Urban farmhouse takes over old general store

By LINDSAY GROME

If you drove by on any summer night, it would be hard to miss the ¾ acre dense vegetable garden taking up the better part of the corner of 42nd Ave. and 40th St. S. On this Tuesday evening in August, passersby were welcomed with samplings of the latest bean crop and garden produce for purchase at a pop-up farmers market

—a staple every Tuesday in the summer.

“This is so lovely and grassroots—I love it,” exclaims a neighborhood patron stopping in to check out the latest crops and list of upcoming classes.

Grassroots is exactly what they’re going for as the newest kid on the block in the Howe neighborhood. A former 1956 General Store is now occupied by three residential apartments, a 3/4 acre garden and The Farmhouse—a collaborative space housing offices for The Tiny Diner farm staff and the Permaculture Research Institute Cold Climate.

“It’s a focused way to meet the needs of the whole system. The partnership supports each other,” says Koby Jeschkeit-Hagen, Urban Farm Manager and Community Outreach Coordinator for Tiny Diner.

Complete with the original 1950s counter and shelves, staff from both organizations are gathering on this evening to discuss the new space they now share.

“Omigosh, they’re here!” exclaimed Maggie McKenna, Permaculture Research Institute Cold Climate Education Director, as she admired the recently purchased workshop tables, “these are perfect.”

Perfect for the big plans The Farmhouse’s future holds.

It all started in Spring 2013 when Minneapolis restaurateur Kim Bartmann, owner of Red Stag Supper Club, Barbette and Bryant-Lake Bowl, bought The Farmhouse to cultivate produce for her newest farm-to-table restaurant, The Tiny Diner, in South Minneapolis.

“She wanted to create a place for other urban growers," says Jeschkeit-Hagen. “This is a new farm-to-table concept; the produce is delivered by bike from this location to the restaurant. It shows that this can be done in the broader community in Minneapolis with many different restaurants.”

Around that same time, the Permaculture Research Institute Cold Climate, which brings together people who care about living more sustainably in colder climates, was looking for a permanent home.

“This was a perfect spot for us because our partner holds very similar values about restoring ecosystems, permaculture, and creating healthy communities and spaces,” says McKenna. “The on-site farm that’s built with permaculture ethics and principles is an incredible living example of all of the things we teach.”

With similar missions in mind, they officially teamed up in June 2014 to share resources and create a space that the community can use—and learn from.

Utilizing ideas from a harvest party held last September and funds from a Kickstarter campaign—the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects—they're working to develop the old space into a community meeting spot. They’ve already held some classes and workshops at The Farmhouse and plan on opening up a

resource library with how-to videos and books on sustainable urban farming and a potential tool share with the ability to rent or borrow tools.

“It will be the store of skills instead of the store of products and produce,” says Jeschkeit-Hagen.

“We’ll have book clubs, skill shares where you can learn hands-on skills like how to build a dehydrator, straw bale or bee hotel,” says McKenna, “Together people can study here and create and network, and eventually community groups can use the space.”

They’re even transforming the old meat cooler into a mushroom incubator.

Kara Guerra, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota studying public health, is one of several farm assistants who help make these ideas a reality. As part of her field work for her graduate degree, and for a small stipend, she works between 10-15 hours a week helping out at The Farmhouse and serving as the volunteer coordinator.

“I want our food systems to be sustainable, but I don’t think we’re there yet,” says Guerra as she de-buds basil in the garden. “I’m hopeful this is a model that is sustainable, since most types of agriculture are dependent on free labor.”

She works alongside several other farmhands who are going through the Permaculture Research Institute Cold Climate apprenticeship program. After nine months, they will be certified in urban farming, know how to run their own local food business and how to live more sustainably.

Guerra says this is her way of learning how to create her own sustainable garden for her, and her family’s, future.

“People are taking back what has always been part of our heritage,” says Jeschkeit-Hagen.

Even if it is one small corner of the neighborhood at a time.

For more information on upcoming classes and workshops visit tinydinerfarm.wordpress.com or pricoldclimate.org.