Food of the North is a Fargo-Moorhead organization that works to celebrate, connect and empower the local food community and beyond. Formed in August 2015, friends Megan Myrdal, Gia Rassier & Jeff Knight decided to host a one-time event to raise awareness about the issue of food waste. Over 100 people showed up and wanted to know more. They saw a need for continued conversation around food sustainability and to keep hosting events. Keep reading to find out more about what they do. Did you know 40% of food resources go to waste in the U.S. each year? “Ugly Food” refers to cosmetically imperfect produce - aka three legged carrots, misshapen tomatoes, etc. This perfect safe, fresh produce is sometimes trashed because people believe that fruits and vegetables need to look a certain way in order for them to be something they want to eat. Food Of The North is on a mission to change that. Megan, Gia and Annie joined Grand Farm to share their story.
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MARCH/APRIL 2020
How did Food of the North begin? Megan: Our organization - Food of the North (formerly Ugly Food of the North) was formed in the summer of 2015 when Gia Rassier, Jeff Knight, and Megan Myrdal watched a YouTube segment by John Oliver that featured the devastating amount of food waste in the United States. We were shocked to learn that 40% of food resources are wasted each year, while nearly 50 million Americans live in food insecure households. In the United States, we have an abundance of food, but a huge amount of it is not reaching those who need it. A portion of that waste is comprised of perfectly good fruits and veggies that never make it to groceries and farmers markets because they aren’t aesthetically pleasing aka “ugly food.” Inspired, we decided to host an event in conjunction with the newly-formed Red River Market in Downtown Fargo and encouraged farmers to bring the produce they wouldn’t typically try to sell. Market patrons were asked to buy this produce, make a dish to share and join us for an “Ugly Food of the North Community Potluck” a
couple days later. We weren’t sure what to expect but over 100 people showed up and wanted to know more. We saw a need for continued conversation about creating a more sustainable food system in our community - and essentially - that’s how Food of the North was born! When & why did you drop “Ugly” from “Food of the North”? Gia: When we hosted our first event in August 2015 as Ugly Food of the North, we really just wanted to have a one-time event that raised awareness about food waste - but over 100 people showed up and wanted to know more. We saw a need for a continued conversation in our community around food and farming issues, and essentially - kept having events! To date, we’ve hosted over 60 unique events about a range of food-related issues. As we’ve grown, so has the scope of our work. In the spring of 2016, we launched