Saturday, September 16, 2023 | Country Acres • Page 1
Country Acres Saturday, September 16, 2023
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Volume 10, Edition 13
Garden of plenty
Check out the rest of the farm families in B Section!
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the Kandiyohi and customer service, Larsons foster skills, life lessons named Farm Family of the among other things. BY SARAH COLBURN STAFF WRITER
WILLMAR— Each week teens and young adults gather around a table with their mentors to share in a meal with food they grew, harvested and cooked themselves. The MNyou Youth Garden serves as a training ground for young people to learn skills, make money and help diminish food insecurity throughout the
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Publications bli ti The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.
region. The thousands of pounds of vegetables produced in the garden each year do not go to waste. The food fulfills the demand of 30 to 60 paying customers who annually participate in MNyou Youth Garden’s Community Supported Agriculture program and receive weekly shares of produce. Those CSA shares cost more than traditional shares because each provides a matching CSA share to be given to a family
in need. Brent and Deb Larson oversee the program, which was started by their son Ben and co-founder Nate Erickson in 2016. “We always find an outlet for everything we grow, so the kids have an understanding we’re not just picking weeds; we’re actually making a difference in people’s lives,” Brent said. This year the Larsons’ efforts were recognized as they were
This month in the
COUNTRY: Watch for the next edition of Country Acres on October 7, 2023
Year. In addition to running the CSA program, the Larsons and their student crew sell produce at a farmers market. Any additional produce is donated to Hope for Our City, the food shelf and a church in town that distributes food. Through the program, the young adults learn seedling management, pest management, transplant and harvesting skills, greenhouse and hoop house management, marketing skills
The garden itself touts a plethora of produce. There are more than 20 vegetables grown — everything from tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots and beans to radishes, rutabaga, turnips and potatoes. In between the rows of veggies, they also grow flowers for cutting. The three-quarter acre plot of land just outside the Larsons’ home is turned over three times a year, so there is a constant influx of food being
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A family orchard Staples
15 Growing local grapes Long Prairie
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19 Milking together for 41 years Grey Eagle
11 Creativity brings concepts to life Belgrade
21 Country cooking Sauk Centre
Ben Larson picks beans alongside Ava Lundgren (left) and Raiya Sebesta in the MNyou Youth Garden in Willmar. The garden helps provide food security throughout west central Minnesota.
grown and harvested. Four years ago, the family moved a greenhouse to their property from the Minnesota West Community and Technical College to support the program. The greenhouse allows them to extend their food-growing season as do the two hoop houses on the Larsons page 2
22 Shoveling Nancy Packard Leasman column 25 Memory making Fall Farm Fest Freeport