Our education and outreach program, Minnesota Cooks, highlights our commitment to local food producers.
Minnesota Farmers Union has been a driving force behind the local food movement in Minnesota. In 2003, we created Minnesota Cooks™, a program devoted to celebrating and highlighting the partnerships between Minnesota’s dedicated family farmers and talented chefs, cooks and restaurant owners from around the state who work tirelessly to highlight farm-fresh foods on their menus.
The idea that farms and restaurants could work together directly to support and help each other succeed was still far from mainstream back in 2003, but that didn’t stop Minnesota’s innovative community from galvanizing and forging powerful business relationships, resulting in a new food system for our state revolving around local foods. Since its creation, Minnesota Cooks’s mission has been to highlight these critical partnerships, tell their stories, drive consumers toward Minnesota-grown foods and inform people about where their food comes from.
Through our one-day event at the Minnesota State Fair, an accompanying calendar sent to MFU members, the public television program Farm Fresh Road Trip and the upcoming book The Farmer and the Chef: Farm Fresh Minnesota Recipes and Stories, Minnesota Cooks strengthens the health and fabric of Minnesota’s farms, restaurants, households and economy by connecting consumers with locally grown foods. Minnesota Cooks ultimately demonstrates that locally grown food is a viable economic opportunity for many family farmers.
The Minnesota Cooks team:
Claudine Arndt, Program Manager – claudine@mfu.org
Claudine Arndt is the manager of Minnesota Cooks, acting as the team lead organizing Minnesota Cooks Day at the Minnesota State Fair, an annual, all-day celebration featuring family farmers and chefs demonstrating locally grown and raised foods. She is the author of the stories featured in the annual Minnesota Cooks calendar and the primary author of the stories in The Farmer and the Chef: Farm Fresh Minnesota Recipes & Stories. Also a nutrition counselor and owner of Wellness with Claudine, she encourages others to choose quality, local foods whenever possible as part of their health journey.
Katie Cannon, Photographer – katie@katiecannonphotography.com
Katie Cannon is the photographer for the Minnesota Cooks™ program, the public television program Farm Fresh Road Trip and The Farmer and The Chef: Farm Fresh Minnesota Recipes and Stories. Her photography business, Katie Cannon Photography, focuses on lifestyle photography of food, families, farms and travel.
www.katiecannonphotography.com
To learn more about Minnesota Cooks, visit its website, www.minnesotacooks.org.