Bemidji and Minnesota’s local food map

When you think about where the local food movement is strongest in Minnesota, the first region that comes to mind is the southeastern part of the state.

Abundant rain and a terrain of hills and valleys are conducive to small farms that can make a go of produce, as opposed to, say, corn and soybeans.

And to the west, around the university town of Morris, there's a dedicated bunch of residents pursuing greenhouses, local energy production and the like.

It might be time to add Bemidji to the list. Jennifer Vogel has reported an interesting story there on the effort to help the local food movement with its scale problem. A food co-op is building an incubator kitchen to let local entrepreneurs try out recipes and business plans to market processed produce to local consumers.

And if this piques your interest, check out the rest of Ground Level's local food coverage on our "Local Food: What's Next?" page.

The Bemidji experiment is particularly enlightening in connection with the large American Indian population and the attendant high rates of diabetes and other disease. Enhancing the local food industry and helping it get into schools and other institutions is one way people are addressing those issues.

The kitchen won't open until spring, but next year it might be a good idea to try out one of the chocolate hazelnut tortes that baker Cheryl Larson Krystosek plans to make in a newly rented oven.

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