PRAIRIE Fund

PRAIRIE: Prairie Rose Agricultural Institute for Research, Innovation and Education.

PRAIRIE Fund supports educational, research and demonstration activities for advancing goals of improved human health, environmental stewardship, farm land preservation and education and training in sustainable agriculture.

“PRAIRIE” stands for Prairie Rose Agricultural Institute for Research, Innovation & Education

Mission: Uniting compassionate hearts & skills from many cultures for a renewal of health, agriculture, and community.

PRAIRIE, using the model of biodiversity of native prairie, is launching related initiatives:

  1. Prairie Rose Farm is a working demonstration and education farm north of Moorhead with a multicultural farmer team that offers apprenticeships, CSA family & food shelf shares and provides “space to grow” options and technical support for immigrant New Roots Incubator Farmers.

Funds are needed to provide low income access to fresh vegetables through the CSA and  FAIR SHARE, Food Shelf Shares, or VEGGIE Rx Share financial support for low-income CSA members; to provide onsite demonstrations gardens for youth and elder gardening experiences; to support biodynamic training courses for farmers and the local community.  Matching funds (25%) are also needed to finance the establishment of pollinator buffers, and tree/hedge row plantings to buffer biodynamically certified land from neighboring conventional farmers.

 

  1. The Urban, Youth, Food, and Ecology Initiative increases access by low-income families to fresh locally grown produce and create ACCESS to land, training, & resources for BIPOC & underserved urban gardeners;
    1. Pilot a youth-led demonstration/teaching garden; low-cost methods for backyard and/ berm gardens, season extension, home production of bedding plants, replacing impervious surfaces with pollinator & rain gardens.
    2. Support neighborhood-based, family managed gardens to expand food access directly by educating youth as food producers for families in need;
    3. Build a long-term infrastructure of support for local food production through a coalition of local government & organizations
    4. Establish a Network: K-20 school, college students & faculty will create “Career Pathways” linking schools, community gardens, farms, all assisting K-20 students to develop employable skills.
    5. New Roots farmers will Partner with First Congregational UCC to use their commercial kitchen for processing value-added products for their growing farm enterprises.

 

  1. Farmland Conservation Partners (FCP) addresses the need for new models for cooperative social financing to support start-up CSA’s, beginning farmers, and other new agriculture and food-related initiatives. It all boils down to …increasing access to farmland and venture capital for organic farmers. A current effort underway on 106+ acres in Clay Co. will:
    1. Support a beginning woman farmer’s efforts to acquire farmland,
    2. Support organic transition to specialty crops & small grains
    3. Reserve/partially develop with organic conversion, hedge row, pollinator strip, & fencing a 13+ acre micro farm site for an additional beginning farmer
    4. Provide an example of Creation Care/Climate Justice movements across denominations relating land access to climate change, equity, social justice,
    5. Provide a replicable partnership financing model for additional land access efforts

Food for All 

Being part of a truly sustainable food system means that everyone has access to fresh, nutritious food and that farmers get paid a fair price for their produce.

PRAIRIE is excited to launch a new program in 2023 that will purchase excess food from farmers at the end of a farmer’s market sales day for contribution to local hunger relief programs.