Morgan Vessel

Sabina Rose

Pocket Miller

Sarah A

We are a collective of current and former food service workers making and distributing meals to unhoused neighbors and political allies in Minneapolis.

F12 People's Kitchen

Incognito

Dashiell Robb

Katie Blanchard

Guest

Emily

Galen Ryan

Jake S

Katherine Combellick

Genna Mastellone

Lee Start

Makenzie

Megan Mayer

Connie & Rex Kerns

Carmen Hamilton

Claire Palmquist

James

Ella

Anita

Taylor Hill

Justin Harris

Paul Schoening

Kate Malanaphy

Bekah Worley Co

Blue Delliquanti

Hutchpokes

Amy P

margot

Grace

Reb W

Sam Schwartz

Mason Kerns

Cristy Blake

John

maerii

Megan Biggs

Allison Corrado

Erin Paul

Mira Klein

Hannah Scherrer

Aaron

Bright Funds

Open Collective Foundation

<div>F12 People’s Kitchen is a collective of current and former food service workers making and distributing meals to unhoused neighbors and political allies in Minneapolis. We are a queer, multi-racial group that believes in the power of food to gather people together emotionally and politically. For our kitchen, preparing and serving food is not just an act of solidarity to meet basic human needs, but a model for mutual aid and building community. </div><div> </div><div>We are committed to the abolitionist struggle, which means food sovereignty and nutritious meals freely available to all. Born in the midst of the Minneapolis Uprising, F12 People’s Kitchen supports all working-class movements for Black liberation. </div><div> </div><div>Our unhoused neighbors are primarily Black and Indigenous. Despite making up around 14% of our</div><div>county’s population, Black folks represent 65% of those living in shelters and 49% of homeless</div><div>adults living in the county total. Native Americans represent 1% of the state population, but 13% of the houseless population. There is an HIV epidemic and opioid crisis primarily affecting communities of color with unstable housing and unreliable access to health care. These communities continue to be displaced in precarious conditions because of the lack of resources provided by the city. When the 2020 COVID pandemic started, these resources became even less available. </div><div> </div><div>Our goal as a collective is to continue to answer the growing demand for food justice in our city. Alongside harm reduction services and mutual aid efforts, our foremost mode of care is nutritious meal delivery. Over the past two years, F12 People's Kitchen has made over 60,000 meals for unhoused people in Minneapolis. We have also driven through slush and snow, constructed yurts, helped defend those living in encampments from eviction, brought meals and first aid to protesters in defense of Black lives stolen by a racist police system, built and tended a luscious urban garden, catered community events, and so much more. We cherish the relationships we have built in this endeavor and the fresh faces who have joined us and brought new ideas and skills with them. </div><div> </div><div>A stronger, more secure financial infrastructure would ideally support expanding our food delivery to unhoused people, working alongside other groups already engaged in this work. It would allow us to continue to work towards building F12 People’s Kitchen into a long-term resource for the community. Until the City of Minneapolis prioritizes the well-being of those forced to live in poverty we will keep needing money to do what we do. Right now, we are attempting something HUGE which is to invite folks to be sustaining members of F12 People's Kitchen because WE'RE IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL!!! We love doing what we do, and we cherish the community we've built through this endeavor. </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><strong>The Future of F12</strong></div><ul><li>We are currently operating two days a week, doing deliveries on Saturdays and Sundays, and we want to continue this into 2023!</li><li>We want to expand and continue to offer items like water, hand warmers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, Wet Wipes, and first aid items.</li><li>We believe in direct aid, and want to continue to offer money to people we have built relationships with who are transitioning into housing. It is so much easier to get the things you need when a down payment and first month's rent is taken care of. </li><li>We would like to continue to expand the yurt building project to provide safe, lockable shelter and storage to those living outside.</li><li>We would like to continue to cater community events and offer occasional cooking and/or skill-sharing classes open to the public, including the communities we serve.</li><li>Upon securing more long term cooking space, we licensed the kitchen! Our hope is to offer this space to adjacent food projects down the road.<br /><br /></li></ul><div><strong>F12 People’s Garden</strong></div><ul><li>By growing our own food, we determined we could invest in our own growth figuratively and literally, supplementing our produce costs and having organic, fresh vegetables in abundance, while also teaching each other how to tend to the plants. This garden was a huge success in 2021, and although we had some setbacks and have a limited amount for harvest this year, it will be back up and running next summer in full abundance.</li><li>The F12 garden is a 0.25 acre lot located in St. Paul with abundant water access donated by our lovely neighbors. Last year we planted carrots, kale, chard, cabbage, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and squash, along with tons of herbs. Some of the ingredients were used in encampment meals fresh, and some we were able to preserve. We are still working through our squash!<br /><br /></li></ul><div><strong>NCFA</strong></div><ul><li>One of our strongest partnerships is with North Country Food Alliance (NCFA), who help facilitate a relationship with local farmers who in turn donate large amounts of locally-grown produce for us to use in the kitchen.</li><li>Their gleaning program brings us final produce that otherwise would have been rejected by buyers and markets, and thus saves it from becoming waste!</li><li>For the second year, we are currently receiving a portion of a grant NCFA was awarded to help cover some of our food costs and buy infrastructure for our commercial kitchen.<br /><br /></li></ul><div><strong>Shared Grounds Farmers’ Cooperative</strong></div><ul><li>This year through Shared Grounds we have received CSAs from a group of regional BIPOC farmers dedicated to sustainably grown produce.</li><li>Some of this produce went to the meals, some went to local undocumented families, and some was offered to volunteers as gratitude for their time and energy.</li></ul><div><br /></div>

Gabrielle Ripley

delivering burritos to support protesters and movements for economic and racial equality in our city

Emergency Protest Response Food Support!

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F12 People's Kitchen

We are a collective of current and former food service workers making and distributing meals to unhoused neighbors and political allies in Minneapolis.

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