Whole Foods Sponsors Support Minnesota City Supper

Article by Rachel Kahn, MCT Contributor

In the Midwest we often use the word supper to describe that after 6:00 meal (or 5:00 if you are my grandma).  Well, I gotta tell you this is not your grandma’s supper and ‘supper’ may have just become the new word for rock star! Introducing the Whole Foods sponsored Support Minnesota City Supper! Totally the coolest local inspired food extravaganza ever.

I was thrilled to be invited to the City Supper by Lauren of the Whole Foods downtown location. I rapidly realized that such fabulousness needed many more hours. “What do you mean it is time for dinner already?! I love to eat, yet look how much fun I'm having talking to these fabulous earth loving vendors!”, I thought as time flew by in a blink.

Whole Foods hangs out with some amazing people! Picture this. Starting with the venue. Have you heard of Peace Coffee? If you haven’t, look ‘em up. They are all about fair trade and partnering with small coffee farmers across the globe. Want to know where your coffee comes from, map it on their website, and the smart Zen folk at Peace Coffee will tell you all about the ‘faces and places’ behind your cup. The event took place in the transformed factory of Peace Coffee. Once again, we have a word that may inspire a new definition. This factory felt more like a hip artist loft with the soaring ceilings of a caffeine lover’s dream.

Upon entering, I was met with the smiling faces of Jen and Rachelle from the Edina and Maple Grove Whole Foods stores. They grinned, handed me a goodie bag and a GF tag. GF? What? Gluten free?! Wow. Who remembered to tell them? We were off to an amazing start.

Next I came to a long row of local Minnesota farmers and producers. My first stop was Garden Fresh Farms to chat hydroponics! Don’t know what hydroponics is? Simply stated hydroponics allows plants to grow indoors, in a nutrient rich environment, without soil. This topic could cover an entire LoveSelf article. For now, just know that hydroponics are awesome and The Garden Fresh Farms dudes are giving the Minnesota frozen tundra fresh organic greens and herbs all year long. I had the privilege of gobbling down alfalfa, broccoli, clover, and radish sprouts. Yummmm. I could taste the love.

My next stop was Bee Free Honee. Bee Free is a vegan honey made from organic apples and is delicious. I am happy to announce that I was able to correctly answer the trivia challenge and won a free bottle of Ancho Chile Bee Free Honey! Have I mentioned lately how much I was having?! Of course, you want to know the question... Question - Is there a Whole Foods in England? Answer - Yep! Two! Ding ding. I get the prize. Yay!

On down the line I went grinning like a happy organic elf and found myself transitioning from honee to honey. Introducing Worker B. Leisa and her brother Michael are two of the three musketeers that make up Worker B. Leisa describes creating their natural skin care line to heal her own health and skin concerns. Their raw honey products are organic and skin nurturing. This dynamic duo is all about protecting our bees and honoring our health. I am planning to spend more time with them very soon. Oh, and remember how I said Whole Foods hangs out with some amazing people? A little bee whispered in my ear that this tiny brother and sister founded company was featured in an issue of Oprah Magazine. Shhhh… They may just be too humble to tell ya.

Oh and there is one more. The chai guys of Prairie Chai. All whole ingredients. Clove, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and other loveliness are combined to create their rockin’ chai. No cutting corners for these handsome fellows.

I didn’t get to everybody so for those I missed, reach out and say hello to Lucky’s Hot Sauce, Lucille's Kitchen Garden, St Paul Bagelry and Deli, Salad Girl Dressings, Homestead Honey, Textile Center of Minnesota and JOIA All Natural Soda.

Dinner Time! Yes, there is more!!! We were served a three course Minnesota local ingredient dinner, family style. With the hundreds of attendees becoming my family. Did I mention that all of the proceeds from this dinner are being donated to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)? Pete from IATP summed it up extraordinarily well when he said “…change starts with conversation around tables like this". I would say so!

And I can’t close without telling you about a couple members of my new extended family. Zac is a passionate 7^th grade math teacher who volunteered to serve all of us around the family style dinner even when it meant forgetting to save enough for himself. And Susan, the incredible textile artist, who told me ‘through fiber’ she learned about sustainability and earth sustaining connection - both to our textiles and our food.

We are all connected in our love of mama earth and what we eat. Thank you Whole Foods and everyone who made such a night possible.

I am honored to be part of your great work.

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You can reach Rachel at rachel@loveself.org, www.loveselfmagazine.com