Ponca Pork Project is Innovative Solution for Elder Hunger

Amos tends to one of the pigs in the Ponca project

Accessing healthy food is still a challenge for many Native American children, families and communities. The most vulnerable – and perhaps most neglected – members of these communities are often Native American seniors.

In 2012, First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) awarded the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma $25,000 to establish the Healthy Pork Project, which produced more than 2,000 pounds of healthy, chemically-free pork that was distributed to approximately 1,200 Ponca elders and their families. This grant project, which was underwritten by AARP Foundation, is part of a larger initiative to find sustainable solutions to senior hunger in rural and reservation-based Native communities.

A study conducted by the Ponca tribe several years ago suggested that more than half of their elderly population lives in poverty with an annual income of less than $10,000. Furthermore, many members of this population are grandparents who raise one or more grandchild. The Food Research and Action Center suggests that food insecurity more than doubles among grandparents who raise their grandchildren.

The Healthy Pork Project is the brainchild of tribal member Amos Hinton, who recognized that many Ponca elders were struggling to feed themselves and their families. This realization compelled Amos to research a sustainable solution. Eventually his research led him to the idea of a natural animal farm, which is a healthy alternative to an industrial pig farm. Industrial pig farms often use growth hormones and other potentially dangerous supplements or chemicals to breed and process pigs.

The tribe donated the small tract of land needed to establish the pig farm and Amos borrowed an old computer and sat down to write his very first grant proposal. Within a month, he received word from First Nations that his grant proposal had been approved. He immediately began purchasing the animals and equipment needed to launch the Healthy Pork Project. Once the pigs had been processed, he began distributing healthy, chemically-free pork to Ponca elders at the local senior center.

The tremendous success of this first project has encouraged Amos to expand his efforts to commercial agriculture. He will continue to donate half of the pork he produces to Ponca elders.  However, he has also started to sell this lean, healthy meat to local stores and restaurants.

The Healthy Pork Project demonstrates that small, community-driven efforts are powerful and capable of effecting great change. Amos’ advice to other tribes and Native organizations interested in developing a sustainable solution to senior hunger is simple: “Start. Don’t wait for others to find these solutions for you. We need to know where our food is coming from and we need to know that it is healthy for our communities.”

By Sarah Hernandez, First Nations Program Coordinator

 

Nambe Pueblo Honors Elders by Addressing Senior Hunger & Sustainability

The experience, knowledge and wisdom of tribal elders have the potential to improve the health and well-being of tribal communities.

In 2012, the Pueblo of Nambe launched an innovative project to demonstrate its respect and appreciation for tribal elders’ lifelong contributions to the tribe. It established a community farm that has helped revitalize traditional farming methods and produced more than 4,000 pounds of food to help eliminate senior hunger on the reservation.

First Nations supported this innovative project with two grants through its broad Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (NAFSI). The first $25,000 grant was awarded in 2012 and was underwritten by AARP Foundation as part of the Native American Food Security project.  It was intended to find a sustainable solution to hunger for seniors. The tremendous success of this first project encouraged the tribe to apply for a second grant in 2013 to build capacity and increase healthy food access for Native American children and families as well as seniors. The second grant for $37,500 was underwritten by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  It will be used to expand this small community project into a much larger business venture that addresses senior hunger as well as food insecurity and economic instability.

Funding by AARP Foundation motivated the pueblo to conduct a food assessment to examine the needs of their tribal community. This assessment revealed a gap in healthy food access for seniors. The pueblo addressed this gap by launching a community farm and food-distribution program that ensured that tribal elders had easy access to traditional and healthy local foods both at home and at the senior center. Additionally, in the fall, the tribe hosted a harvest party to honor their elders with a traditional feast that included fresh bison and fruits and vegetables from the community garden. Much of the produce was grown and harvested by tribal youth under the guidance and supervision of their elders, who used that opportunity to pass their cultural knowledge and wisdom along to the next generation.

The success of this community-wide initiative inspired the Pueblo of Nambe to apply for a second grant in 2013 to lease additional land and hire more hands to cultivate the community garden. The hope is that the pueblo can use the second grant to tackle food insecurity on the reservation, sell surplus fruits and vegetables to stores and restaurants off the reservation, and stimulate tribal economic growth and development by hiring tribal youth to assist in these efforts.

The Pueblo of Nambe Community Farm demonstrates how a small and seemingly fragile community project can have far and long-lasting generational effects in Indian Country, especially when these projects are nurtured through stable and consistent funding and support. This innovative project would not have been possible without the generous support of both AARP Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, whose commitment and dedication to Native people is helping build strong, sustainable tribal communities – culturally, nutritionally and economically – for generations to come.

By Sarah Hernandez, First Nations Program Coordinator