From Duluth to North Minneapolis: Metro Food Justice Network Summit Sparks Action on Food Access and Community Stewardship
Zacharus E. Turner and Jasmine McBride report on the Metro Food Justice Network summit in Duluth, where 300 attendees gathered to discuss micro-growing, seed stewardship and food justice, and on the Sankofa Power digital platform being developed to connect North Minneapolis neighbors and address food insecurity at the block level.
Fourteen advocates, students and community organizers boarded a bus bound for Duluth last month with one thing on their minds: food justice.
The group traveled north on Interstate 35, headed for a three-day Metro Food Justice Network summit focused on the latest developments in micro-growing, farm-to-table initiatives and seed stewardship. The ride gave attendees a chance to connect before the work began.
As the bus rolled north, passengers introduced themselves one by one. Some were students representing the University of Minnesota, St. Catherine University and Hamline University. Others worked with nonprofits like Project Sweetie Pie and Renewing the Countryside, alongside several members of the Metro Food Justice Network. The conversation flowed easily as Duluth came closer on the horizon.
The group arrived midmorning and made their first stop at the Whole Foods Co-op Hilltop location, where General Manager Sarah Hannigan briefed them on local food programs and shared the store’s history of organic practices spanning more than 20 years. The group then toured the hills of Duluth, taking in a sweeping view of Lake Superior from 1,400 feet above sea level before making their way to the DECC Arena, where the summit was being held.
The Food Justice Summit was hosted by J. DeVon Nolen and drew roughly 300 attendees. The event opened with a video tribute to Melvin Giles, known as Mr. Bubbles, a beloved community leader and head of the Urban Farm and Gardening Alliance who recently passed away. Giles, who lived and worked in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul, was celebrated by colleagues for his decades of activism on behalf of peace, diversity and education in metro communities. He believed that being seen is the first call to action, followed by finding your purpose and remembering where you came from.
Panel discussions throughout the weekend centered on the challenges facing underrepresented urban farmers, including the lack of systemic support for growers of color. Speakers also addressed seed stewardship and the responsibilities that come with planting, growing and harvesting, including the importance of passing that knowledge on to the next generation.
The role of micro-farmers in the broader food supply chain was another key topic. County extension workers from across Minnesota voiced concerns about healthy food access and highlighted opportunities for small growers to help fill gaps in the system, including supplying fresh produce to school cafeterias.
Two speakers drew particular attention.
Brownson J. Arebojie traced his path from a career as an IT engineer to the University of Minnesota’s Master Gardener Program, where he became a lead coordinator at several local farm plots, including Karma Farms and the U of M Arboretum, where he worked as a botanist. For the past four years, Arebojie has worked with youth as an educator, sharing his passion for beekeeping, canning and growing from seed to finished product.
Keynote speaker Patrice Bailey, assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, offered a personal and wide-ranging account of his journey from growing up in Harlem, New York, to Prairie View A&M University, where he studied agriculture and human sciences and graduated in 1995, and then to Iowa State University, where he earned a degree in agricultural education in 2005. Bailey is the first Black person to hold his position in the department’s 141-year history and is one of four commissioners serving the state. His story, from a young man in Harlem to a trailblazing leader in Minnesota agriculture, was by many accounts the highlight of the summit.
Bringing food justice home to North Minneapolis
The conversations in Duluth resonate far beyond the summit floor. Back in the Twin Cities, organizations are turning those same principles into on-the-ground action, and technology is playing a growing role.
Asian Media Access has partnered with Project Sweetie Pie since 2012. Now the two organizations are collaborating on Sankofa Power, a digital platform in development for North Minneapolis designed to connect neighbors and address food insecurity at the block level.
“We want to have easy access, local control… a digital platform that links a database to a map so members can easily identify where resources are and how far those resources are from them,” said Ange Hwang, executive director of Asian Media Access.
The platform would also allow neighbors to post real-time updates, alerting others when a garden harvest yields more than one household can use, or facilitating skill exchanges such as lawn mowing in exchange for a home-cooked meal.
“We want neighbors to connect at the local level,” Hwang said. “Project Sweetie Pie is providing a lot of the information and concept. Asian Media Access is providing the technology and AI knowledge to co-create this platform.”
The urgency behind Sankofa Power has only grown in 2026. Hwang cited cuts to SNAP funding and the ripple effects of Operation Metro Surge as compounding pressures on North Side residents already struggling with food access.
“A lot of our members are not only worried about their safety, a lot of them are not going out to buy food or work,” Hwang said. “We totally missed the winter farming because of that, and a lot of food shelves had nobody coming in and limited delivery options. Members are really suffering.”
A hyperlocal platform, Hwang said, could change that calculus.
“If we could have a database like Sankofa Power, people could walk a couple of blocks and connect with a neighbor to share excessive food or household tasks,” she said. “Really support the neighborhood at the block-by-block level.”
Throughout the weekend in Duluth, the theme of stewardship ran through nearly every session: stewardship of seeds, of land, of community and of opportunity. Attendees left with a renewed sense of purpose and a clearer picture of the work still ahead in the fight for food justice across Minnesota. Work that, for many, begins right in their own neighborhoods.
Zacharus Turner is a volunteer with Project Sweetie Pie. For more information, visit projectsweetiepie.org.