North Shore Good Neighbors meeting provides fruitful advice

Talk about it

More than 100 people filled the community center last weekend to hear about locally produced foods of all kinds and about producing some of those goods themselves. The group listened to nine presenters relate a sampling of the skills, tools and issues involved in their respective fields and how they came to be growers/fishermen/syrupers/beekeepers. There were exhibits by presenters and other local producers, and even samples of this season’s maple syrup and locally pressed apple cider to be savored.

The North Shore Good Neighbors, a local group committed to exploring and sharing information about a variety of subjects of broad interest, produced the Grown by Our Own local foods event. With the rising interest in locally grown and healthy food, they believe it is important for local growers/producers and their potential customers to find each other. Information on local CSA’s (community supported agriculture) and summer markets, including those in Alden Township, the Brimson area and the future Two Harbors farmers market, was also shared.

Most attendees at Grown by Our Own took home the free resource guide prepared by event organizers with input from the presenters. It includes contact and other information for all the presenters as well as sources for more information about food production subjects, including books and films (several available at our Two Harbors Public Library), and websites of local, regional and national scope. Copies of the resource guide are available at the public library. A 90-minute video covering most of the presentations will also be available at the library soon.

Reactions overheard after the event included: “Interesting speakers — I learned a lot,” “The local foods movement is vibrant nationwide, I was pleased to see the organizing happening here,” and “This was an awesome community-building and networking opportunity.” Organizers were impressed by the broad cross-section of the community represented in the audience.

The North Shore Good Neighbors say this was the first of what could become an annual event, based on the enthusiastic response to this year’s Grown by Our Own. A variety of follow-up events are under consideration. Further information about the North Shore Good Neighbors may be obtained by contacting northshoregoodneighbors@gmail.com

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