Episode 433 · March 23, 2019
433: Rob Horton on Food Sensitive Communities
Improving geographic, economic, and informational access to healthy foods for residents in food deserts.
In this episode
Robert “Rob Veggies” is the Founder and Executive Director of the Trap Garden established in Nashville Tennessee. Rob’s motivation as an urban farmer and community health activist stems from his own experiences growing up in a St. Louis, Missouri neighborhood with few fresh, healthy food items. Then, moving to Nashville to attend Tennessee State University, Robert was frustrated with having to drive miles away from home for a grocery store that supplied quality, fresh products.
Our Guest
Rob received his Bachelor of Science in Health Care Administration from Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN and Master of Business Administration from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Trap Garden is a social enterprise that provides a sustainable source of healthy, high quality foods and offers innovative solutions to the physical, financial, and educational shortcomings in food insecure communities. Our mission is to help build, sustain, and empower low-income communities by assisting in the creation of community gardens and the promotion of healthy eating.
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What is it like growing up without fresh, healthy food available? Rob Horton used his experience living in a food desert as motivation for creating Trap Garden. In this community garden in Nashville, he is teaching kids, community members, and college students not only how to grow their own fresh food, but how to cook healthy meals using their garden. His garden offers innovative solutions to the physical, financial, and educational shortcomings in food-insecure communities.
- Growing up in a food desert
- How his food desert motivated him to learn to grow food
- Trap Garden and the story behind the name
- How to start a community garden when you don’t own land for it
Community Gardeners at Trap Garden - Making gardening and healthy food addicting
- Having a seat at the table for everyone in the community
- How to build ownership in the community
- Teaching people to cook so they know how to max out their garden
- Rob’s eye-opening moment sharing a salad with the community
- Teaching young kids to garden and making them more adventurous eaters
- Involving college students to learn healthy eating and food growing habits
- Their campus ambassador program.
- Social Enterprise for sustainable business models
- Rob’s path from college to creating his non-profit organization
- Running a non-profit
- How he got the nickname of “Rob Veggies”
As well as
- His failure – Poor planning on his first community garden project.
- His success – His educational programs.
- His drive – The community they serve and from which he came.
- His advice – Start small and get really good, then build additional pieces.
Teamwork at Trap Garden
Rob’s Book recommendations:
The Alchemist Paulo Coelho
How to reach Rob:
Website: www.trapgarden.org
Instagram: @trapgarden
Facebook: Trap Garden
UrbanFarm.org/TrapGarden
Thank you to LaCrosse Boots for sponsoring this episode
Lacrosse Boots - The go to boots for big tasks!
Note: You can also find these books mentioned above at one of our favorite local independent bookstores and have the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting a small business.
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