About Food of the North

Food of the North (formerly Ugly Food of the North) is a Fargo-Moorhead organization that works to celebrate, connect and empower the local food community and beyond. It was formed in August 2015 when three friends (Megan Myrdal, Gia Rassier & Jeff Knight) decided to host a one-time event to raise awareness about the issue of food waste. They weren't sure what to expect, but over 100 people showed up and wanted to know more. They saw a need for continued conversation around food sustainability, and essentially, kept hosting events. In 2016, they launched the Little Free Garden project, and in 2018, First Fridays.

Today, Food of the North is a non-profit organization that has hosted over 80 unique events, launched multiple community partnerships and is recognized as a driving force for change in the Fargo-Moorhead local food community.

The three main projects of Food of the North include:

Ugly Food of the North was established in 2015 to raise awareness about food waste. According to the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), up to 40 percent of the food in the United States is never eaten. A portion of that waste is comprised of “ugly food,” or cosmetically imperfect fruits and vegetables.

The goal of Ugly Food of the North is to increase awareness of the issue of food waste and to provide strategies for people to reduce food waste in their daily lives.

You can find “ugly food” for sale at BisMan Food Co-op and area farmers markets.

Little Free Gardens are small gardens placed in publicly accessible spaces - most often, a front yard. The garden is planted and maintained by the garden owner but the food grown is intended to be harvested and shared with anyone who wants or needs it.

The goal of the Little Free Garden project is to foster communities committed to growing, sharing and building relationships around food.

Since 2015, the Little Free Garden community has grown to include over 300 gardens in 26 states, Portugal and Canada.

First Fridays at B is a platform to engage and discuss important food topics in the Fargo-Moorhead community. This monthly event is co-hosted by Food of the North & the Cass Clay Food Partners, and is held on the first Friday of each month at Theatre B in Moorhead, Minn.

The goal of First Fridays is to create a place for networking, idea sharing, and to facilitate collaboration between people interested in growing and improving our local food community.

This one-hour event includes FREE coffee from our official sponsor, Thunder Coffee.