COMMUNITY. FOOD. POWER.
Northside Fresh Coalition is a community-based partnership born as a project in 2008 by the Northpoint Health and Wellness Center with support from Appetite for Change. Northside Fresh is a network of over 60 community members, organizations, businesses, committed to building a more self-reliant, just, and connected food system on the Northside. In its first years, Northside Fresh built trust between organizations and individuals in the community. This created the basis for partnerships to develop and birthed collaborative projects including: the West Broadway Farmers Market, the North Minneapolis Chapter of the Local Food Resource Group (seed/seedling buying club), the Fresh Corners Growers Cooperative, a community-grown produce aggregation vendor, the Northside Fresh Fruit/Veggie Rx program at the farmers market, and the annual Seed & Plant Distribution event.
Northside Fresh is led by longtime Northside residents and people who have dozens of years experience organizing, working and living in the north Minneapolis food system. Together, our coalition partners possess a wealth of experience in program planning, policy advocacy, community gardening and farming, marketing, business development, education, community organizing, evaluation, and food production and service management.
Northside Fresh is a coalition that uses food as a pathway toward community well-being, economic and social justice.
Northside Fresh brings together everyone working on food systems on the Northside of Minneapolis and asks, What can we do better together that we couldn’t do alone?
Northside Fresh and it’s partners host the annual Seed & Plant Distribution event to ensure the community of North Minneapolis has access to fresh organic seedlings and plants without cost barriers. We distribute over 500 plants and thousands of seed varieties for the community to grow food at home. This event also offers educational materials and support from avid growers for households with small urban gardens to increase healthy food access on the Northside.
FREE (donation-based) seeds, seedlings, plants and more! Come get your garden started with us, and don’t forget a box or container to hold all of your seedlings.
Previous Action Teams
Policy Action Team
The Policy Action Team increases capacity of the broader Coalition and Northside community to advocate for and advance policies that would impact the north Minneapolis food system (this could be local, city-wide, state, or federal level).
Project: Establish a Northside Fresh Food Justice Platform for Northside city council/parks board candidates.
In May 2017, the Northside Fresh Policy Action Team was created to increase our community’s capacity to elevate personal power and voice and to learn about the process of policy making. Over the summer, the team connected with the community via events, store tabling, surveys, etc. to identify what we as a community need in order to continue building a thriving food system.
This Food Justice Platform identifies a number of policies that Northside Fresh recommends those running for office to implement once elected; it is intended to HOLD OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE to the demands of our community! We recognize that these are just a few of the many policy changes that are necessary.
The Platform focuses only on the City Council and Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board candidates. From parks to grocery stores, these governing bodies have a large hand in shaping the way we grow, access, and sell food.
This Platform is the first of many projects to come, each seeking to unite the Northside and bring in more residents, business owners, organizations, and agencies together on creating and advocating for policies that will positively impact the change we seek in our Northside food system.
Learning/Evaluation Team
In May 2017, the Learning/Evaluation Team was created to ensure positive and sustainable growth of the Coalition through continued learning and evolution of Northside Fresh as needed.
Project: This team is currently in the process of planning and implementing a community-led evaluation of Northside Fresh Coalition and our coalition partners to shed light on how we can grow together. The team began with identifying what was most vital to understand, developed an interview questionnaire, and is currently in the process of reaching out to other coalition partners to conduct interviews.
Outreach/Events Team
The Outreach/Events Team was created in February 2017 to assist in planning, community outreach, engagement for events the Coalition plans or that the Coalition is invited to participate in (co-hosting, tabling, etc.). Since the beginning of the year, the Outreach/Events Team has planned a seed distribution, plant distribution, and community potluck.
Project: Currently, the team is collaborating with the Policy Action Team to plan/implement a Ward 4 & 5 city council candidate forum featuring the 2017 Northside Fresh Food Justice Platform.
Special Projects Team
This team was created in May 2017 to initiate and lead short-term, time-sensitive projects that mutually benefit multiple coalition partners around a similar topic/goal.
Project: TBD
Northside Fresh envisions:
- A holistic and locally owned food system in North Minneapolis where everyone is able to access, participate in and take ownership of a local food system that is rooted in social and economic justice.
- Successful Northside food entrepreneurs leading to wealth creation and asset retention.
- A food justice movement, engaging youth and elders as leaders for a sustainable future.
- Collective power to advocate for food-based policies, systems and environmental changes that positively affect Northsiders.
- Easy access to fresh, affordable and culturally significant foods, resulting in a healthier, wealthier community and environment.
- Community is united in the movement and working together collaboratively toward justice.
Interested in getting more connected and involved with your community food system? Join Northside Fresh! Fill out this form and one of the MFJN Network Weavers will reach out to you shortly.
Please note, we welcome connection and partnerships from those doing work in the broader Twin Cities and state, but our work focuses completely on unifying those living, working, or worshiping in north Minneapolis.