A Minneapolis-Saint Paul Hub is born

After an initial February meeting was postponed due to a heavy snowstorm in the Twin Cities, we successfully introduced our Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) Hub initiative to over 45 community stakeholders on March 12. Organized by Appetite For Change (AFC), our catalyst organization in Minnesota, this meeting was hosted at Cargill’s global headquarters.

As a first step in the co-creation of the MSP Hub, meeting attendees completed a series of group activities (which we saw an example of in our Santiago meeting) to discover possible directions for the Hub. Through the group activities, dignity and opportunities were identified as the most important SGM principles, which articulated a broader need for food justice and equity as a driving force in the creation of the MSP Hub.

In more recent weeks, a planning committee for the Hub has been established, with a first meeting scheduled for that group in mid-June. In the meantime, Appetite For Change and others within the planning committee are working to cultivate opportunities and ideas that could help advance the Hub concept in the Twin Cities, as they work towards a Hub launch event in October.

Congratulations Michelle and Tasha at AFC on setting the stage for this stepping-stone in the Social Gastronomy Movement in Minnesota!