New Black-Owned Freight Farm in Rural Minnesota to Tackle Food Insecurity, Health Inequities

By Kristi Eaton A new initiative seeks to increase the number of farmers of color through a new freight farm to be placed in rural Minnesota. Route 1 is an organization focused on increasing food access, specifically by supporting Black, Brown, and Indigenous emerging farmers in the state, said Marcus Carpenter, founder of the organization. In February, Route 1 will place its first freight farm in the rural community of Loretto, population 650. It will be the first Black-owned freight farm in Minnesota. An exterior of a freight farm. (Source: Freight Farms) “It allows the farmer..to take these farms and really place them wherever the need exists,” Carpenter told the Daily Yonder. A company based out of Boston is supplying the refurbished shipping container upgraded with the latest technology, he said. “[It] really turns these farms into hydroponic powerhouses. So these farms have an opportunity to grow up to 1,000 pounds of fresh produce per week,” Carpenter added. Nyra Jordan, social impact investment director with the American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact, is funding the project. The Institute was founded in 2018 to invest in social entrepreneurs and create community partnerships. “We have concerns around hunger in...