Hunkpati Investments Receives $25,000 Grant for Crow Creek Fresh Food Initiative

July 22, 2010

Hunkpati Investments recently received a $25,000 grant from the First Nations Development Institute of Longmont, Colorado. This award will support the efforts of the Crow Creek Fresh Food Initiative.

Residents of the Crow Creek Sioux Indian Reservation face many barriers to good nutrition. Crow Creek’s remote location severely limits the availability of affordable fresh produce. At the same time, heavily utilized federal food programs promote the use of cheap, preserved foods. Because of this situation, many community organizations on Crow Creek have banded together to form the Crow Creek Fresh Food Initiative. The Fresh Food Initiative seeks to grow enough fresh fruits and vegetables to provide for the community; increase the income of the tribe by enabling them to profit from their own resource; encourage agricultural entrepreneurship; link the local farming initiatives to larger markets; educate tribal members about the newly available fruits and vegetables; and teach children about nutrition and agriculture.

The Crow Creek Fresh Food Initiative began its work in the spring of 2010 at the local tribal elementary school, combining educational and cultural opportunities with a production-based garden. The added support of First Nations’ Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative will advance these efforts by supporting current programming, expanding educational efforts to older youth, establishing an agricultural summer work program for high school students, and funding a harvest celebration to increase community awareness and enthusiasm.

For thirty years, the First Nations Development Institute has been working to restore Native American control and culturally-compatible stewardship of the assets they own - be they land, human potential, cultural heritage, or natural resources - and to establish new assets for ensuring the long-term vitality of Native communities. Through the generous support of the Kresge Foundation, First Nations’ Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative seeks to assist rural and reservation-based Native communities in developing or expanding locally-controlled and locally-based food systems that provide healthy foods to community members and support local food producers and the local economy.

Hunkpati Investments was founded in 2009 by a committed board of local community members in order to provide financial opportunities to stimulate economic development on the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation, promoting self-sufficiency, self-determination and an enhanced quality of life for the reservation community.