By: Sarah Waddle, Community Center/Extension Educator and Leanne Avery, Community Center Assistant

The Cook County Community Center is a community gathering place that promotes well-being and social connection for all ages. The campus includes the main Community Center building and historic Log Cabin building as well as the ice rinks and warming house, skate park and playgrounds. In addition, the campus encompasses a ball field, tennis courts, a horse park, and community garden. The main building also houses staff offices for the Community Center, University of Minnesota Extension, and local Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP). As summer arrives in Cook County, we are happy to provide an array of activities and opportunities for you and your family.

Grand Marais Farmers Market: The Community Center will once again host the local Farmers Market in the parking lot every Thursday from 4:30-6:00 p.m. rain or shine starting June 15. We are excited to announce that we have a couple new vendors this year joining our favorites from years past. Shoppers will be able to find local fresh produce, breads, baked goods, flowers, and more at the market each week.

We will once again be accepting SNAP/EBT at the market. In addition, we have a matching program called Market Bucks that turns your first $10 SNAP purchase into $30 worth of tokens to spend at the Market each week. What a great way to stretch your food dollars! We also offer a program for those in the County who receive WIC benefits. Those clients currently receiving WIC will be mailed a Together We Grow card to present each week at the market welcome booth for $10 worth of tokens to spend on food items at the Market. Visit the welcome booth at the Market for more information or to participate in these programs.

Thanks to generous sponsorship from the Grand Marais Oral Health Task Force, we will be launching a new program at the market in July called the Power of Produce. Children ages four to 12 can visit the welcome booth each week for $4.00 worth of tokens that they may spend on their choice of produce. Children will also receive their own market bag to carry their produce home. Stay tuned for announcements on the start date for this exciting new offering.

You can follow the Grand Marais Farmers Market on Facebook for weekly updates on what will be available at the market as well as announcements.

Kitchen Incubator Program: Another valuable resource of the Community Center is the Kitchen Incubator Program. This program aims to support food entrepreneurs in the start-up phase of their businesses. Food businesses apply to participate, and those selected gain access to the commercial kitchen at the Community Center for up to two years at a low hourly rental rate. For more information about this program, visit our website.

Room Rental:  Does your summer include a birthday party or family gathering? The Community Center has several spaces available for rental including a commercial kitchen, the Log Cabin, a small conference room and a large indoor arena.  In addition to spaces, we also rent tables and chairs. Summer is filling fast. Fill out a rental request now to ensure availability.

Food distributions: The second Tuesday of every month is the Ruby's Pantry distribution at the Community Center from 4:30-6:00 p.m. This is a food distribution open to all, shares are $25 and are quite large. The fourth Wednesday of every month from 1:30-2:00 p.m. is the Second Harvest Northern Lakes mobile food pantry. The food is distributed in a drive-through format in the Community Center parking lot. Those taking advantage of the program please be ready to provide basic information like name, address, and number of people in your household. For more information, please email [email protected].

Summer Ball Programs: Various softball and baseball programs through Community Education have begun and continue through the end of July. These include Little League, Parent Pitch, T-Ball, girls’ softball as well as men’s and women’s leagues. For more information you can visit the Community Education website.  For a full schedule of which teams are playing on the various fields check out the ball field schedule on the Community Center website. 

University of MN Extension Office: Our local extension office is our connection to University of Minnesota resources which help residents improve their lives through research-based information and skills. Contact the Extension Office to ask questions about your yard and garden, connect with our local food systems work, or to participate in workshops and programs. Later this summer and fall we are offering two in depth courses locally that are open for registration now: a Master Woodland Steward course and Master Naturalist Volunteer course. Don’t let finances be a barrier; both courses have assistance available for those who need it, and we welcome your registrations and questions!

For more information on Extension in Cook County or to subscribe to the Cook County Extension newsletters visit the Extension website or contact Sarah Waddle: [email protected], 218-387-3015.

To help keep you up to date on the “happenings” at the Community Center, we produce a monthly newsletter as well.  To read our most recent newsletter and/or subscribe to future editions visit our website.

Article Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrandMaraisFarmersMarket
Kitchen Entrepreneur Incubator Program: https://www.co.cook.mn.us/government/departments/community_center/kitchen_incubator_program.php
Community Center Facility Rental: https://www.co.cook.mn.us/government/departments/community_center/facility_rental.php
Community Education: https://www.co.cook.mn.us/government/departments/community_center/facility_rental.php
Ball Field Schedule: https://www.co.cook.mn.us/government/departments/community_center/ballfields.php
Master Woodland Steward: https://extension.umn.edu/event/master-woodland-steward-northeast-arrowhead
Master Naturalist Volunteer: https://www.minnesotamasternaturalist.org/courses/register/?courseId=1539

Extension Newsletter: https://cms7.revize.com/revize/cookcountymn/government/departments/extension_services/extension_newsletter.php

County Connections is a column on timely topics and service information from your Cook County government. Cook County – Supporting Community Through Quality Public Service.