November is Native American Heritage Month, an opportunity to uplift and celebrate Native culture and traditions within the farm to school community. The Generational Empowerment Boys & Girls Club (the Club), a Fiscal Year 2022 Patrick Leahy Farm to School grantee, has been busy creating a community garden in the Española Public School District in New Mexico. This project serves youth members of the Club, children ages five through 13. The Club participants are composed of three neighboring Tribes: Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo, and the San Ildefonso Pueblo.  

Johnny Abeyta, the Project Director of the Club’s Farm to School Program, wants to create an inclusive, educational, and empowering environment that provides more than just a typical garden experience. The project has included opportunities for the youth members to use the native foods grown and harvested to create and share traditional meals together at The Club. The meals consisted of squash and corn, beans and red chili, and beans and green chili. The produce harvested from their garden allowed for a variety of “mix and match” recipes to create traditional meals. After the recipes were created and the meals enjoyed, the participants were encouraged to share the recipes with their family and community. Mr. Abeyta has reflected that, “One of the reasons as Natives we have survived, is our ability to have access to foods that our ancestors enjoyed and consumed. By teaching our youth and having them experience what their ancestors went through to ensure their survival, we are instilling the values of hard work and persistence and preparing them for their future.”  

An additional component of their farm to school program has been connecting children with Tribal Elders (Elders) in the community by sharing meals and spending time together. The Elders have met with the Club and shared information about food sovereignty and traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. Mr. Abeyta stresses the importance of connecting with Elders and staying present and engaged by learning about and acknowledging the past, “Our Community Elders have so much knowledge gained over their lifetime, and if we don’t tap into their knowledge, traditions and learnings might be lost and our opportunity to learn and continue to share and to learn our culture will be severely hindered.”  

When speaking about the importance of Native farm to school initiatives and working with the community, Mr. Abeyta’s feeling of joy and sense of pride is abundant. He highlights the value of educating children on the cultural importance and the feeling of being connected to your culture through food and the land that your food is grown on. Mr. Abeyta shares that, “We as Natives, must continue to provide our children with opportunities where they can learn about the nutritional value of healthy Native foods. We need to be aware to how foods are produced and the work it takes to maintain a farm or garden. I continue to share how we as Natives have been resilient and have been able to provide food for our people and will continue to do so, the passing of the baton to our future generations.”  

Mr. Abeyta is excited to continue the progress of the Club’s community garden by expanding the variety of produce grown, developing a Native farm to school curriculum for the Club, and providing more community outreach activities for the Club’s youth members.  

Inspired by the great work being done? Check out the fact sheets below to learn more about how to incorporate traditional foods into Child Nutrition Programs: 

Reminder to Complete the Farm to School Census 

The 2023 Farm to School Census (Census) launched last month — Census surveys were sent out to School Food Authorities (SFAs) across the country. We need your help to make the Census a success! If you’re an SFA, please complete the Census as soon as possible. If you’re a partner supporting SFAs with farm to school activities, help spread the word about the importance of completing the Census and assist SFAs with completion as needed. Visit the 2023 Farm to School Census Resources page for easy-to-use resources on Census promotion and completion. 

USDA Invests in Bison Purchase Pilot Incorporating Indian Country Bison for Tribal Feeding Programs 

USDA has announced a new, interagency pilot project aimed at offering more localized ground bison meat for tribal communities through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations. The pilot will look at changes to how USDA purchases bison to better support buying meat from local, small, and mid-sized bison herd managers and delivering it directly to their local tribal communities. “Our nation-to-nation relationship with tribes enriches how USDA does business for Indian Country and for all of rural America. This pilot is an important step to use government procurement flexibly for the benefit of tribal and our smaller producers and their surrounding communities,” said Heather Dawn Thompson, Director of USDA’s Office of Tribal Relations. Four tribal and local producers were recently awarded bison contracts to test out the flexibilities of the pilot program.  

USDA Announces New Procurement Focused Partnership with the Urban School Food Alliance  

USDA is partnering with the Urban School Food Alliance (USFA) to develop and implement trainings, tools, and resources to help school districts purchase high quality foods, while keeping costs low. USFA will organize an advisory group of school nutrition stakeholders to create an action plan that will address school food procurement challenges through targeted trainings and resources. For example, USFA will develop an interactive bid template that will help standardize procurement processes. USFA will begin sharing trainings and resources with school districts immediately, and the advisory group’s work will begin in 2024. 

Celebrating Farm to School and Early Care and Education Roles in Advancing Food and Nutrition Security  

Dr. Caree Cotwright, Director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity, gave the opening keynote at the 2023 Georgia Farm to School and Early Care and Education Mini Summit on Friday, November 3rd in Savannah, Georgia. It was a full circle moment given Dr. Cotwright is on leave from being a Professor of Nutrition Science at the University of Georgia who specializes in early care and education and integrates farm to school into her work. During the Summit, Dr. Cotwright was joined by USDA’s Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program Staff and Southeast Regional Office staff. She emphasized how important early care and education specialists are in advancing food and nutrition security. She also highlighted how farm to school programs are critical to connecting children, families, and communities with healthy foods, along with fun ways of understanding where their food comes from. 

USDA Awards more than $32 Million in Grants to Strengthen Local and Regional Food Systems  

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service recently awarded more than $32 million for 98 grant projects to expand and strengthen local and regional food systems and increase the availability of locally grown agricultural products. The funding will be distributed through the Local Agriculture Market Program’s (LAMP) Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Programs (FMLFPP) and the Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) grant program. 

Serving Traditional Indigenous Foods in Child Nutrition Programs - Resource Page  

The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service designed this resource page to support child nutrition program operators in serving traditional Indigenous foods. The page includes fact sheets, recipes, policy guidance, and more. The page will be updated periodically with new resources, like the updated Crediting Traditional Indigenous Foods in Child Nutrition Programs memorandum released earlier this month. The memo helps clarify how traditional Indigenous foods credit toward the meal pattern requirements the child nutrition programs.  

 “Sovereignty Gardens”-A Children’s Educational Animated Series 

Through a cooperative agreement the USDA Office of Tribal Relations and Dr. Lee Francis of Native Realities created an animated series to help build excitement and pride with children about using Indigenous knowledge in gardening, food sovereignty, traditional foods, and healthy eating habits. “Sovereignty Gardens” uses animation and puppetry to follow Stompy, the buffalo, and his friend, Bran, through a series of learning adventures, which include cameos by Indigenous and scientific leaders. There are also accompanying educator’s guide and lesson plans available for download. 

Indigenous Foods Foraging and Cooking Videos 

Through the USDA Office of Tribal Relations Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative, the organization  North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) produced a series of videos on Indigenous foods, foraging, and cooking. The videos aim to complement the foods, commonly referred to as commodities, available in the Northeast and Southeast regions through the USDA’s Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). Last year, USDA released videos for the Midwest, Mountain Plains, and Southwest regions, and next year videos will be produced for Alaska and Hawaii. 

ASPHN’s Farm to ECE 2023-2024 Webinar Series 

Join the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN) for their 2023-2024 Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) webinar series. The monthly series will review topics, innovations, and ideas in farm to ECE to help grow the program in your state or locality. The next webinar will be held on December 12 from 2:00- 3:00pm ET and is titled, “Measuring, Evaluating, and Sharing Farm to ECE Impact”.  

USDA Shared Kitchen and Food Start-Up Resources  

Shared kitchens are a business development strategy that communities have adopted to enable diverse local food businesses to produce, store, and sell their products. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service partnered with Colorado State University and the Food Corridor to create fact sheets and case studies about the food business owners operating out of shared kitchens and the role of shared kitchens across the country. 

USDA Farm to School Grant Program Gives Priority Consideration for Applications from Indian Tribal Organizations 

The Request for Applications (RFA) for the FY 2024 Farm to School Grant Program remains open through January 12, 2024. Applicants who meet certain criteria, including applicants from Indian Tribal Organizations and entities led and/or staffed by Native Americans and serving Native American communities, will receive bonus points in the application review process. 

In early 2024, KidsGardening.org will award 50 organizations $500 in funding and a collection of gardening supplies for their youth garden program. The Youth Garden Grant started in 1982 and has supported school and youth educational garden projects that enhance the quality of life for youth and their communities. Read the Youth Garden Grant’s 2023 Impact Report to see how the funds have been used to support garden education. Apply by December 15.