DMA Camp: Main Street Project

This story was produced during ThreeSixty Journalism’s 2020 Digital Media Arts Camp, in partnership with the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota  and Padilla. Health equity was the theme, with a focus on racism as a public health issue.


For Digital Media Arts camp 2020, I got the pleasure of learning about an organization called the Main Street Project located in Northfield, Minnesota, dedicated to helping better the environment and connect the community.

Health equity is defined as giving the opportunity to everyone to achieve their highest level of health. Main Street encompasses this because of how extensive its work and dedication to the community in Northfield is.

Main Street primarily works with helping immigrants come together and assure they have access to a healthy source of food. Not only does it work with those who already have farming experience, Main Street rents land and holds classes and training. 

During COVID-19, Main Street has been helping those who have been affected by donating food and redistributing resources. This helps create a sense of security and reassurance in the community.

Overall, when writing any article, challenges are bound to show up. The biggest challenge I had for this story was getting interviews completed. However, it was a good learning experience for me. Another challenge would be figuring out what program to use to make the overall video and making sure it wasn’t overwhelming and still engaging.

The biggest takeaway I had was that patience and adaptability are necessary in journalism. Sources are not always available and you have to learn how to still make a story with what you get. Making videos takes a while too, so more respect to news sources trying their hand at social media.

Read more stories from Digital Media Arts Camp!

I want readers to know that a lot of effort goes into literally the smallest things, and often the small details that you miss might be what makes or breaks a story. And to readers who are thinking of doing something like a social media story, or really anything in journalism, be unique and bold. 

Telling this story has definitely taught me to be more active in my community as well as more conscious about issues like health disparities.

Northfield is only an hour drive from me, yet I never knew that it existed, much less that there was a large community of hispanics who live in food desert. Being more connected helps me stay close to my roots while also helping combat such major issues