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  • From: "Ploughshare" <gjbrever AT midwestinfo.net>
  • To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Update on the Food for Folk Project
  • Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 09:47:31 -0600

I wanted to update this list about the investigation on our local RCD (Resource Conservation and Development--a project of the USDA) office. Below is an update and below this letter is an email I sent out to the list earlier on which gives background information about the case.  I hope at least one good thing can come out of this whole ordeal and that is that other farmers will be more cautious even if(or expecially if) that organzition has ties to  the federal government.
 
The MN Attorney General's office has finshed up with their investigation.  Last week they met with the board of RCD as well as folks from NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Sevice-- a USDA agency) and as they say, "The Fit hit the Sham!!"   The attorney from the AG's office said their agency has  never seen a case where someone has made so much up.  The executive director of this RCD fabricated documents, emails, and even made people up.   When the AG's office presented the case, the board and NRCS were absolutely shocked. (Which is crazy to me since I provided them with clear documents months ago showing them these facts).
The AG's office told me that the executive director has been fired..
The next step is going to be to work out a resolution with RCD and find restitution for myself and other organizations.  Included in this will be an apology made to me.  According to the AG's office, this resolution could take up to two months.  When this resolution is filed through the court, it will then be made public.  It will be big news in our community and probably even our state since this organization has so many county commisioners and other folks with ties to other agencies in our community.   
This is all good news.  It has been such a wierd and stressful experience... I knew all along that this executive director was making up total lies and had many documents to prove it, yet the reaction from the board and NRCS was to fall into denial.  Not only that, but they also threatened me with a lawsuit.  When this does go public you will be sure that I will be vocal about the board members and federal agencies that I feel that failed in their duty to provide oversight.  (I had an interesting conversation yesterday with the head of the national RCD program in DC.  She was very apologetic over the whole ordeal that our family went through. She also admitted that one of the main reasons that NRCS refused to investigate is because they thought I was "just a radical organic farmer.")
 I will also be vocal on how very thankful that we have an attorney general's office in this state to pursue justice for someone like me. 
        I want to thank all of you for your support and your "reality checks" through this all.  I know it is not finished, but I do feel some sense of vindication.
        I do still have many questions.. especially, "Why would someone do this."  These questions have not been thoroughly answered yet.  The investigation now will look into other projects that this RCD was sponsoring as well as the financial matters.  Perhaps, more answers will be revealed.  Who knows? 
--Gary Brever
As I said, below is a letter I sent out earlier which gives some background to our ordeal..
Last fall I emailed the list with much excitement regarding our Food For
Folk Project--an initiative that gets food from sustainable farms to
organizations that work with low income folks.  Our Excitement has now
turned to devistation. Last year we were approach by a local RCD (Resource,
Conservation and Development) that wanted to take on the project and write
grants, etc.   Since March of this year we have suspected that the local RCD
(this nonprofit  works initimately with the NRCS) was fabricating various
grants, including a $150k grant from Otto Bremer Foundation, a grant from
"OMRI" that was supposed to go to purchase all our organic seeds for this
next season, as well as a $50k grant from Paul Newman Foundation that was to
go to pay for the over $45k+ worth of vegetables that we sent through the
organization last year.  I have lots of documentation, and these are just 3
of the 15 or so grants that the director of this RCD said were either
APPROVED or she was pursuing. .



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