A Garden Is The Frontline In The Fight Against Racial Inequality And Disease

When police killed George Floyd outside a Minneapolis corner store, it reminded the world that racism can become lethal. But just a few miles away, on the north side of the city, racial inequality plays out in a more ordinary yet still harmful way: A lack of fresh food.

Protests after Floyd's death damaged and shut down the only full-service grocery store within a 3-mile radius of North Minneapolis. For two months, what remained were dozens of fast food and convenience stores. Access to fresh food has been a struggle for decades, but now it's compounding the health effects of the pandemic. Chronic conditions like obesity, hypertension, and diabetes — all linked to a poor diet — are putting people at higher risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19.

A group called is trying to lead the community down