Wooden Spoon is invested in minimizing food waste and ensuring that all members of our community have access to affordable, quality, healthful foods. As part of these values, the Wooden Spoon team participates in a community-wide food recovery effort.
Wooden Spoon owner Natasha Frost and Executive Chef Brigette (B) Rasmussen founded the food recovery effort in May 2019. It all started with a phone call from Mankato Youth Place Director Erin Simmons about three pallets (one and a half tons) of raw chicken that were turned away from the Walmart Distribution Center and headed for the landfill. The Wooden Spoon Team accepted the chicken and processed it to be used by Mankato Youth Place and other local nonprofits that provide food to community members in need. Realizing this was not a unique problem, Wooden Spoon began building a community-led food recovery effort, working with local nonprofits, coalitions, and individuals who are committed to ensuring that quality food is not wasted and instead gets to those in need.
In October 2020, Wooden Spoon secured the first grant to support the food recovery effort from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The grant was used for infrastructure improvements, including expanding an existing space and purchasing a large refrigerator and freezer, which allowed for enhanced operations and expansion into recovering fresh produce.
In May 2021, under the leadership of Mankato Youth Place Director Erin Simmons, the food recovery effort began a formalized volunteer system and expanded into producing ready-made meals for distribution by partner organizations, coalitions, and individuals.
By August 2021, a group of interested stakeholders determined that a new nonprofit should be formed to carry forth the food recovery effort. The SCMNFR Board of Directors was formed and work began to file for nonprofit status.
In March 2022, SCMNFR received nonprofit status. SCMNFR entered into a formal agreement with Wooden Spoon to continue managing day-to-day food recovery operations.
Wooden Spoon has since received another MPCA grant to invest in the physical infrastructure of the space, continues to operate the SCMNFR efforts through a contract with the SCMNFR board of directors, and provides weekly meals to MY Place.