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Success Stories: Grants and the Capacity they provided
The following two pages summarize the grants awarded to the steering committee. It should be noted that in cases where a lead applicant needed to be listed, the steering committee worked together to discover the candidate who would be the best fit for the grant application.
The Center for Small Towns (CST) is a two-decade-old program in the Morris branch of the University of Minnesota. Its mission and vision is to provide small towns around the state with resources to combat the challenges their town face and take advantage of the opportunities that their towns provide. They have provided the LFLP Steering Committee with an intern, Lily Sugimura, to assist with the marketing and social media of Pelican Market, as well as anything else that was needed to be done over the summer. She continues to work with the LFLP Steering Committee remotely from the University of Minnesota Morris Campus. Minnesota GreenCorps is a year-long Americorps program launched in 2009 and conducted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Its goal is to preserve and protect Minnesota ' s environment while training the next generation of environmental professionals. Every year, approximately 50 members are hosted by organizations around the state to help further the goals set by the host site. This year, the LFLF Committee applied to GreenCorps for a member to help them continue their work. Ellie Litzinger, the writer of this impact report, is currently enjoying her work here in Pelican Rapids.
The old Welcome Place logo (Left) and the new Community and Life Services logo. Image Credit: Community and Life Services Community and Life Services (formerly known as The Welcome Place) has been a key partner in acting as a fiscal host to manage funds brought in by the steering committee. They have also provided physical office space for the CST Summer interns and the GreenCorps members, and letters of support for projects when requested.
West Central Initiative (WCI) is a regional planning organization and foundation based in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. The organization operates across a 9-county region, plus a small part of the White Earth Nation. WCI' s mission is to improve west central Minnesota through funding, programs, and technical assistance. Their support in providing facilitation for the LFLP Steering Committee is part of a larger organization-wide effort to expand planning and technical assistance for regional food systems. PartnerSHIP 4 Health is a four-county collaborative of community and public health partners in Becker, Clay, Otter Tail, and Wilkin counties. The goal of the group is to prevent chronic disease through sustainable changes that increase physical activity, increase affordable access to healthy eating, and decrease tobacco use and exposure. In Pelican Rapids, they have facilitated conversations around how to improve Highways 59 and 108 for biking safety, pedestrian safety, and handicapped accessibility. They also keep up-to-date on Local Foods, Local Places activities and provide their support in any way they can, from funding to public support.
