<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/06/arizona-hopi-reservation-food-hub>
"On the Hopi reservation in the high desert of northern Arizona, construction
is underway.
A dilapidated auto garage is being converted into a fully-equipped kitchen,
food storage areas, dining room and an attached greenhouse. The new facilities
will become the first-ever Hopi-region food hub, used to increase Indigenous
access to fresh, healthy and affordable food through farm shares, farmer’s
markets, agricultural workshops, seed sharing, cooking lessons and other
programs.
Food hubs – community-run, centralized locations to produce, store and
distribute food – are part of an emerging, Native-led movement to address the
longstanding food crisis among Indigenous communities in the US: a lack of
fresh produce and a decline in traditional farming stemming from centuries of
colonization, land loss, theft and displacement.
It’s a strategy that advocates say is becoming increasingly common across the
US south-west.
“We are building a network of farmers and producers to support the local food
economy and address our people’s needs,” said Lilian Hill, who, along with her
husband, Jacobo Marcus, started the nonprofit Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture
Institute. Over the past 20 years, the institute has worked to rebuild food
security in the Hopi Nation, establishing relationships with nearly 100
regional food producers. Last year, it received a $250,000 grant from the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand and build the Hopi food hub, which
is set to open in November.
While the grant is welcome, it does not come close to meeting the community’s
needs, Hill and Marcus say. The federal government has long failed to support
and fund Native agriculture and food systems across the country, resulting in
widespread food insecurity and adverse health outcomes.
So, many communities are organizing food hubs on their own.
“Food hubs are about building resilient communities,” said Bleu Adams, a chef
and the founder of IndigeHub, a nonprofit that helps build food hubs in Navajo
Nation. “We’re isolated and left to fill in the gaps.”"
Via
Positive.News
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
