Minnesota Institute of Health
		Fresh Energy
		Land Stewardship Project

Minnesota Institute of Public Health
In 2003, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists discovered a link between death rates from birth defects among baby boys and farm counties that produced large wheat crops. The data showed that if the infants were conceived in April or June, when pesticide application is at its zenith, the infants were more than four times more likely to have birth defects than the general population. Researchers at the University of Minnesota arrived at a similar conclusion. The University’s Department of Environmental Medicine and Pathology noted an increased rate of children with developmental disorders born to farm families in the Red River Valley of North Dakota, as well as an increase in thyroid cancer in adults.

To address this deadly issue, the Bush Foundation awarded three grants between 2003 and 2005 totaling more than $765,000 to the Minnesota Institute of Public Health (MIPH), a nonprofit agency whose goal is to safeguard and protect public health. A three-year grant of $465,650 was directed to statewide training and certification of pesticide applicators. A one-year grant of $224,775 was devoted to community outreach so farmers, their families and communities could learn the serious health risks from pesticide misuse. In addition, a one-year grant of $74,900 was targeted for the reduction of pesticide exposure in the Red River Valley. As a result of this support, MIPH initiated the following:

		Launched a sweeping public education campaign. MIPH initiated a public information campaign to make people aware that some adult cancers, infant death rates and birth defects could be reduced if farmers changed the way they applied pesticides.
		Forged landmark agreements on pesticide information sharing. Created a collaboration among the Minnesota Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the University of Minnesota Extension Service to share information with the state’s 30,000 private and professional pesticide applicators. This collaboration, the first in the country, attracted broad interest including that of the EPA.
		Created partnerships with key stakeholders. The $224,775 Foundation grant aided in obtaining commitments from key state players to include warnings about chronic disease from pesticides into the state’s formal training guidelines.

As a result of the Bush Foundation’s support, hundreds of farmers and families have been re-educated about how to handle pesticides and the very troubling connection between pesticides and birth defects, as well as infant mortality and increased rates of chronic disease and cancer.
 
Fresh Energy
On May 18, 2006, Minnesota for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ME3) unveiled the result of its rebranding campaign: ME3 became Fresh Energy. “Fresh Energy” better defines an organization that develops strategies about clean energy technology, energy efficiency, transportation and climate change.

The Bush Foundation supported Fresh Energy with three grants totaling $1.2 million. As a direct result of this funding, Fresh Energy built its staff and marketing, branding and communication capacity. Fresh Energy also met ambitious policy objectives with Foundation support and enabled Fresh Energy to become a more effective organization.

The impact goes beyond branding. Fresh Energy now has:

		Strengthened leadership. A deputy director and administrative associate were hired, giving the executive director more time to lead the organization toward expanded regional and national initiatives.
		Improved fundraising. A new grants coordinator was hired and existing employees were promoted in development and communication. The result: improved fundraising capabilities. (Individual donor contributions rose by 157 percent between 2002 and 2004).
		Optimized operations. New internal systems were created to improve personnel, financial and database management.
		Achieved tangible policy outcomes. Policy wins include a new power line to carry wind power from the Buffalo Ridge area of southwest Minnesota to the Twin Cities and provisions that Xcel Energy, a primary electric utility, will purchase up to 60 megawatts of energy from farmers and small wind developers in southwest Minnesota.

Land Stewardship Project
Land Stewardship Project (LSP) protects and enhances farmland and economic opportunity for family farms. Believing that access to fresh, local healthy food is good for a community’s health and economy, LSP works in partnership with Food Alliance Midwest (FAM). This partnership creates new markets for farmers who grow food in ways that are environmentally sound and socially just. The beneficiaries: Midwestern families, sustainable farmers and students.

The Bush Foundation made a two-year, $250,000 grant to LSP to recruit farmers throughout Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota to enroll in FAM’s certification program. Beginning with only four farmers in 2001, the program grew to more than 20 farmers by 2003. Farmers who pass FAM certification meet stringent requirements. The way they produce food must protect the water supply. They must reduce or eliminate pesticides, reduce or eliminate hormones and antibiotic use in animals, and provide fair, safe working conditions for employees.

The grant to LSP also sought to increase the number of stores, restaurants, hospitals, schools, universities and colleges buying fresh, local, healthy food bearing the FAM certification seal. Land Stewardship Project accomplished the following:

		Added more land and farmers producing fresh, local, healthy food. An additional 50,000 acres from 20 new farmers in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota are growing food according to FAM standards.
		Raised public awareness. Nearly 4,000 citizens attended education about sustainable farming and a number of farmers participated in outreach events for growers.
		Expanded food service programs. Eighty-five venues joined, making healthier food available to more than 750,000 people. Fresh, healthy food was accessible to students at 11 colleges and universities and to employees at 14 corporate campuses. As part of this expansion, an implementation plan for food services was developed. University, corporate and health care partners worked together as collaborators on this plan.
		Upped retail participation in the FAM program. Three new retail groceries, including co-ops and conventional groceries, were added to FAM’s retail program.
		Created significant visibility for the program. More than 10 million media impressions were earned through stories about FAM in the Wall Street Journal, Daily Grist (of the Natural Resources Defense Council), Minneapolis Star Tribune, and other regional and national media outlets.

LSP’s leadership in cooperation with FAM has led to growing numbers of acres and farmers engaging in healthier farming practices, which have ultimately led to stronger ecological health. LSP’s work is considered exemplary. The organization is viewed nationally as a model of how to protect farmland and spur economic growth for family farmers.