HAFA

Watch this great video about a project our wonderful partner and ally, the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC), is working on! The Latino Economic Development Center (LECD) is a nonprofit business development organization that offers support to Latino entrepreneurs who want to create their own business in the Twin Cities and throughout rural Minnesota. LEDC’s immigrant and refugee business training programs and its agricultural development programs help ensure we are preparing the next generation of Minnesota farmers. Minnesota 2020 went behind-the-scenes to learn about this unique partnership between a community council and business development organization.

Two years ago, the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) began delivering five dollar bags of fresh, locally grown produce to St. Paul Public Housing residents. It was a pilot project to get nutritious produce to low-mobility customers as well as build additional markets that could help sustain Hmong American family farming in Minnesota.

Today, the effort has grown into a robust 12-week community supported agricultural (CSA) business with over 200 members across the metropolitan area. “When I get my CSA box filled with beautiful produce, I know that it’s the labors of a hard working Hmong farmer who is trying to support her family through farming,” says Anne Hunt, Environmental Policy Director in the office of Mayor Chris Coleman.

HAFA CSA subscribers receive their produce boxes at one of eleven workplace wellness programs in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, including both the Minneapolis and St. Paul City Halls.

A CSA is an agricultural business model in which members pay farmers in advance so that farmers can use the funds to jumpstart the costs of planting. In return, CSA members receive regular deliveries of fresh produce throughout the growing season.

“HAFA is so excited to partner with many institutions in the Twin Cities that care about healthy eating,” says Pakou Hang, Executive Director of HAFA.

The HAFA CSA sources produce from over 30 Hmong American farmers who live in the Twin Cities and are members of the organization.

For decades now, Twin Cities’ farmers markets have been known for abundant varieties of high quality produce grown by Hmong farmers. Yet Hmong farmers are seeing their ability to make a living selling produce at the farmers markets decline, due to the saturation of the farmers markets without a parallel growth in customers. The HAFA CSA is just one part of a three-pronged strategy HAFA has developed to build alternative markets that expand sales for HAFA farmers, while increasing access to locally grown produce for Twin Cities’ residents.

The second strategy is building partnerships with institutional buyers such as public school districts, preschool programs, private schools and colleges.  And the third strategy is selling to distributors and retail stores such as Russ Davis Wholesale, Mississippi Market, Twin Cities Mobile Market and Lunds & Byerlys, where customers can find specialty produce like Brussels sprouts and purple string beans.

Two years ago, HAFA launched the Alternative Markets Program with just two institutional buyers. This year the Alternative Markets Program is projecting sales over $150,000, and sells Hmong farmers’ fresh produce to six retailers and nine institutions.

Read more about HAFA’s programs at: http://www.hmongfarmers.com/programs/.