OUr hiStory

Our History

The Common Table was concieved as a network that included members of the food community and design community working to promote local food in Minnesota. The Common Table was founded on the belief that conversation inspires collaboration, new ideas, and actions that lead to a more holistic, just, and sustainable system for buying, selling, eating, producing and preparing food. Through community meetings, storytelling, and exhibit design, the members of The Common Table shared new ideas and formed new partnerships to prove that new ways of thinking about food is possible, setting the foundation for a broader understanding of our relationship with food.

In the inaugural year, this group developed and built an exhibit in a wing of the Horticulture Building at the 2014 Minnesota State Fair. The result was a hit among fair-goers and they were invited back in 2015 to bring more ideas about local food to the fair. In 2015 they developed six interactive and educational stations for the exhibit. These six stations were based on The Common Table’s Actions We Aspire To Inspire.

The Common Table was stewarded by this group for 10 years. In 2024, ownership of The Common Table was transferred to Metro Food Justice Network (MFJN). With much gratitude to the organizers below and all the volunteers through the years, MFJN is excited to take on leadership of The Common Table in 2024! To learn more about this next phase, please visit The Common Table page at mfjn.org.

Former Organizers