LONGMONT, Colo. A new website has been launched to be
a valuable online resource for Native American tribes, organizations
and individuals involved in food systems and agricultural efforts
and/or aiming for better health and nutrition for their families
and communities.
The
site, www.NativeFoodSystems.org,
was created by the Longmont-based First Nations Development Institute
with funding provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
"We believe that our work in the food sector has many benefits,
all of which are critically important," First Nations President
Michael E. Roberts said. "These include improved Native health and
nutrition, of course, but also a reconnection with traditional foods
and a reinforcement of our cultural practices and customs. Further,
regaining control of food systems can provide a huge and much-needed
boost to the development of Native economies."
For more than 32 years, First Nations has been working to restore
Native American control and culturally compatible stewardship of
the assets they own, including land, human potential, cultural heritage
or natural resources, and establish new assets for ensuring the
long-term vitality of Native American communities. Part of this
effort centers on food, through First Nations' Native Agriculture
and Food System Initiative, or NAFSI.
Under NAFSI, First Nations provides grants to food and agricultural
efforts by tribes and nonprofit organizations, and recently announced
the awarding of 10 such grants totaling $375,000.
First Nations, in partnership with the Taos County Economic
Development Corporation in Taos, N.M., is also working to create
the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance, which is intended
to become a sustainable and organized movement that is Native American
driven and controlled, nationally active and dedicated to addressing
food security, hunger and nutrition in Native American communities
at the national, tribal and local levels.
The www.NativeFoodSystems.org
website features various resources and information, ranging from
tribal gardens, farms and markets, to youth programs and farm-to-school
efforts, seed saving, traditional plants and medicine, food marketing
and handling, home gardening, canning and healthy family eating.
Native
Food Systems Resource Center
The Native Food Systems Resource Center is an initiative of First
Nations Development Institute, under our Native Agriculture and
Food Systems Initiative. Funding for development of this website
(and several of our food-related projects) was generously provided
by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
http://www.nativefoodsystems.org/
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