• Playing in the Mud: Functional Heirlooms’ Norwegian-Mexican-American Pottery

    Ceramics are both beautiful objects and a domestic necessity used in intimate ways. “I love the function of the pieces I create. You are able to eat out of them; you put your mouth to them,” muses Wendy Eggerman of Functional Heirlooms. “How many forms of art do you put your mouth to? How many forms of art do you interact with on that level?”

  • Feeding the Grass for the Best Grass Fed Beef: Blackberry Ridge Farms

    “My biggest surprise in running Blackberry Ridge Farms is how much failure is involved in farming. Nearly every day we say, ‘Okay, that didn't work, what will we do next?,’” shares Erin Gervais. “We are constantly pivoting and innovating. It's so humbling and at the same time incredibly rewarding because many times we do succeed, and success is far sweeter after some failure.”

  • The Black Radish: Reinventing the Urban CSA, One Yard at a Time

    The Black Radish is an urban oasis where sunflowers tower and ripe beans dangle in magical tunnels. Tucked into its south Minneapolis neighborhood, this farm fosters community through the weekly gathering of CSA pickup, the volunteers who make the work possible, and the yards that nourish local residents. 

  • Why Kernza Crackers Matter: Perennial Pantry’s Quest for the Home Cook

    “Bringing an entirely new crop out into the world while making it something that people can easily become familiar with and start to use is fundamentally a very hopeful act,” observed Christopher Abbott of Perennial Pantry.

  • Community Sourcing: River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co Keeps it Local in St Peter

    River Rock Kitchen & Baking Co’s local community impact starts with sourcing. Under Montana’s leadership, the bakery sources their ingredients from more than a dozen farms, mills, and cooperatives in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

  • Small Batch Specialty Roasts: Walnut Grove’s Half Pint Coffee Co

    Freshly opened in June 2024, Half Pint Coffee Company brings a new coffee house to downtown Walnut Grove. The menu includes a full coffee bar featuring Half Pint Coffee Co’s freshly roasted beans along with baked treats, smoothies, teas and hand scooped ice cream.