Roots for the Home Team™ Partners with the Minnesota Twins Community Fund

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, Minn. – Roots for the Home Team and the Minnesota Twins Community Fund today announced a new partnership that will bring fresh, locally-grown produce to Target Field. Grown by youth from ethnically diverse areas of the Twin Cities, the produce will be used to create tasty salads, which will be available to fans for Sunday afternoon games at the new Target Field Garden Goodies food cart, starting May 27 when the Twins host the Detroit Tigers at 1:10 pm.

Roots for the Home Team is a new and innovative program that works with youth garden programs to further the vital work they do to help shape kids’ lives and livelihoods. By using vegetables and herbs they have grown, along with produce from local farmers, participating youth helped develop and will sell tasty, creative salad recipes exclusively at Target Field.

Roots for the Home Team was conceived by Registered Dietitian Susan Moores. It is designed to strengthen kids’ health through a different approach to the “eat healthy” conversation. It is also structured to help build self-esteem, leadership skills and business knowledge for participating youth. “Kids will eat vegetables and salads – It’s all in the delivery and experience,” said Moores. “We have lots of flavorful foods at the cart that can burst through any veggie aversion out there.”

“We’re proud to partner with Roots for the Home Team as they share our common commitment to supporting healthy children and families,” said Kevin Merkle, chairman of the Twins Community Fund’s board of directors. “Children’s health is a national issue. We believe this groundbreaking program is a tremendous way toward helping improve it.”

As the exclusive concessionaire of the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, Delaware North Companies Sportservice (DNC) played an instrumental role in bringing Roots for the Home Team to Target Field. DNC will be preparing the salads based on the recipes created by the youth gardeners.

“DNC is proud to extend the opportunity to Roots for the Home Team to join the culinary lineup at Target Field,” said Pete Spike, general manager of DNC. “Not only are we able to build on our already stellar lineup of food at Target Field, but we are able to do that in a way that supports inner-city youth and the health of our community.”

The program is sponsored by Blue Cross, Blue Shield of MN, Just BARE Chicken, Land O’ Lakes and the Minnesota Twins Community Fund. The Garden Goodies cart will be located near the Gate 34 entrance to Target Field. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roots-for-the-Home-Team/108181805986384.

Participating Youth Garden Programs

Eastside Garden Corps: Community Design Center of Minnesota

Since 1996, the Community Design Center of Minnesota has offered gardening, cooking and environmental programs for youth and families in St. Paul. Nearly 1,500 people are served each year. Twenty-four low-income teen garden interns operate seven neighborhood gardens, by growing and selling a variety of vegetables and herbs to their neighbors. Through their participation, interns gain leadership, horticultural and entrepreneurial skills. The garden corps staff provides fun, interactive cooking and nutrition classes for hundreds of youth and parents, using many foods the teens grow.

Emerge Community Development

The Emerge Homegrown Garden team plants and harvests its own urban farm plots, supplying fresh produce to mini-farmer’s markets in North Minneapolis and area restaurants. Emerge Streetwerks youth, ages 16 to 21, work together to obtain new skills, practice teamwork and gain stewardship and leadership awareness. Projects include building raised beds, planting and cultivating vegetable and flower gardens and farm plots of their own. They practice and demonstrate stewardship by weeding and caring for several community gardens across North Minneapolis.

Youth Farm and Market Project

Youth Farm and Market Project provides year-round experiential education and training through urban agriculture, gardens and greenhouses to more than 500 youth ages 9 – 18. The organization works in five neighborhoods in the Twin Cities including Lyndale, Hawthorne and Powderhorn in Minneapolis, and Frogtown and the West Side of St. Paul. Participating youth develop strong work skills becoming engaged in real and meaningful community work. They learn to eat and appreciate what it takes to produce healthful foods and understand and can teach the processes of growing produce. The kids are physically active and surrounded by supportive adults and engaged communities.

About the Twins Community Fund

Established as a nonprofit organization in 1991, the mission of the Twins Community Fund is to enrich local and regional communities by providing resources for the healthy development of children and families through and association with baseball, softball and the Minnesota Twins. The Twins Community Fund is governed by a board of directors representative of the Upper Midwest. Target, Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Best Buy, U.S. Bank and Delta Air Lines are Cornerstone Partners; contributing annually to the Twins Community Fund. For more information or to make a contribution, visit www.twinsbaseball.com/community.

About Delaware North Companies Sportservice

Delaware North Companies Sportservice is one of the nation’s leading food, beverage and retail management companies. Sportservice provides concessions, gourmet catering and fine dining operations at more than 50 professional sporting venues, entertainment complexes and convention centers across the United States and Canada. Sportservice is the provider of choice for an impressive client roster including the World Series, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball's All-Star games, Stanley Cup Championships and the Olympic Games.

For more than 90 years, Sportservice has demonstrated that it knows what it takes to effectively develop, operate and manage multi-faceted kitchens, restaurants, suites, fine dining and retail facilities in order to meet the changing demands of today's fans. From introducing new healthy, organic food selections and creative cuisine for twists on the traditional fare, Sportservice continues to innovate and enhance the fan experience.