Addressing food insecurity and promoting environmental equity by educating residents on effective gardening practices through workshops and installation of home gardens in four low-income communities.

• Making connections with frontline community groups and providing them support can lead to targeted change. It is important to be adaptable to the differing working styles of the partners involved. To have a productive partnership the team had to put expectations aside and honestly talk about the actual needs to further project goals as well as gauge preferences for communication style
• A greater impact in reaching equity goals can be achieved by connecting and collaborating with community partners with a shared mission. This model can then expand to other community groups within additional local underserved neighborhoods. These groups have a direct connection with the communities who are most in need of these services.
• It is important for local government to be respectful of frontline community members’ time by removing unnecessary procedures that can prevent them from addressing important and on-the-ground work. This partnership is proof that these obstacles can be overcome by empowering our frontline community partners. Through monthly meetings and shared spreadsheet trackers, the team stayed on track. This key step helped with accountability and motivated and empowered the team to keep up the good work.