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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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August 2025

Friday August 1

All Day
Early Bird Discount Deadline for LSP's Farm Beginnings Class
Friday August 1
Early Bird Discount Deadline for LSP's Farm Beginnings Class

Beginning and prospective farmers are invited to apply to the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings course, a year-long training program that focuses on the goal setting, marketing, and financial skills needed to establish a successful farm business. The Farm Beginnings course creates a space for folks to name their vision, acquire the tools and skills needed to make it happen, and become part of a community of support to help them succeed.  

The course will run from November 2025 through March 2026, with some additional educational opportunities to take place later in 2026. 

The deadline for applications is Sept. 1. Early bird applications submitted by Aug. 1 will receive a $100 discount if you are accepted into the class. Partial scholarships are available.

More details are at http://www.farmbeginnings.org or Annelie Livingston-Anderson at annelie@landstewardshipproject.org.

You can apply to the course here.

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Roots & Rotation Grazing Field Day
Friday August 1
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Roots & Rotation Grazing Field Day
22545 Co Rd 42, Richmond, MN 56368, USA

Roots and Rotation is a summer field day series happening across Minnesota. These field days will discuss the use of livestock for soil health goals in different agricultural systems. 
 
Learn about the benefits of integrating livestock onto cropland and how to make it work on your operation. Hear from experienced farmers and Extension educators specializing in crops, livestock, and soil health. These events are for producers looking to elevate their cropland soil health and increase their forage resources. 

For more information and to register, see the Minnesota Grazing Lands Conservation Association website.

Saturday August 2

10:00 am – 2:00 pm
LSP Small Grains Field Day/Networking Event
Saturday August 2
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
LSP Small Grains Field Day/Networking Event
Madison Mercantile, 601 1st St, Madison, MN 56256, USA

Building on the momentum and popularity of the Land Stewardship Project’s Small Grain Markets Workshop in Albert Lea, Minn., this past winter, we are offering a second free networking event in western Minnesota on Saturday, Aug. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Madison, Minn. All those curious about small grains are welcome.

We will hear from two western Minnesota farmers who have found success in growing and marketing small grains: Noreen Thomas of Doubting Thomas Farms and Peter Haugen of Sandhill Mill. Additionally, Gilbert Williams, a longtime grain mill operator and small grains procurement expert, will walk us through the processing side of the business. Lunch will be provided.

You can reserve a spot here. 

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

3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Sea of Grass 'Prairie Walk & Author Talk'
Saturday August 2
3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Sea of Grass 'Prairie Walk & Author Talk'
Lac qui Parle State Park, 14047 20th St NW, Watson, MN 56295, USA

 Join LSP for a book reading and Q & A with Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty, the authors of Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redepmtion of Nature on the American Priaire, at Lac qui Parle State Park. Prior to the book reading, we will go on a guided prairie walk to learn firsthand about the great Minnesotan prairies. Through the event, we will gain an understanding of the history, present, and future of the land and ways to work towards building more sustainable and just food and farming systems that protect our natural ecosystems. You can read a review of Sea of Grass in the current Land Stewardship Letter.
 
To reserve a spot, click here.
 
Schedule: 

  • 3 p.m. – Guided prairie walk with prairie naturalist Amy Rager  
  • 4:30 p.m. – Sea of Grass book reading by authors Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty     
  • 5 p.m. – Q & A with Dave and Josephine   
  • 5:30 p.m. – Discussion and reflection  
  • 6 p.m. – Dinner 

Camping will be available at Lac qui Parle State Park. LSP has reserved a Group Camp Site which is in the lower area of the park and can accommodate up to 50 people. Only tents are allowed — participants will need to bring their own tents and supplies. There is no electrical hookup; water spigot and vault toilets available. Please let us know via the event registration form if you plan to camp at the Group Camp Site.

For more information, contact LSP’s Melody Arteaga at marteaga@landstewardshipproject.org.

Tuesday August 5 – Thursday August 7

Farmfest 2025
Tuesday August 5 – Thursday August 7
Farmfest 2025
28366 County Hwy 13, Morgan, MN 56266, USA

Details are here.

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