Organizers say they hope to take action to improve food security in the Hillside neighborhood, which has direct impacts on health and life expectancy.
DULUTH, Minn. – UMD students hoped to connect some residents of Steve O-Neil Apartments in Duluth with healthier food options in their Land Lab near Jean Duluth Road, for Healthy Lives Day.
Producers from local farms joined families to tour the UMD farm. They hope to improve these families’ access to healthy food from local sources.
Organizers say they hope to take action to improve food security in the Hillside neighborhood, which has direct impacts on health and life expectancy.
“This connection with healthy food and even learning that you can grow it yourself or that you can be friends with the person who grows it knowing that they grow it for you, ends up being a means of empowerment, of connection, healing and life. , a peace that gives health, ”said Regina Laroche, who calls herself a“ connector farmer ”.
“Keeping our community alive and not just keeping it alive, but making it thrive,” she said.
After receiving a Healthy Food, Healthy Lives grant from the University of Minnesota, faculty hope to guide more students in efforts to make healthy food accessible in our community.