National Local Foods Movement Arrives in St. Croix River Valley with ‘Buy Fresh, Buy Local’ Campaign

September Events Focusing on Local Foods & Local Farmers Scheduled

CONTACT:  Dana Jackson, LSP, 651-653-0618 or danaj@landstewardshipproject.org

8/30/07
STILLWATER, Minn.— One of the fastest growing food and farming trends in the nation has arrived in the St. Croix River Valley in the form of a new campaign that promotes the local production and consumption of agricultural products. The mission of the Buy Fresh, Buy Local (BFBL) campaign is to spotlight the delicious fruits and vegetables, meats, dairy and bakery items produced in the St. Croix River Valley of Minnesota and Wisconsin and to open discussion about the economic benefits of creating a community-based food system, according to Dana Jackson, a Land Stewardship Project (LSP) staff member who is coordinating the initiative out of LSP’s White Bear Lake office.

“Local food has become a hot, trendy topic across the United States. From gourmet restaurants to family kitchens, cooks and eaters are talking about the special flavors and nutrition of fresh, local food,” she said.  “But people in the St. Croix River Valley area are still dependent upon the global food system and only beginning to acknowledge the national buzz about local foods. This Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaign will help show the exciting potential local foods initiatives hold for improving the economic, environmental and community health of this region.”

The St. Croix River Valley BFBL Chapter is building a collaboration of individual consumers, organizations, growers, farmers’ markets, processors, restaurants, food co-ops and other locally- owned food stores to work together to increase the production and consumption of local foods. It is affiliated with the national FoodRoutes Network (www.foodroutes.org), and one of 50 local Buy Fresh, Buy Local chapters in the United States.

Jackson said part of BFBL’s mission is to collect information on what local foods are available in the Valley and in turn educate consumers and retailers about what is grown and processed in the area.

“I think people will be surprised at the great variety of foods that are available right in this region,” she said. “Judging by the success that Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaigns have experienced in other parts of the country, the local foods movement in the St. Croix River Valley should receive a real boost from this initiative.”

As part of its educational/research work, BFBL will be involved in two events in mid-September. On Saturday, Sept. 15, from 7:30 a.m. to noon, BFBL volunteers will greet customers and collect market information at the Stillwater Farmers’ Market. And on Sunday, Sept. 16, from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., BFBL will provide local food at the St. Croix River Scenic Byway celebration. The food will be served aboard the Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway, which departs from and returns to the restored Osceola Depot that day.  

In coming months, the St. Croix River Valley BFBL campaign will be recruiting restaurants and locally-owned grocery stores that are interested in becoming BFBL market partners. Such partners willhave access to colorful marketing materials, connect to local farmers for supplies and help plan a St. Croix Valley Dine Fresh, Dine Local event in 2008. The River Market Community Co-op, the Stillwater Farmers’ Market and the St. Croix Falls Farmers’ Market have recently become the St. Croix River Valley BFBL Chapter’s first market partners.

In addition, farmers who wish to become BFBL market partners have access to a special toolbox for developing signs, brochures and other marketing materials. Farmers who are BFBL market partners can also get their farms listed on the local foods web site directory for the St. Croix River Valley that will debut in spring 2008 at www.landstewardshipproject.org.

The St. Croix River Valley Buy Fresh, Buy Local Chapter and its campaign are guided by a steering committee that includes staff from LSP and four collaborating organizations from the St. Croix River Valley: the Minnesota Food Association, Women’s Environmental Institute, University of Wisconsin Extension and the West Wisconsin Land Trust. Farmers and market partners will join an expanded BFBL steering committee this fall. 

Land Stewardship Project is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1982 to foster an ethic of stewardship for farmland, to promote sustainable agriculture and to develop sustainable communities. LSP is a grassroots membership organization made up of farmers, as well as rural and urban residents, working together across the country to secure a healthful food supply while supporting diversified, profitable family-sized farms that protect soil, water and wildlife.

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EDITORS: For a digital copy of the official St. Croix River Valley Buy Fresh, Buy Local logo, contact Brian DeVore at bdevore@landstewardshipproject.org or 612-729-6294.