Help food freedom farmer Alvin Schlangen receive urgently needed dental care.

Alvin Schlangen, the founder of Freedom Farms Co-op (FFC) urgently needs major dental work for serious dental problems that have been negatively affecting his health. This peaceful farmer has given everything to provide wholesome nutritious food for people, and to help uphold freedom for local and small-scale farmers. Now it’s our turn to help him.

Alvin has recently begun a long series of critical treatments with a holistic dentist, with an estimated total cost of $35,000. Extensive work is needed for Alvin to regain dental function which will enable him to eat properly, stop losing weight, and remain physically strong. Since he serves as general manager of FFC on a volunteer basis, and has only a very modest health savings account as an independent farmer, his financial resources cover just a small fraction of the cost.

He has been at the forefront of the movement for healthy nutrient-dense real food, food freedom, and regenerative and sustainable farming practices and has done so with unwavering dedication. He has persevered in spite of being subjected to illegal raids and false charges and accusations by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). And even despite back problems which required major back surgery in 1985, Alvin has continued to work long hours and handle literally tons of food each week for the benefit of the many families who rely on this wholesome food.

Alvin has devoted his life to the mission of making sustainable natural and organic food available to those who want and need it. He first set up drop-sites in 2001 to provide access to food from his own farm and neighboring Amish farms, and then in 2010 officially founded FFC. FFC has a unique structure, involving herd-lease agreements in which the cooperative leases the animals and pays for their care, the co-op members own cow-shares, and there are no public sales of milk or food – this structure has allowed many families to obtain the wholesome food they need which they would otherwise not have access to. It is Alvin’s extraordinary dedication and sacrifice that have made the private member-owned food-buying club a reality.

The persecution and harassment by the MDA is viewed by many as an attempt to dissuade him and other independent farmers. Some of the major events include:

June 15, 2010: The MDA conducted a search without a warrant at the Traditional Foods Warehouse, seizing the food Alvin had there.
June 23, 2010: The MDA unlawfully raided Alvin’s farm and seized food.
March 9 2011: Alvin was unlawfully blockaded by officers in St. Paul, and MDA officials trespassed onto his truck (producing a faulty warrant after-the-fact). The truck was towed and detained by the MDA, and food was confiscated. The MDA then proceeded to raid the Traditional Foods Warehouse once again, once more seizing all the food Alvin had there.
September 2012: In a Hennepin County trial the jury acquitted Alvin of all charges. The jury determined that deliveries to FFC members did not violate the law.
August 2013: A Stearns County trial tried Alvin on three of the same charges from the Hennepin County case, but was primarily focused on some of Alvin’s activities prior to starting FFC. The prosecutor called the food a “controlled substance”. Alvin was given a small fine and probation.

Sources

https://www.realmilk.com/alvin-schlangen/ “Schlangen has never wavered in his determination to connect families with nutrient-dense food...”; “MDA’s treatment of Schlangen . . . amounts to nothing more than bullying farmers who have stood up to the department’s efforts to restrict food freedom in the state in an attempt to discourage other farmers from doing the same.”
https://www.realmilk.com/mda-crackdown/ “The charges against Schlangen aren’t about protecting public health and safety; they are about compliance. Schlangen has committed no crimes against the people; there is no claim that he has injured anyone. He is being charged with crimes against the state for his refusal to recognize the state’s jurisdiction over his operation and his refusal to comply with laws he believes are not applicable to his operation.”
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/tag/schlangen/
https://www.farmtoconsumer.org/blog/2012/09/17/jury-trial-for-local-farmer-alvin-schlangen/
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2013/08/06/564925/10043639/en/Minnesota-Aims-Again-to-Jail-Peaceful-Farmer.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBY3LLRoPk0 YouTube ArrestAJudgeKit channel: "Lion News: Alvin Schlangen - Minneapolis MN Prosecutes Him For Crimes He Didn't Commit!", August 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tdEoMNYmco YouTube CreationKeeper channel: "Minnesota Food Freedom Farmer Alvin Schlangen short version", May 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7KSLFL3wGQ YouTube Peace News Now channel: "Raw Milk Farmers Raided, Support Alvin Schlangen", August 2013.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn-CFfz_EmQ YouTube WorldViewShow channel: "MN Helps Big Food-Sues Local Family Dairy Farmer AGAIN!", August 2013.

This campaign is unpublished.