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Rolling Out the Welcome Mat for New Neighbors

LSP Members Use 'May Day Baskets' to Show Support for Immigrants in their Communities

By Clara Sanders
May 30, 2025

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The Land Stewardship Project is an organization that believes we will not have a truly sustainable farm and food system until it is sustainable for everyone. That point was reinforced recently when we gathered input from our members and allies while putting together our current long range plan. That’s one reason LSP is working closely with partners who are on the ground in immigrant communities. One way we’re doing this is by being a member of the Immigrant Defense Network (IDN), a coalition of more than 90 Minnesota groups formed to protect the rights of immigrants and to make sure accurate information is being circulated in those communities. This work includes co-facilitating the Greater Minnesota caucus of IDN with COPAL-Minnesota.

In a socio-political landscape of false, harmful narratives about immigrants and brazen arrests with no due process conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, LSP members are joining with our allies to speak up for those who are often scapegoated and targeted.

For example, at the beginning of the month LSP members participated in May Day gatherings in Montevideo, Mankato, and Rochester, organized by the Immigrant Defense Network. Volunteers packed “May Day Baskets” full of information about immigrant rights and what to do if ICE approaches a place of work. Participants then delivered the baskets to local businesses with immigrant employees, engaging managers in conversations about how they can care for their workers.

Theresa Zeman, Kathy Florin, and James Kanne were among the LSP members who attended a May Day action, and a highlight for each of them was connecting with lots of other people from their regions who care about immigrant rights and want to make their communities welcoming and thriving.

 

LSP members in Montevideo, Minn., distributed “May Day baskets” to immigrants in the community recently.

 

“Immigrants of any ‘status’ are keeping small towns in southwest Minnesota alive,” says Theresa, who grew up on a small diversified farm and has lived in towns across southern Minnesota, from Winona to Saint James to Madison. “They keep the schools open, and many of them work on farms or in the food processing plants that farmers need in order to get their products to market.”

As Ryan Perez, the director of organizing for COPAL, explains in a recent LSP Ear to the Ground podcast, immigrants have long been a vital part of the food system in the Upper Midwest. The early sugar beet industry started employing many Latino immigrants in the 1920s, and in the 1940s, Mexican laborers came to the region under the “Bracero” program to ease the shortage of agricultural workers. Immigrants from Latin America and beyond make up a high percentage of employees at meatpacking and food processing plants in rural Midwestern communities.

Many rural and small-town people are excited to welcome newcomers to their communities and want to support their transition, and they have the motivation and resourcefulness to find ways to support their new neighbors. For example, the volunteer-run Afghan Support Network in Winona is based on a community-supported model pioneered in Canada, designed when traditional refugee resettlement agencies were overwhelmed.

Kathy, who attended the May Day event in Rochester and grew up in the Driftless Region, is a volunteer with the Afghan Support Network, helping to connect recently resettled refugees from Afghanistan with resources and community.

“It’s important for LSP to be involved with this work because everything is connected,” she says. “Climate change, access to land, and clean water, armed conflicts, movement of people — these aren’t isolated issues!”

James has been involved with Land Stewardship Project for decades, and now that he has retired from dairy farming, he works as an LSP organizer.

“I am really happy to see that LSP is reaching into this space,” he says. “We are now getting to the point where we are establishing relationships, getting those ideas out there, working with people as allies. If all we are doing is trying to keep what European settlers took, that isn’t sustainable. The farm and food system of the future is about being together on the land, not perpetuating the white establishment.”

Through their volunteer work and connections via farm mentorship, Kathy, James, and Theresa each personally know new Americans who are affected by the increased threat of deportation without due process as well as false narratives around issues like race, crime, and the role they play in the job market and the economy. So they were grateful for the opportunity to talk with businesses and employers about how they could care for their workers and clients.

“I talked to a manager at an assisted living home that employs a lot of student or first-generation immigrants,” says James, “and he was really grateful for the resources and wanted to learn more.”

A couple years ago, Kathy went on a trip to Brownsville, Texas, to support new arrivals to the U.S., talk with those in Mexico waiting for their asylum appointments, and learn from the stories of people immigrating across the southern border.

“There’s this ‘free and easy’ narrative, but just getting to the southern border is an intense and harrowing experience,” she says. “What strikes me most from the stories I heard is the incredible resilience of these people and the commitment to their families and communities.”

“The time is now,” says Theresa, who is a retired nurse and passionate about healthy communities. “We see what is happening, and we know what we want and need. When there is a threat to our neighbors, those of us who aren’t under threat should show up.”

While gathering with so many other people committed to supporting new Americans was heartening for all three of these LSP members, they know that there is still work to do when it comes to shifting the narrative about immigration in their communities.

“Most of my neighbors will always defend the people who work for them,” says James. “But one person’s worker is another person’s ‘illegal immigrant.’ We have to help folks overcome this disconnect and see that we are stronger together.”

“They are our neighbors,” says Theresa.

“These are the people I want for my neighbors,” affirms James. “These are the people I want for my friends.”

“Everything is connected,” says Kathy. “If we are going to take care of the land, we have to take care of the people.”

LSP membership organizer Clara Sanders can be reached via e-mail. LSP’s Immigrant Community Care Resource Page has links to information on supporting the immigrant community.

Category: Blog
Tags: Afghan Support Network • COPAL Minnesota • Immigrant Defense Network • immigration • racial justice • rural economic development

Upcoming Events

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October 2025

Thursday October 23

8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Farm to School & Early Care Grants Deadline
Thursday October 23
8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Farm to School & Early Care Grants Deadline
Online

School is back in session and this week’s cool temps definitely remind us all that fall is just around the corner. This time of the year also means that the application period is open for Minnesota’s Farm to School and Early Care grants.

Earlier this year, the Land Stewardship Project and our partners were successful in expanding funding for the AGRI Farm to School and Early Care program. The application window for the next round of funding is now open and will close at 4 p.m. Central Time (CT) on Thursday, October 23.

APPLY FOR FUNDING HERE

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is serving up two funding opportunities to help schools and early childhood education (ECE) centers buy Minnesota-grown and -raised foods. 

1.    First Bite Grants: Up to $5,000 (no match required) to kickstart local food purchasing through intentional, high-impact activities. 
2.    Full Tray Grants: Up to $35,000 (1:1 match required) to help experienced schools and ECE centers increase or expand their local food purchases. 

Equipment funding: First Bite and Full Tray applicants can also request up to $25,000 (1:1 match required) to support the purchase of kitchen equipment that will enhance their capacity to buy, prepare, and serve local foods.  

 These grants are open to: 
•    Public or private K-12 schools or school districts in Minnesota that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
•    Early childhood education (ECE) centers that participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) in Minnesota

MDA encourages schools, districts, and ECE centers serving sovereign tribal nations to apply. 

 Local Tots Cost-Share Program
There are also funds available to reimburse family child care providers for buying Minnesota-grown and -raised foods used for meals and snacks as part of the the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP):

Interested providers must submit a Local Tots Cost-Share program Letter of Intent to participate. Award amounts will be up to $1,000 and there is a 1:1 cash match required for providers who received a Local Tots Cost-Share award in 2025. There is no cash match required if you are new to the program. 

Applications are due by 4 p.m. Central Time (CT) on Thursday, October 23, 2025. 

 Program details and online applications are available at http://www.mda.state.mn.us/farm-school-early-care-programs or by contacting the Grants Team at MDA.AGRIgrants@state.mn.us. 

 Want to learn more about eligibility, allowable expenses, and how to apply?

 Join the MDA for a virtual info session: 
First Bite and Full Tray Grant Info Session 
September 15, 2025, 2-3 p.m.
Register here

 Local Tots Cost-Share Info Session – for family child care providers
September 18, 2025, 1-2 p.m.
Register here

Farmers: Are you Interested in selling to a school near you? 
Send this opportunity along to the food service director at schools near you or connect with a Regional Local Food Coordinator to help you make connections with schools, childcare settings, and other opportunities to sell locally. These positions are supported by the Department of Education and Renewing the Countryside.

Saturday October 25

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Saturday October 25
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Madison Public Library - Central, 201 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703, USA

The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings —  is set for release on Oct. 2.  The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. 

During the Wisconsin Book Festival, Curt Meine will talk about the book in a discussion with author Sonja Trom Eayrs (Dodge County, Incorporated), in a session on “The Fight for Rural America.” 

For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

Tuesday October 28

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
MDA Grants Webinar
Tuesday October 28
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
MDA Grants Webinar
Zoom online

Are you interested in applying for a grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)? On Tuesday, Oct. 28, from noon to 1:30 p.m., the Land Stewardship Project will be holding an online webinar on four grants that will be available this fall. MDA staffers will go over the details of these grants and how to apply for them.

 To sign-up, click here.  

 This webinar will feature information on four grants:

– AGRI Livestock Investment Grant

– AGRI Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant 

– Preparing for Extreme Weather (Prepare) Grant

– AGRI Protecting Livestock from Avian Influenza (Protect) Grant 

For more information, contact LSP’s Alex Kiminski at akiminski@landstewardshipproject.org.

Wednesday October 29

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Wednesday October 29
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement, 2800 University Ave, Des Moines, IA 50311, USA

The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings —  is set for release on Oct. 2.  The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. 

For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

Thursday October 30

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Thursday October 30
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Ave, Ames, IA 50010, USA

The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings —  is set for release on Oct. 2.  The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. 

For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

View Full Calendar

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