Food Systems Intern
A few years ago, as an environmental studies major facing an uncertain future and dealing with climate anxiety, I began to seek out climate work that gave me hope and helped me feel that my individual actions could have an impact. Discovering the work being done in regenerative agriculture and local food systems helped spark a certainty in my mind that things could change for the better, especially if we all worked together. It was this spark that’s ultimately led me to where I am now—the communications intern for MN350’s Food Systems team.
Over the next few months, I’ll be writing blog posts promoting member restaurants of our Clean Plate Club. Through these posts, we hope not only to promote restaurants that are doing important sustainability work, but also to encourage readers to take collective actions to build the local, regenerative, and equitable food system we need for a livable future.
The Clean Plate Club, one of the Food Systems Team campaigns, aims to connect Minnesota restaurants that work to divert and reduce food waste with each other and needed resources. Restaurants that join the Clean Plate Club are dedicated to these sustainable practices and serve as guides for how other restaurants can operate in support of sustainable food systems. These restaurants often find the Clean Plate Club through the suggestion of other restaurants, but the CPC also reaches out to local restaurants that other MN350 team members recommend.
These regular blog posts will highlight local restaurants and their stories, tying their actions into the group’s shared values. You can help the Clean Plate Club by sharing the blog posts and reaching out to restaurants in your area that are working toward more sustainable practices!
Kate Coleman is a proud Minnesotan currently completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She is interested in sustainable urbanism and food systems and has been an intern for MN350’s Food Systems Team for 5 months.
