Using cultural liaisons to engage underserved communities in urban agriculture and community gardens in Minneapolis, Minnesota

To increase access to healthy food in community settings, the Minneapolis Health Department [MHD] partnered with the nonprofit organization Gardening Matters to launch the Local Food Resource Hubs Network [LFRHN] in 2010. Based on a successful model from Detroit, the LFRHN connects individuals to resources in their community to help them grow, consume, preserve, and compost their own fresh produce. In its first year, more than 600 people obtained memberships; however, the LFRHN did not engage many low-income residents or persons from communities of color, who are most at risk for obesity and related chronic diseases. To better facilitate connections with target populations, MHD recognized the need for intensive community engagement. In 2012, MHD and Gardening Matters identified three community-based organizations to serve as cultural liaisons to the African American, Latino, and Southeast Asian communities. The liaisons established relationships with residents of these communities, introduced and recruited them to the LFRHN, and connected them to gardening and urban agriculture resources in their neighborhoods. The resulting partnerships and cultural connections contributed to increased capacity for food production among target populations and greater diversity in the LFRHN and in Minneapolis' gardening and urban agriculture movement. During this presentation, participants will learn about the cultural liaison model and how it has increased access to healthy food resources for underserved residents in Minneapolis. Participants will also hear key results from an ongoing evaluation, discuss lessons learned, and reflect on how they can effectively engage priority populations around food access issues in their own communities.