(Dobbins et al. 2021). There is great potential within Extension to develop urban/rural partnerships (Van Sandt & Carpenter 2022). ● There are several approaches Extension offices should consider for building urban/rural partnerships: offer venues for rural and urban growers to network and advertise together, aid in establishing supply chains for value-added products, institute farmer mentorship programs, offer peer-to-peer learning opportunities, leverage virtual spaces for communication over geographic distance (Parikh 2022), and encourage alternative avenues for land access and resource sharing via collaborative farming. These connections may serve shared economic goals as well as efforts to combat perceived and real socio-political divisions between rural and urban communities. ● Identify formal and informal leaders in local urban agricultural spaces, a.k.a. “gatekeepers,”(French & Morse 2015) and within Extension. Extension staff often are well-positioned to serve as connectors or coordinators rather than primary provider of services. These inter- and extra-Extension networks are vital to connecting communities to appropriate resources, as well as working to avoid redundancy and competition between similar services. ● Transdisciplinary is key in urban and local food production work (Fox et al. 2017). A whole foods system approach, considering production and business, but also health and community development, is key (Fox et al. 2015). For instance, agriculture staff may collaborate directly with family health staff on projects with shared goals. ● Within the urban sphere, we encourage Extension educators to collaborate with diverse stakeholders- including governmental organizations, nonprofits, neighborhood associations, religious groups, local businesses, and university administration. Constant communication with diverse stakeholders are key to Extension’s social, political, and technical success in urban agricultural spaces (Fox et al. 2017; Campbell 2021; Campbell & Rampold 2021; personal communication, July 2022). ○ Refresh Marketing and Branding to Increase Accessibility and Relevance ■ Scholars have documented a mutual disconnect between Extension staff and urban growers (Harder & Wells 2017; Rangarajan & Riordan 2019; Dobbins et al. 2021). In some urban communities, Extension still presents
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