Open Farms- Open Arms of Minnesota

Open Farms is an urban farm and CSA run by the non-profit organization, Open Arms of Minnesota. At Open Arms we nourish body, mind, and soul by preparing and delivering free, nutritious meals to people living with life-threatening and chronic illnesses like cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in the Twin Cities metro area. By purchasing a share, you'll not only enjoy healthy eating each week in your own home, but you'll help provide funding for meals for people living with life-threatening illness. At Open Farms, we sustainably grow over 40 varieties of high-quality nutritious vegetables and herbs. In your share you will see many of the traditional staples like green beans, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, and squash as well as unique, heirloom varieties. Open Farms consists of multiple urban sites located in St. Paul and Minneapolis. By turning vacant lots into vibrant gardens we are transforming under utilized urban spaces into food and providing a platform for discussion around food justice. At the farm we use organic methods and permaculture principles to work with nature, rather than against it. We do not use any synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers on any of our lots. This is especially important because at the heart of Open Arms, are our clients, people who are battling life-threatening illnesses and deserve high-quality, chemical-free produce in their meals. At the farm we use a variety of different growing techniques to maximize efficiency and space. We use vertical farming techniques such as potato towers and have also built a Hugelkultur mound from resources in the neighborhood. We strive to create beautiful, productive spaces. If you visit the farm you will notice that we use companion planting, crop rotations, cover cropping and green manure as ways to increase productivity, build healthy soil and reduce pest problems. We also recycle any organic waste we create on site in our compost pile and our worm bins. Finished product from the worm bins and compost pile are then applied to the soil to nourish our plants and help feed soil microbes.