The Power of Produce
事实证明，GG电子官方软件下载与当地苗族农民的关系对学生和当地食品运动都是有益的.
Cultural misperceptions are often sown at a distance and cultivated in the dark.
Take, for example, 在Vermillion乡沿着US-52号公路种植蔬菜和鲜花的移民家庭的国内情况，是一些路人想象出来的, just 20 miles northeast of Carleton.
The 155-acre collective, run by the Hmong American Farmer’s Association (HAFA), is populated by two dozen 10-foot-by-10-foot toolsheds. Painted red and designed to look like traditional barns, these picturesque structures are complemented by two greenhouses, a machine shed, a brand-new pack shed (equipped with sinks and tables to clean produce, as well as a refrigerated storage space), 一座破旧但仍能使用的乡间别墅变成了临时办公场所. An aging grain silo towers over it all, unused save for a flowery mural rendered on its northern face by ArtCrop, a St. Paul nonprofit for Hmong creatives.
甚至沿着一段以繁茂的田野和古色古香的牧场房屋而闻名的乡村高速公路, HAFA站点是一个特别田园的场景——一个许多通勤者和一些人都铭记在心的场景, whizzing by before and after work at 60 miles an hour, unconsciously misjudge. “我一直以为这些农民是一个大家庭的成员，”一名当地人顺道说. “这里的很多人都以为他们在那些小谷仓里生活和睡觉.”
Pakou Hang, HAFA’s executive director, is well aware of the stereotypes. 尽管苗族美国农民是明尼苏达州当地食品运动的组成部分，占双城农贸市场蔬菜生产者的50%以上, they were, until recently, largely uncelebrated, unsupported, and misunderstood.
For instance, while Hmong culture is known for its clan-oriented structure, there are currently 19 families each renting one or two five-acre plots from HAFA. All of them have homes in or near St. Paul, and those retro-looking red sheds house only spades and other essential tools, which each farmer owns independently.
“Because of language barriers and unfamiliarity, and probably a little bit of racism, Hmong farmers haven’t had access to land, larger markets, or any of the capital and credit that’s prevalent in agriculture,” says Hang. Until recently, 在美国农业部农业服务局没有人会说苗族语, which is responsible for awarding indispensable federal loans.
HAFA is Founded
In 2011 Hang and her brother Janssen Hang cofounded HAFA with a mission to, according to its website (www.hmongfarmers.com), “advance the prosperity of Hmong American farmers through cooperative endeavors, capacity building, and advocacy.” In practice, 这意味着帮助会员发掘利润丰厚的市场，加深他们对小企业管理的理解, including loan acquisition.
Two years later, HAFA recruited a benefactor, who purchased the acreage in Vermillion Township, and created an agricultural land trust, ensuring that farmers who qualify get a 10-year lease. Among other things, 租房者必须是全职农民，并且有三年以上三英亩土地的工作经验. 这种安排鼓励了多年作物规划，并为成员在一个本质上不可预测的行业中提供了难得的稳定性. 拥有一个实际空间也使HAFA能够鼓励和展示可持续农业实践, which is among the group’s core objectives.
Once the farm was working, HAFA began to forge a deep, mutually beneficial relationship with Bon Appétit Management Company, Carleton’s dining services provider. It was just the sort of alliance Hang and her colleagues were looking to build, since it provided their members access to a large, 全国公认的供应商，同时为他们创造了一个机会，让他们在校园和农场赞助的活动中参与更广泛的对话，讨论经济公平等问题, racial justice, and the importance of local agriculture.
“It’s a very substantive multipronged relationship,” Hang says. “We are able to sell a substantial amount of produce to Carleton, 但我们也向学生展示了食品系统的复杂性如何反映了苗族农民生活的复杂性, which are layered with misperceptions, curiosity, and struggle. It’s a full-circle thing, because, in order to lift up Hmong farmers, 你必须把他们的故事讲给别人听，而这些人会在更广泛的社区里与人分享.”
克莱尔·凯洛威(Claire Kelloway)今年16岁，是华盛顿特区开放市场研究所的一名倡导记者.C., 过去一年里，她一直在为Food网站撰写有关经济集中度对农业影响的文章 & Power (www.foodandpower.net). Kelloway, who majored in political science, says the job is a perfect fit for her passions, which were fortified in and outside of Carleton’s classrooms and cafeterias.
As a first-year student, Kelloway found her way to Carleton’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement and discovered the Real Food Challenge, 一个全国性的非营利组织，致力于鼓励大学从当地购买肉类和农产品, ecologically sound, humane sources. Later, she attended the group’s national conference, where Hang, a Yale graduate and former volunteer for Wellstone Action, gave a keynote speech. 凯洛维回到校园，致力于在HAFA和邦·阿普萨迪之间建立联盟.
“I was already interested in the idea that entities we don’t usually think about, like college cafeterias, can be vehicles for change,” she says. “Pakou的演讲给我留下了深刻的印象，让我意识到特别关注边缘化社区的重要性，他们在我们当地的食品体系中发挥着巨大的作用.”
Bon Appétit proved to be the perfect partner. Based in Palo Alto, California, 这家餐厅公司为32个州的500多家实体提供咖啡馆和餐饮服务. It’s respected for its farm-to-fork program, 要求厨师至少有20%的食材是从任何厨房方圆150英里内的小农场购买的. Kelloway, 他已经在管理GG电子官方软件下载的真实食品计算器——一个追踪机构购买模式的在线工具——找到了餐饮服务经理凯蒂·麦肯纳. 麦肯纳一直在寻求使学院的本地供应链多样化，从一开始就参与其中.
“Bon Appétit is dedicated to being a model for change,” says Kelloway, 她从GG电子官方软件下载毕业后的头两年一直在公司工作，负责与各个客户学院的联络. “They not only support smaller producers who have been cut out of large, concentrated supply chains, they also leverage those producers’ purchasing power, 哪些因素会影响那些可能不太了解(小农场和可持续性)的大型机构.”
麦肯纳和前GG电子官方软件下载厨师吉布森·普莱斯(Gibson Price)于2017年与Hang谈判，让HAFA农民向GG电子官方软件下载提供根茎类蔬菜, with a heavy emphasis on yellow onions. It was a transformative contract. 以前完全依赖季节性销售的农民学会了如何腌制蔬菜以供全年使用, 这为他们提供了更多的经济保障和购买种子和提前计划作物轮作的能力. 与一家全国性的供应商和一所著名大学建立关系也提高了HAFA的声誉, opening doors to both local lenders and prospective clients.
我们与GG电子官方软件下载的合同是促使我们投入百万美元建设新冲洗系统的主要动力之一, wash, cutting, and cooling facility. 我们的希望是，这种扩张会带来其他类似的合同，这样我们的农民就能真正为他们的未来投资. And that’s exactly what happened.Pakou Hang
In 2018 HAFA sold some 10,000 pounds of produce to Carleton, mostly cured onions and potatoes, at one dollar per. 它还获得了向明尼阿波利斯公立学校提供蔬菜的合同 & Byerlys grocery stores, and Surly Brewing. As sales increase, Hang remains loyal to the college that set the wheels in motion, encouraging Carls to visit the farm, offering to speak with classes and student groups, and hiring interns from both Carleton and St. Olaf.
Assuming the weather cooperates, 2019 is shaping up to be one of HAFA’s best. Small-scale farming is a tough business, though, and many factors will influence the association’s future. HAFA的高级组织者贝利·韦伯斯特指出，苗族农民的平均年龄在50岁以上. And while young people still help their families work the land, haul produce and flowers, and sell at various farmers’ markets, 他们对同化和经济安全的渴望可能导致未来十年人口结构的重大转变.
“For many of the older farmers, 这项工作是退休前在工厂工作的替代选择，或在退休后提供补充收入,” Webster says. “Younger Hmong folks might farm after they finish their careers, but most older farmers will say they prefer their kids go to college.”
韦伯斯特猜测，未来在集体农庄工作的农民更有可能是东非后裔, given Minnesota’s growing Somali, Sudanese, and Ethiopian immigrant population. If that happens, one can only hope that leaders like Hang, Kelloway, 和麦肯纳建立了有利可图的合作关系，并建立了理解的桥梁.