The pandemic kept Yia Lee and her husband Chong Ge Vang apart — Lee staying in St. Paul for her nursing job and Vang living in the couple’s small farm north of the Twin Cities.
When the risk of infection finally ebbed, the couple decided to make their Rainbow Garden Farm in Harris a refuge for others as well.
In 2023, they opened the farm to the public, allowing visitors to spend the day at the farm, taking pictures, enjoying a meal, even picking fresh corn and lettuce from the couple’s plot. Initially they charged $5 a person, later raising that to $15…