more about the history of medicine and racism’s impact on health.
Studying yourself to heal yourself. Exploring your racialized trauma and your role(s) in social change.

Faye Price & Noel Raymond, Co-Artistic Directors, Pillsbury House + Theatre

Faye Price

At Pillsbury House + Theatre, we employ roughly 300, mostly-BIPOC artists every year. Those folks, and the entire creative workforce, are extremely economically unstable right now because of the pandemic. This is a workforce that has been decimated like the restaurant industry.

Our artists are often activists who highlight systemic inequities and cast visions for liberation. They are called to do that imagining regardless of compensation. We need them right now more than ever, and many are being asked to do cultural labor unpaid. There is an expectation that they will always be here, but they won’t if we don’t act. Act now by:

Noel Raymond

Hiring an artist. Pay them generously for their time.
Donating to a nonprofit’s commissioning fund, so that they are able to hire artists (we have one here at PHT). If you run a nonprofit or work for one, create a commissioning fund and embed artists into your work, minimizing arduous reporting requirements and maximizing compensation.
Contacting your member of Congress and tell them to support the Mixed Earner Unemployment Assistance Act of 2020.

Julie Graves, Senior Director of Youth & Future

Julie Graves

We have built our systems and models of youth programming to complement school models. For better or worse, we live in the tangled webs of integrated systems. When Minneapolis Public Schools change their offerings, we have to pivot too. With school not returning to the status quo this fall, these structures that we’ve played off of always, don’t exist anymore. We have to figure out new ways of engaging our young people and supporting their families in the process. We have to do so in the midst of so much uncertainty about the future of school day education—this year and beyond.

Funding for youth programming in Minneapolis, particularly K-5, has been decimated in the last decade. Our stressed, barebones system of out-of-school youth programming is now being asked to completely reinvent the way it operates to support entirely new needs. We need to return to a system where every child and family has access to a community center that offers a holistic, integrated model of support—tutoring, entertainment, meals, space to just be together.

Support this work by donating to the chronically underfunded community centers, like Waite House, who provide whole-family support. Advocate for more out of school time youth funding in the 2021 Minneapolis city budget—and the state budget. This is violence prevention work. This is an investment in the future of our city.

Antonio Cardona, Director of Office of Public Charter Schools

Antonio Cardona

Resources are not scarce. They are inequitably concentrated. If we are serious about reimagined systems, we have to question and tactically change what we value and where we direct resources. In public education, we have a simple, yet fundamental challenge: funding for public education is rooted in property taxes that are a result of decades of purposeful housing and employment discrimination. We need to change this system.

Secondly, just as we have been talking about social determinants of health for the last two decades, there are also social determinants of education. COVID-19 and George Floyd’s murder has laid bare the ways in which the most marginalized are the first effected by societal change. Think of a tsunami. First, the water recedes, exposing the gunk just beyond the shoreline. Then, the water slams that same shoreline, throwing everything into disarray. Those on higher ground are able to escape the worst effects. This exposes what kids and families need in order to grow and learn. Stability, food, housing, health care, family businesses—all of the things that have been decimated during this time.

Take action by supporting and participating in the civic institutions that push population-level work forward; voting; completing your Census; and paying attention to city council meetings, school board meetings, and commission decisions. Support and hold your officials accountable while trying to avoid a descent into unhelpful or uneducated dialogue.