Blooming Prairie Foundation Announces 2006 Grant Awards

In mid-April the Blooming Prairie Foundation announced the recipients of its 2006 grants. Ten grants totaling $177,000 have been awarded to the following organizations doing important work for cooperatives, the organic and natural food industry, and for the health and well-being of our planet:

Cooperative Development Fund of CDS $15,000 was awarded to CDS for its work with the Food Alliance Midwest program, a project helping Midwest producers move into sustainable agriculture, obtain organic certification, and connect them to market partners.

Cornucopia Institute The foundation has awarded Cornucopia $15,000 to support its expansion of a grassroots education campaign to identify producers who follow best organic practices—and those who don’t.

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy $10,000 was granted to IATP for its important policy work at all levels to promote a sustainable food system, organic agriculture, and cooperative economic development.

Midwest Food Connection The Foundation awarded $22,000 for Natural Foods—Teaching the Next Generation, a breakthrough project working with schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to educate kids about organic foods and healthy living.

Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services MOSES received $25,000 for its Help Wanted: Organic Farmers campaign, which expands organic production in the Upper Midwest by promoting opportunities in organic agriculture and by providing resources to transition to organic production.

NCB Development Corporation This applicant will use the $25,000 awarded by the Foundation for its long-range Food Co-op 500 program, which aims to expand the number of retail grocery cooperatives by providing start-up grants to new ventures.

Practical Farmers of Iowa The Foundation awarded $10,000 to Practical Farmers of Iowa for its project to develop a replicable, county-wide alliance among farmers, consumers, restaurants, and grocery stores for promoting a local, sustainable food system.

Research, Education, Action & Policy on Food Group REAP was granted $25,000 to expand the Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch program to 25 additional school districts, promoting schoolchildren’s access to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation $15,000 was awarded as matching funds for Twin Pines’ forward-looking Cooperative Community Fund program, which helps local food cooperatives establish charitable arms to do more and better work in the communities they serve.

White Earth Land Recovery Project The Project will use the Foundation’s $15,000 grant for its Environmental Justice: Manoomin Ogitchidaag program, working to protect the natural lake wild rice of the White Earth Indian Reservation from genetic contamination and to establish fair trade practices for indigenous wild rice harvesters.

Blooming Prairie Foundation was established with money generated principally from the sale of Blooming Prairie Cooperative Warehouse, a cooperative distributor of natural and organic products serving a 12-state Midwestern area. To honor the history and success of Blooming Prairie Cooperative Warehouse, Blooming Prairie Foundation was established as a 501©(3) organization with a mission to:

• Further the health of the people and the planet, and the cooperative business model, by supporting development, research, and educational efforts in the organic industry and cooperative community;

• Encourage, support, promote and enhance the development of organic and natural products;

• Encourage, support, promote and enhance cooperative development in the natural products industry.

The Foundation annually awards grants to charitable, tax-exempt organizations for projects that further its mission. The deadline for the 2007 grant cycle is February 1, 2007. Contact: [email protected].