Welcome to a Story-Sharing Revolution |
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The new Ecolution Collective series cumulatively points out issues of equity and sustainability alongside “what if” and “look at this” solution-makers. It is designed to network Minnesotans around innovations and action.
Ecolution is for people who care about:
1) food,
2) collective efforts,
3) ecosystem resilience,
4) and regeneration
We will report soon on great connections with people who have taken the Collective survey. If you want to be part of the Ecolution community, join the story team by taking this survey:
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The Food Series
We started this conversation series on 9/18/2020.
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Action Steps
The 10-Day Local Food Challenge invites eaters to commit for 10 days (October 1-10) to eat food produced within 100 miles of their home. Learn more.
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Quick bites about Appetite for Change, including AFC youth music videos, and a recipe for Mediterranean Brown Rice Bowl with Chickpeas & Feta |
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Some of the team at Appetite for Change preparing to send out meal kit boxes to local families from its North Minneapolis headquarters. |
The Big Picture
As we noted last week, 1 in 8 people in Minnesota are currently hungry because of food shortages and farmers get 14 cents of every food dollar. Yet during the pandemic we have seen how dairy, meat, and produce have gone to waste. That is a system that needs fixing. In this week's conversation, we talk to a few of the local fixers. In the coming months we will learn from others.
Taronda Richardson: Appetite for Change
During a Minnesota Women's Press Visual Q&A, sponsored by Sunrise Bank, Taronda Richardson discussed her role as Youth Training & Opportunities Program Manager for Appetite for Change. She talked about the logistics of transforming youth-led community garden assets into thousands of meal kits distributed to families in partnership with Local Crate, Door Dash, and United Way. Here is a clip:
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Co-Founder Princess Haley
"I personally think the formation of Appetite for Change was built on organizing principles, of hearing the often unheard voices, narrative shaping, and issue cutting. Our secret sauce is within the community, the people we serve, which started with primarily the Black community in North Minneapolis.
"Our model has connected our mission and vision with all shades of people around the world. We have had white youth in Rochester respond to our Grow Food Video and communicate their food insecurities. We have gone to Chile to participate in the Social Gastronomy Movement. This growth makes me feel hopeful about the work that can happen in the gardens, kitchens. and at the table."
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Business Model:
Appetite for Change
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North Minneapolis-based Appetite for Change (AFC) operates a youth program that runs an urban farm on seven sites, grows and harvests food, and distributes meals through fresh grocery boxes and recipe kits. It works largely with small local farms and farmers who are immigrants, Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Its weekly meal kits are free and include two recipes and local produce for 12 meals that are delivered to families.
Pre-COVID, AFC youth were selling hand-crafted salads at Twins games. Others have met legislators at the Capitol to talk about hunger. A recent program graduate started her own organic lip gloss and trendy eyelash company.
AFC makes 1,000 meals on weekdays out of its Breaking Bread kitchen in North Minneapolis and Station 81 in St. Paul’s Union Depot. The pandemic has prohibited some of AFC’s other work, yet its central mission remains intact: to break down systemic barriers to healthy food.
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Problem
COVID = dozens of closed restaurants in the Twin Cities
Solution
Partner underemployed chefs and caterers with unused ingredients and local distributors
Result
Thousands of healthy meal kits for families impacted by food insecurity
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1 in 8 Minnesotans
will experience food insecurity this month, including 112,000 children
— data from McKinsey & Co, collected on behalf of Second Harvest Heartland
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What solutions have you seen around the state that are improving supply lines between healthy foods and those who need access?
Do you work with data or research that illuminates this issue?
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Next Step: Grow the Ecolution |
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1) Subscribe to this newsletter.
If you received it from a friend, please add yourself to the mailing list.
2) Forward it to others who might be interested in the conversations.
3) Take our survey so we can plan stories of the future.
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Upcoming Ecolution Topics |
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October: Collective Economies & 40 Acre Co-op
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November: The Air We Breathe
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December: Regenerating Habitat
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From Our Ecolution Library |
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Ecolution (ee-koh-LOO-shun) is a new word for a new community-based approach to story-sharing. It is about the connections we make, learning we share, diversification that makes us resilient, and action steps we take together.
Collaborative, collective partnerships generate community-based wealth and health.
Ecolutionaries (and yes, we made that word up ) are not passive readers who simply “like” stories. They have ideas, resources, and storytellers to share — and are consumers who want to put their dollar where their values are. We will ask Collective members in ongoing surveys: What do you think people should do? Who should we learn from next? What related issue do you care about?
With your input, each month we will look at a topic from different angles:
- Week #1: Overview of the topic and its questions
- Week #2: Profile about people centered on the issue
- Week #3: Data, research, science, and global picture
- Week #4: Action to further work and discussion
Ecolution Collective is created by Minnesota Women's Press, a pioneer in storytelling since 1985.
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Be a Seed Donor
To be part of our Ecolution community
Can you help expand
and market the library
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