News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Tuesday December 16th 2025
Meet the Backyard Initiative staff from Allina Health!
Ruth Hampton Olkon, Lovel Trahan, and Dimpho Orionzi are the team here to support the work happening in the Backyard.
Ruth Hampton Olkon
Name: Ruth Hampton Olkon
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Heritage: Jewish
Family: Husband, three kids, one sister, one brother-in law, one niece, parents, in-laws, and close friends
What brought you to the Backyard Initiative? I wanted to be involved in what I believe is the most important work in the world
What is your role with the project? Provide support and facilitate connections between and amongst Allina Health and the community.
How long have you been with the project? One year
What is your favorite restaurant in the Backyard? Maria”'s Cafe
Name: Lovel Trahan
Name: Lovel Trahan
Hometown: Lafayette, LO
Heritage: Cajun and Creole
Family: Two parents, one brother, three grandparents, six aunts, three uncles, seven cousins, and one partner
What brought you to the Backyard Initiative? A desire to be part of the development of what health care may look like in ten or fifteen years
What is your role with the project? To build capacity in the project and to make the Backyard more important than it is today.
How long have you been with the project? Eleven months
What is your favorite restaurant in the Backyard?
Growing the Backyard CHAT-25 families and growing!
In the last two years, Growing the Backyard CHAT assisted 25 families to establish gardens and grow their own food. This CHAT empowers Backyard residents to produce their own healthy foods, increase connections to the local food system, and to increase each family”'s understanding about how the food system works. Families participating in the project will actively take responsibility for creating and maintaining a series of gardens throughout the Backyard. These activities will also increase a sense of belonging and community for each family. The CHAT team members help to provide supplies and connections to gardening resources and the local food system.
The work of this CHAT team ties into overarching goals that were identified by the Assessment process conducted in 2009 by Backyard Initiative. Two specific points that related to the work of this CHAT include:
- Families expressed a lack of access to affordable healthy food for their family
- 97% of Backyard assessment participants felt that affordable locally grown fruits and vegetables were very important
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Phillips Community Center Pool: Sometimes miracles do happen
One of the neat things about following the same story over a matter of years is that you get to find out what happens. I”'ve been writing for the Daily Planet since 2008, and over that time, I”'ve covered all sorts of different topics. Sometimes there will be an issue that I write a number of articles about, and then it will pop back up again a year or two later. This can be depressing, as I watch neighbors fighting over and over again about the same thing, for example. But it can also be satisfying, as it was a week ago when I wrote about the Phillips Community Center Pool.
Read the rest of the story on TC Daily Planet
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Keep citizen journalism alive!
