Culture of
Health Leaders
Alumni

Anzia Bennett

Anzia Bennett
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico Cohort Start Year: 2018 Project Topics: Behavioral and Mental Health, Built Environment/Housing/Planning, Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Early Childhood, Food Systems and Nutrition, Leadership Development, Obesity, Public, Population and Community Health Populations Served: Adolescents (12-20 years), African-American/Black, Asian/Asian American, At-Risk/Vulnerable Populations, Children and Families, Foster Youth and Families, Hispanic/Latino/Latinx, Immigrants and Refugees, Incarcerated or Formerly Incarcerated Populations, Low-Income Communities, Native/Tribal/Indigenous People, Older Adults (65+), People with Addictions, People with Disabilities, Urban Communities, Women's Health, Young Children (0-5 years)
Executive Director
Three Sisters Kitchen

FOCUS
Anzia Bennett is the Director of Three Sisters Kitchen, a community food space in the heart of downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, that utilizes the love and power of local food to create economic opportunity, improve community health, and bring people together around the table. She loves to cook, but mostly she loves to eat, and she is committed to building a world where everyone is able to enjoy fresh, healthy food with people that they love.

STRATEGIC INITIATIVE: Modify Existing CBO Infrastructure to Implement Healthy, Local Food Access with Farmer Support & Community Education
Feeding America reports that, in 2018, one in seven New Mexicans, and one in four children in the state, struggled with hunger, with a statewide food insecurity rate of 15.1 percent. According to New Mexico Voices for Children, 25 percent of New Mexico children were food insecure prior to the COVID-19 crisis. The evolving realities of the crisis—unemployment, supply chain disruption, farmers market closures, fear, stress, and uncertainty—have dramatically increased hunger and food insecurity. My strategic initiative is designed to utilize the existing infrastructure of our community-based organization to respond to community-articulated needs regarding healthy, local food access, with a specific focus on biweekly food distribution, local farmer and producer support, and community education. Partners include 15+ farmers and local food businesses, Mogro—a non-profit food access organization helping us with procurement and packing—and more than eight community-based organizations supporting recruitment and logistics.

MORE ABOUT ANZIA
Anzia Bennett works with local health systems, farmers, artists, and community-based organizations to develop programs that are responsive to community-articulated needs, address the social and structural determinants of health, and celebrate food traditions. She is deeply committed to justice, and she works to build healthier communities where people live with dignity and joy.

Click here to watch Anzia’s Legacy Project video.