PUB DATE 2002-12-00

The diversification of rural Minnesota is largely the result of the restructuring of the food processing industry and its recruitment of low-wage laborers. The relocation and expansion of food processing plants into rural areas of Minnesota creates a demand for low-wage labor that can not be met locally. Food processing businesses attract immigrant Latinos, Asians, and Africans, as well as U.S.-born minorities, seeking jobs that do not require high-level skills or English language proficiency. A study mapped the location of large food processing businesses (mostly meat packing plants) in rural Minnesota in relation to the percentage of school children for whom English was a second language and to changes in minority K-12 enrollment from 1991 to 2001. A strong relationship was found between the locations of food processing plants and homes where foreign languages were spoken. In the 16 school districts surrounding large plants, the 10-year change in total enrollment ranged from.a 25 percent loss to a 16 percent gain, while minorit