November is National Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the traditions, languages, and stories of American Indian and Alaska Native (Native) communities. This year, we want to focus on tribal food sovereignty, what it means to Native communities, and how USDA is working to advance traditional foodways through programs and policies.   

To discover what tribal food sovereignty means to one Native community, we spoke with Elaini Vargas from the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC). She is a member of the Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria and the Youth Program Director at IAC, a USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Farm to School Technical Assistance cooperative agreement partner. For Elaini and her community, “Tribal food sovereignty, similarly across Tribal nations, means security, health, independence, and collectiveness. It is necessary for a community to thrive, to continue to exist and celebrate a space together.” Elaini’s definition goes well beyond the food and nutrition aspects of traditional foods and into a holistic view of life. She described it as “instead of just fueling your body, you’re fueling your body, your mind, and your spirit.” For Elaini and her Native community, tribal food sovereignty means more than choosing traditional food; it means choosing to embrace the way of life that created the food. 

Many Native communities face challenges in attaining tribal food sovereignty in their communities and personal lives. According to Elaini, many Native communities and individuals are living in a paradox, with one foot in the ‘modern’ world and the other in the traditional, constantly competing for what is right and what is good. These challenges can be as simple as a child choosing between a known and easy processed snack, such as a crispy rice treat, over a more traditional food such as bison jerky. Or it could be as difficult as land access barriers preventing tribal members from foraging for their food in traditional ways. For most, including Elaini, the barrier could simply be time. It takes time to harvest traditional foods, process them, and sit down and eat with family and friends.  

Landscape of Farm to School Coordination Survey  

The National Farm to School Network (NFSN) is working with Colorado State University (CSU) to conduct a survey to learn more about the landscape of farm to school coordination across the country. NFSN and CSU are interested in hearing from individuals primarily responsible for carrying out farm to school activities for a school or district. The information gathered in this survey will inform the development of advocacy tools that farm to school coordinators and farm to school advocates throughout the country can use. Participation in this research is voluntary and takes approximately five to eight minutes to complete. Data collected in this survey will be confidential. This survey will close on Monday, December 9, at 9:00 AM Mountain Time. 

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

The Request for Applications (RFA) for the FY 2025 Farm to School Grant Program remains open through January 10, 2025. 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 if they complete and submit the priority declaration checklist included in the RFA.  

Additionally, the Farm to School Team will host bi-monthly office hours on the dates below for applicants to ask questions about the Farm to School Grant Program. Note that USDA will not record these sessions. You do not need to attend the full hour, and you can come and go at any time. USDA will dedicate the entire time to answering applicant questions. Find the dates listed below for upcoming office hours:  

• Monday, December 2, from 11:00-12:00 ET- Register Here 
• Wednesday, December 18, from 3:00-4:00 ET- Register Here 
• Tuesday, January 7, from 2:00-3:00 ET- Register Here 

Applications Open for Vermont FEED’s 2025-2026 Farm to School Institute Adaptation Program 

The Farm to School Institute, created by Vermont FEED, a partnership of Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools and NOFA-VT, is a proven professional learning model for growing robust and sustainable farm to school programs. Through action planning, coaching, peer networking, and skill building, participants will create sustainable farm to school programs that connect the dots between classrooms, cafeterias, and communities. Facilitated by Shelburne Farms, in collaboration with USDA Food and Nutrition Service, the Farm to School Institute Adaptation Program is an opportunity for leaders across the country to adapt the model to your region and grow farm to school in your state. Applications are due January 6, 2025.  

USDA Releases Request for Applications for the Healthy Meals Incentives School Food System Transformation Challenge Sub-Grants: Boise State’s Project SCALES 

The Center for School and Community Partnerships at Boise State University recently released a Request for Applications (RFA) as part of the School Food System Transformation Challenge funded by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative. Round two of Boise State’s Project Supporting Community Agriculture and Local Education System (Project SCALES) sub-grants is open nationwide to all School Food Authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program and food industry partners. Sub-grants up to $1,000,000 are available to support partnerships to improve school meals. 

Are you a Native American student passionate about agriculture, food systems, or environmental stewardship? If so, the Tribal Agriculture Fellowship (TAF) is now accepting applications for its 2025 cohort! TAF is designed to aid Native students in achieving their educational goals leading to careers in agriculture. The fellowship program, established by the Native American Agriculture Fund and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, provides a generous benefits package that can include up to four years of fellowship status, with funding to earn agricultural degrees or technical certifications. 

Traditional Foods in Montana School Meals-A No Kid Hungry Indigenous Foods Toolkit 

Funded by Montana No Kid Hungry and written by Indigikitchen, this Traditional Foods in Montana Meals: A No Kid Hungry Indigenous Foods Toolkit helps food service directors identify, procure, and incorporate traditional foods into their school meal programs. Although tailored to Montana public schools, you can translate elements of this toolkit to fit your community’s needs. This toolkit touches on meal patterns and crediting, menu planning, working with native agricultural producers and processors, and much more!  

The Institute of Child Nutrition’s Culturally Inclusive Recipes Toolkit  

The Institute of Child Nutrition created the Culturally Inclusive Recipes Toolkit to provide resources and information for school nutrition program operators and distinct cultural groups within the school community to collaborate on identifying, developing, testing, and incorporating culturally inclusive recipes into school meal programs. The Toolkit aims to help school nutrition professionals serve recipes that honor and acknowledge cultures with integrity while providing required meal components as part of USDA’s National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. 

Native Agriculture Communications Work Group 

The Native American Agriculture Fund is seeking Native individuals to join the Native Agriculture Communications Work Group. This collaborative initiative is dedicated to strengthening communication efforts in Native agriculture and building a cohort of Native agriculture communication professionals.    

Bringing Local Foods to Students: Achievements and Learnings from Farm to School Grantees- FY2018-FY-2019 Farm to School Grantee Report 

The recently released USDA Food and Nutrition Service report, Bringing Local Foods to Students: Achievements and Learnings from Farm to School Grantees, presents findings of the evaluation of the fiscal year (FY) 2018 and FY 2019 USDA Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program grantees, highlighting their activities, achievements, and challenges. Some key findings included: 

• FY 2018 and FY 2019 Farm to School grants supported over 1,000 school districts and close to 9,000 schools across the U.S., including territories and Indian tribal organizations. 

• Due to grant funding, at least 179,000 students benefited from taste tests, 145,000 from edible school gardening or orchard activities, 42,000 from farmer visits, and 28,000 from field trips to farms. 

• Grantees trained over 4,700 teachers, 4,500 food service staff, and 1,100 farmers as part of grant projects.