Chefs convene with farmers in northeast Minneapolis to talk farm policy

Major players on opposite ends of the food system gathered in a Minneapolis restaurant Monday morning, shirtsleeves rolled up and a plate of watermelon radish appetizers ready to go.

They produce and prepare the food many Americans eat. But they so rarely meet up.

“Restaurants and farmers, both of us, are kind of stuck in our bubble,” said Alicia Hinze, who founded the Buttered Tin, a restaurant with Northeast and St. Paul locations sourcing local pork, eggs and produce. “How do we find each other? If I lose my chicken person, where do I find another?”

In an effort to break down those silos, Chefs for Healthy Soil, a regenerative agriculture initiative backed by the National Resources Defense Council, convened the gathering in concert with the James Beard Foundation to hear from players in the agriculture-food chain and find out about how to better advocate for greener practices in farm country.

The agricultural supply chain mantra “from farm to table” is long-established. But attendees Monday advocated for pushing producers and cooks alike to advance climate-smart agriculture practices, sequestering carbon and reducing farm runoff.

The late-20th century push to simply think about where one’s food comes from isn’t enough anymore.

“We don’t have as many of the local connections to local farmers anymore that used to be there,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Jenny Moffitt, a former family organic farmer in California, who attended Monday’s event. “We’re really pivoting back.”

The national farm and nutrition bill known as the Farm Bill remains stalled in a politically divided U.S. Congress. But attendees expressed hope that language in any coming bill might advance ties between farmers and restaurants.

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act greenlit nearly $20 billion to USDA for environmentally sound practices — a figure often touted as the most conservation spending since the Dust Bowl.

Bringing fresh, locally grown squash to a neighborhood cafe or pasture-raised beef to a fast-casual restaurant downtown is only half the battle, advocates say. Conversations Monday ranged from a call by one farmer for more flexibility, noting that a restaurant owner may be expecting ribeyes this week but on-farm constraints — such as weather — might mean they’re receiving black currant.

Chef Mike Haskett, who operates Sioux Falls, S.D.’s M.B. Haskett, recounted the story of a soybean farmer in northeast South Dakota who can’t sell his land to any local farmers. Haskett wondered what kind of public policy help might be available to new and emerging farmers who can’t afford those acres.

Zoe Hollomon, executive director of the Midwest Farmers of Color Collective, and others chimed in that he was describing something similar to the Land Access, Security and Opportunities (LASO) Act, a bill endorsed by Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith. The bill would invest $100 million a year in a USDA program to help historically underserved farmers get onto farms.

“Most farmers of color are still just trying to get land,” Hollomon said. “It’s the very first step.”

By the morning’s end, attendees of the session — billed a “salon” by organizers — remained standing around the table, nibbling the watermelon radish-topped appetizers. It was a local ingredient the Buttered Tin’s owner gave as an example of featuring local farmers’ goods to spur curious consumers.

“We have watermelon radishes on our breakfast salad,” Hinze said. She voiced a hypothetical diner’s reaction: “‘Oh, my gosh. I never thought about putting radishes on a salad! What are these?’ We might open people’s eyes.”