Homegrown Minneapolis staff presented an update to the Public Health and Safety Committee on Oct. 29 on implementation of the Minneapolis Food Vision and the Food Action Plan, highlighting wasted-food prevention, urban-agriculture projects, community grants and farmers market activity.

Allison Babb, manager of the Homegrown Minneapolis initiative, described the program''city partnership'that supports community gardens, farmers markets and food-waste prevention. Babb said Homegrown is working on a USDA-supported Food Forward program providing four months of training and coaching for restaurants to reduce waste and improve kitchen operations; the first cohort will begin orientation in November and includes businesses from Midtown Global Market.

Babb described a recently completed boulevard-planting ordinance amendment and related online guidance to help residents grow fruits and vegetables in boulevards while meeting city requirements. She also said Homegrown released a request for proposals to purchase a lot to be held by the City of Lakes Community Land Trust, with $50,000 allocated in the 2025 budget to support community ownership and operation of an urban farm in an underserved area; the RFP closed Oct. 7 and an awardee will be notified soon.

The presentation documented the scale of farmers markets in Minneapolis: 16 markets with 1.45 million visitors in 2024, widespread SNAP acceptance and high SNAP market usage combined with matching programs. Staff noted federal funding threats to SNAP and produce market-bucks programs and said the city will work with the county and other partners to respond. Homegrown staff described continued funding of community-led climate-resilience projects and noted that from 2020 to 2024 the program distributed roughly $2.4 million in federal funds to food shelves and food-distribution partners; those funds expired in 2024.

Council members emphasized food insecurity as a citywide priority and asked Homegrown to collaborate on local grocery access, food-skills education and food-systems research. Homegrown staff said they will follow up on specific collaboration requests and noted ongoing coordination with Hennepin County and other partners.

Provenance: topicintro: "Good afternoon, chair Chavez, vice chair Wansley, and members of the committee. I am Allison Babb. I manage the homegrown Minneapolis initiative based in the health department. And we're here today to provide an update on our work." (Allison Babb, 77:55). topfinish: "Alright, colleagues. Seeing no further questions, I will ask the clerk to receive and file that report. And seeing no further business before us, I would declare this meeting adjourned." (Chair Jason Chavez, 102:23).

Speakers

- Allison Babb — Manager, Homegrown Minneapolis (city staff, Health Department) — first referenced 77:55
- Todd Western the fourth — Vice Chair, Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council (community appointee) — first referenced 78:22
- Ginny Brain — Chair, Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council (community appointee) — first referenced 78:46

Authorities

- type: "other", name/description: "Minneapolis Food Vision (city-adopted plan) and Minneapolis Food Action Plan (implementation guide)", referenced_by:["homegrown_minneapolis_presentation"]

Actions

- {"kind":"other","motion":"Receive and file Homegrown Minneapolis presentation","mover":"not specified","second":"not specified","tally":{},"outcome":"received","notes":"Clerk instructed to receive and file; no roll call recorded"}

Clarifying details

- "funding_allocation":"$50,000 allocated in the 2025 budget for community ownership and operation of an urban farm; RFP closed Oct. 7, awardee to be notified soon","source_speaker":"Allison Babb"
- "farmers_market_metrics":"16 city farmers markets; 1,450,000 visitors in 2024; Lyndale market ~100 vendors and >$5,000,000 annual sales","source_speaker":"Allison Babb"
- "federal_funding_note":"Approximately $2.4 million in federal funds distributed to food shelves/distributions from 2020-2024; those ARPA funds expired in 2024; SNAP and market-bucks funding at risk" ,"source_speaker":"Allison Babb"}

Proper_names:[{"name":"Homegrown Minneapolis","type":"program"},{"name":"Minneapolis Food Vision","type":"other"},{"name":"Minneapolis Food Action Plan","type":"other"},{"name":"City of Lakes Community Land Trust","type":"organization"},{"name":"Midtown Global Market","type":"location"}]

Community_relevance:{"geographies":["City of Minneapolis"],"funding_sources":["USDA grant (compost/food-waste reduction pilot)","2025 city budget allocation"],"impact_groups":["residents facing food insecurity","local farmers and market vendors","small food businesses"]}

Meeting_context:{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":8,"duration_minutes":95,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"low","history":[{"date":"2008","note":"Homegrown Minneapolis launched"},{"date":"2023-03","note":"Minneapolis Food Vision adopted by City Council"}]}

Searchable_tags:["homegrown","food security","farmers markets","boulevard gardening","urban agriculture"],

provenance:{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"4675.095","local_start":0,"local_end":260,"evidence_excerpt":"Good afternoon, chair Chavez, vice chair Wansley, and members of the committee. I am Allison Babb. I manage the homegrown Minneapolis initiative based in the health department. And we're here today to provide an update on our work.","tc_start":"77:55","tc_end":"78:15","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"6142.08","local_start":0,"local_end":80,"evidence_excerpt":"Alright, colleagues. Seeing no further questions, I will ask the clerk to receive and file that report. And seeing no further business before us, I would declare this meeting adjourned.","tc_start":"102:22","tc_end":"102:42","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}