By Barbara Norblom
Food Systems Team member and Promotions Volunteer

MN350 recently wrapped up season two of its podcast, Nourish. In the episode “In Transition,” host Jeff Diamond explores the future of agriculture with Mhonpaj Lee, an organic farmer, real estate agent, and food advocate within the Hmong community in Minnesota. Mhonpaj and her mother run Mhonpaj’s Garden, a family organic farm focused on instruction, collaboration, and community support. In this compelling conversation, Mhonpaj talks about her family’s journey into the world of regenerative agriculture, as well as her own journey.

Mhonpaj passionately shares her perspectives on the challenges faced by young farmers and farmers of color, as well as her reasons for hope. Part of the solution lies in programs such as Big River Farms, an incubator run by The Food Group teaching organic farming to people from historically underrepresented communities, and food hubs such as The Good Acre, which connect local food producers to the Twin Cities food system. Mhonpaj believes replicating these types of programs with resources from the Headwaters Community Food and Water Bill (HF1332 / SF1580) should be a priority for our state legislators.

In the final episode of season two, the team takes a look back at the stories they’ve shared over the past 15 episodes. Host Sarah Riedl sits down with episode creators Marita Bujold, Lisa Chou, and Eli Crain to discuss the lessons learned from listening to the leaders of Minnesota’s transition to a just food future. Each host offers smart insight into their respective episodes and guests’ work to pique your interest. After tuning in to the recap, you just might want to listen again to shows you’ve already heard to catch any details you may have missed.

Featured guests—our MN350 volunteers:

Marita Bujold—Creator of The Headwaters Community Food and Water Bill

Lisa Chou—Lead Organizer for MN350’s Food Systems Team

Eli Crain—Assistant Producer of Nourish by MN350

Listen to the final episode here, or search for Nourish by MN350 on your preferred podcast player. Don’t forget to subscribe and share. And stay tuned for Season 3’s exciting new podcast format beginning in spring 2022!

Barbara Norblom is a member of the Food Systems Team and the Promotions volunteer for the Nourish by MN350 Podcast. She lives, works and plays in Minneapolis, often biking and visiting Little Free Libraries.