About Us

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The Southern Nevada Urban Agriculture Assistance Program (SNUAAP) was founded on November 13, 2024, and serves

the Las Vegas metropolitan area, the largest urban area in the state, with a population of

over 2.2 million and over 40 million annual visitors. The SNUAAP project will be developed at

Zion United Methodist Church in North Las Vegas which is the site for the Zion Urban Farm.

The Zion Urban Farm is located in a HUD-designated Choice Neighborhoods

Revitalization Area in a historically underserved community surrounded by the most food

insecure neighborhoods in the Las Vegas valley. In addition, the urban farm is located in a low-income,

low-access food desert according to the USDA Food Access Research Atlas, meaning

that more than 10% of residents do not live within walking distance to a full-service supermarket

and are without a vehicle. Also, more than 30% of residents in the city’s urban core live below

the federal poverty level, and almost 40% of urban core households receive Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This project is also located in a federally

designated Opportunity Zone (Census Tract 32003003700).

Zion UMC is a community-based organization with a history of commitment to

increasing food access, providing agricultural education, and strengthening the local food system

1 of 10 in some of Southern Nevada’s most underserved communities. From being the first facility to

receive a USDA-NRCS urban agriculture technical assistance grant in 2016 to become the first

recipient of the state’s first urban agriculture overlay zone last year, Zion has helped pave the

way for urban producers in the valley, and provides an example for sustainable urban agriculture

In the region. Zion is also in an agreement with the City of North Las Vegas to promote urban

agriculture activities and serve as a model for obtaining funding and other resources to support

Entrepreneurial urban farming in collaboration with the greater Las Vegas metropolitan area.

S.N.U.A.A.P. | Program Director 

Khalif decided to answer God’s calling upon his life in 2006 after serving

Grayson United Methodist Church as a Sunday school teacher for adults and

Senior High youth. He is a graduate of the Candler School of Theology at

Emory University has completed a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of

Ministry (DMin) with a focus on Food Insecurity and Asset-Based

Community Development.

I look forward to serving Zion United Methodist Church in Las Vegas,

where I believe that my gifts for building community, passion for social

justice in food insecurity, and adaptive leadership skills will be used to

steward the vision of our incredible Conference, “A healthy church for a

healthy world.” I believe that my history of serving in leadership as a bridge

builder will help me to strengthen the connections within the ministries of

the Las Vegas community, and the connections to the agricultural

community and the people that they serve.

S.N.U.A.A.P. | Community Outreach Consultant

Linda decided to answer God’s full-time calling upon her life in 2011, while she served at Page Community Methodist Church as Director of the Soup Kitchen. She completed her undergrad work in Theological Studies and received her Master of Business Education Degree with a Major in Organizational Leadership at the Christian University of Southern Indiana. After pastoring Zion United Methodist Church for eight years, she will continue her role as the Director of the Zion Urban Farm as Rev. Dr. Khalif Smith is appointed Pastor.

While going to college, Linda worked 12 years as the Assistant Development Director of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. Continuing her education, she ministered on several reservations with the Native People, mostly on the Navajo Nation later. She grew up in her grandmothers’ gardens in Waco, TX where her great grandfather was native American. Linda heard a call to full-time agricultural ministry after receiving the vision to get ready for the switch in NV. She says, she’s always willing to obey the call of God, being committed to the tenacious task assigned with attention to detail, to operate with ethics and strength, serving and working with others to bring success.

S.N.U.A.A.P. | Program Manager

  Jasmine is a long-time member of Zion United Methodist Church with her first job having been in the Zion Daycare Center in 2005. The position she held at that time opened her eyes to the joys of working with children. This passion for serving children and youth led her to now serving as the Leader of Children’s Ministries at Zion. In addition to the time she spends serving the community through Zion, since 2019 she has served as Director of a non-profit organization which aims to combat homelessness and food insecurity in the Las Vegas Valley.

She is excited to continue working with the community and expanding the reach that Zion United Methodist Church and The Zion Urban Farm has. The Southern Nevada Urban Agriculture Assistance Program will help us to support urban farming and strengthen the local food system by connecting local urban farmers, with or without experience, to program opportunities within the USDA. Her passion for community-driven service and her experience serving the community are a welcome addition to our SNUAAP team.

S.N.U.A.A.P. | Program Associate

I was at Zion as a Community Service worker. In 1996 I was hired there for a part time job, which became full time, and I am still working at Zion in 2025. It has helped me to achieve a place in the community. 

I have never tried to promote myself or my work. I am just trying to connect with others. I have given my life to the Lord. 

I work in the garden at Zion because I have an interest in working with Mother Earth, and I have a sense of achievement in planting and working with kids, training them in how to cultivate the dirt, pull up water lines, plant, and harvest. have come to the garden on Sundays after church to work with the kids from Desert Spring UMC, and it was beautiful. 

The Lord planted seeds and we're planting seeds. 

This is my journey as far as today.