This time of year, the farmers’ markets are rich with local vegetables, berries, meats, breads and jams. It’s a visual testament to the abundance of our region and the ever-growing local foods economy that is sustained by consumers who want to buy directly from area farmers. At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), we have been supporting the local foods economy in … [Read more...]
SMIF Stakeholders on the Bus – Regional bus tour visits Mower, Fillmore and Houston Counties
Every summer I look forward to Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation’s (SMIF) annual bus tour. For the fifth year, SMIF staff and board spent the day visiting partners who are making a difference in their community. This year we traveled to the eastern part of our 20-county region – Mower, Fillmore and Houston counties. We started out the tour by enjoying a meal from SMIF … [Read more...]
Working together for greater impact
At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), our tagline is “Collaborating for Regional Vitality.” Whether we are working with partners in early childhood, economic development or community vitality, we do our best to complement what others are doing in those arenas so that collectively we can have more results than we would have separately. This spirit of collaboration … [Read more...]
Early childhood programming
As the final snow melts away and spring flowers appear, our staff at Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) is looking ahead to a busy year of programming for our 20-county region. This spring, our Early Childhood team has already been focused on providing trainings to area child care providers, while working with several communities on addressing the child care … [Read more...]
Bringing our resources to a Sprout! event near you
At Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) we sometimes joke that we are our region’s “best kept secret.” But it is true that despite the fact that we are regularly out in our 20-county region visiting with partners and facilitating trainings, we find that there are still many people who do not know about SMIF. Unfortunately, that could mean an entrepreneur who doesn’t … [Read more...]