Presented at aha!

Presented at aha! Process

Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Food Deserts and the

Importance of Urban Farming
How a Youth Garden is Changing the Face of Local Food

Agenda
• Welcome & Introductions
• Region Information
• Food Deserts
• Eleven Resources
• What is MNyou?
• MNyou CSA Project
• Discussion / Questions

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 Presented at aha!
Presented at aha! Process
Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Region Information
• Kandiyohi County
- Population: 42,239

- Number of Companies: 4,269

- Graduation Rate: 88.2%

- Median Household Income: $53,514

- Foreign Born Population:3,012

- Poverty rate: 11.3%

Source: https://factfinder.census.gov

Region Information
• Willmar

- Population: 19,610

- Number of Companies: 1,976

- Graduation Rate: 81.6%

- Media Household Income: $43,846

- Foreign Born Population: 2,600

- Poverty rate: 17.3%

Source: https://factfinder.census.gov

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 Presented at aha!
Presented at aha! Process
Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Food Deserts
• What is a food desert?
- “Parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole
foods, usually found in impoverished areas.”

• Why is this an issue?

- “To qualify as a “low-access community,” at least 500 people and/or at least 33
percent of the census tract's population must reside more than one mile from a
supermarket or large grocery store.”

- To qualify as low a “low-income tract” a poverty rate of 20% or higher, or tracts with
a median family income less than 80% of median family income for the state or
metropolitan area.

Food Deserts

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 Presented at aha!
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Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Food Deserts
• 15.6 million (12%) households were food insecure in 2016,
• 4.9 million households were designated as having very low food security
– Very low food security means that a family is eating a reduced amount of
food or eating patterns are disrupted on a regular basis
• 3.1 million households had children present in the home, and these families
were unable to provide nutritious food for their family on a consistent basis
• 59% that reported being food insecure also report using a federal nutrition
program such as SNAP
• Families that are food secure on average spend about 29% more on food than
families that are food insecure
• 80%-90% of families fail to consume the recommended amounts of fruits
and vegetables, while 90% of families consume more than the recommended
amount of sugar and saturated fats

Food Deserts
• Minnesota Data

Low Access LI/AC

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas/

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 Presented at aha!
Presented at aha! Process
Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Food Deserts
• Willmar Data

LI/AC Low Access

Food Deserts
• Willmar Data
- 14.2% of residents do not have access to a vehicle and live
more than a half of a mile from a supermarket

- 27% of Kandiyohi residents have low access to a store.

- 12% of residents meet the qualifications for low-income.
- Around 10% of residents meet low income and low
access.
- 25% of families visited a local food shelf at least once in
2012 and 27% of children residing in Kandiyohi County in
2012 were benefiting from SNAP benefits

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 Presented at aha!
Presented at aha! Process
Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Food Deserts
• Distance to grocery store:
- Somerset Apartments (Hwy 71) to Walmart: .5 miles

- Somerset by the Lake to Walmart: 3.9 miles

- Regency Trailer Homes to Walmart: 2.8 miles

- Somali Star (Downtown) to Walmart: 2.2 miles

- Ridgewater College to Walmart: 5 miles

Food Deserts
• Food Swamp

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 Presented at aha!
Presented at aha! Process
Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Food Deserts
• Health Impacts
- Obesity

- Chronic Diseases

- Lowered Fruit & Vegetable Intake

Food Deserts
• Obesity

- Positive correlation between distance to the store and higher likelihood of obesity.
- Low income individuals and families have higher BMI’s than those not living in food
deserts

- For every additional mile to the grocery store the odds of being obese increased by
5%

(Ghosh-Dadtidar et al., 2014).

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 Presented at aha!
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2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Food Deserts
• Chronic Disease

- Kidney Disease
– 40% higher chance of having a kidney disease
– Higher blood pressure
– Higher incidents of hypertension
– Higher incidents of diabetes

(Suarez et al., 2015)

Food Deserts
• Fruit & Vegetable Intake
- Lower levels of serum carotenoids
– Biomarker for fruit and vegetable intake

- Self-reported having less fruits and vegetables

(Suarez et al., 2015)

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 Presented at aha!
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2019 Addressing
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the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Food Deserts
• Contributing Factors
- Price

- Access

Food Deserts
• Eating Healthy vs. Price
- On average it costs $1.50 more per day to eat a healthy diet
- Fruits, veggies, fish, nuts vs processed food.

- $550 per person per year to have a healthy diet.

(Dwyer, 2013)

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 Presented at aha!
Presented at aha! Process
Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Food Deserts
• Meal at Burger King
- Burger Hamburger: $1

- Chicken Nuggets: $1.19

- French Fries: $1.39

- Fountain Drink: $1.29

Food Deserts
• Price
- Lower priced grocery stores market and
display more unhealthy food than higher
priced grocery stores

- Correlation between obesity and price at

the grocery store
- Higher the price in a grocery store the
lower the incidence of obesity in those shoppers

(Ghosh-Dastidar et al., 2014).

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 Presented at aha!
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Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Food Deserts
• Access
- Tracts in which at least 500 people or 33% of the population lives farther than 1 mile
(urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket

- Correlation between the distance to a grocery store and obesity

- For every additional mile to the grocery store the odds of being obese increased by
5%

(Ghosh-Dadtidar et al., 2014)

Eleven Resources
• Getting Ahead
- Financial
- Emotional
- Mental Cognitive
- Language
- Social Capital
- Physical
- Spiritual
- Integrity and Trust
- Motivation and Persistence
- Relationships/Role Models
- Knowledge of Hidden Rules

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 Presented at aha!
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Process 2019
2019 Addressing
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the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

What is MNyou?

What is MNyou?

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 Presented at aha!
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Process 2019
2019 Addressing
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the Challenges
Challenges of
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Poverty Conference
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What is MNyou?

• Plot of land and greenhouse growing exotic

fruits and vegetables not commonly found in
MN
• 30 youth hired to manage all aspects of
“business”
• Youth (aged 15-24) work directly with local
business owners
• Weekly classroom education meetups / monthly
speakers

What is MNyou?

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 Presented at aha!
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Process 2019
2019 Addressing
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the Challenges
Challenges of
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Poverty Conference
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What is MNyou?
• Successes
- Vegetables grew!

- Youth involvement

- Community support

- Funder “buy” in

What is MNyou?
• Challenges
- Delayed gratification

- Market schedule

- Garden upkeep

- Racist citizens

- Sustainability

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 Presented at aha!
Presented at aha! Process
Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

What is MNyou?
• Outcomes
- Stronger entrepreneurial base

- Created jobs for underrepresented youth

- Authentically represent the diversity of the

community

- Community has better access to fresh

veggies

- Empowered youth to explore different

collegiate programs

Evaluation

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 Presented at aha!
Presented at aha! Process
Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

MNyou CSA Program

• What is a CSA?

- Community Supported Agriculture

- Direct access to quality, fresh
produce grown locally

- CSA Members generally pay for an

entire season upfront ($450 - $600)

- Includes 7 – 10 types of vegetables

MNyou CSA Program

• “Buy One, Give One” Initiative
- Subscribers purchase shares / participants receive free share
- Local Healthcare Provider (Carris Health) selects recipients for free boxes
- Access
- SNAP Benefits
- Seniors
- Delivery
- Affordability
- Discounted rate for subscribers
- Free for recipients

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 Presented at aha!
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Process 2019
2019 Addressing
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the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

MNyou Youth Garden

• Funders • Partners & Friends
- Idea Fund - Atlas Mentoring
- Blue Cross & Blue Shield - Carris Health
- Blandin - Central Minnesota Jobs & Training
- Statewide Health Improvement Plan - Minnwest Tech Campus
- Vision 20/40 - Ridgewater College
- Wells Fargo - Stacy’s Nursery
- Youthprise - The Goodness
- Good Food Access Fund (Minnesota - DIRT Group
Heart Association) - University of Minnesota Extension
- University of Minnesota Horticulture
- Willmar Downtown Development
- WorkUp!
- Real Food Inc.

What can you do?

• Action

- Vote! You vote three times a day through what you consume
- When you go to the supermarket:
- Choose foods that are in season
- Buy foods that are organic
- Know what’s in your food
- Read labels
- Know what you buy. The average meal travels 1500 miles from farm to supermarket
- Buy locally
- Shop at Farmer’s Markets / CSA
- Plant a garden
- Cook a meal with your family and eat together
- Everyone has a right to healthy food

www.ahaprocess.com
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 Presented at aha!
Presented at aha! Process
Process 2019
2019 Addressing
Addressing the
the Challenges
Challenges of
of Poverty
Poverty Conference
Conference

Questions?

Contact Info

Email: mnyouyouth@gmail.com

Facebook.com/mnyouyouth

@MNyouyouth

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