Policies disrupting Indigenous food systems (Indigenous ways of gathering, growing, and eating food) have caused Native Americans to face high rates of hunger and long-term health issues. While 1 in 10 Americans experienced hunger in 2020, 1 in 2 Native Americans faced hunger during the pandemic.
“Genuine food security in Native American communities… cannot be achieved without food sovereignty.” 1
Food security is “The state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food,” whereas food sovereignty is defined as “Using Indigenous and community-run food systems to ensure community members benefit from food the community produces.”
Food security and food sovereignty go hand in hand to provide the path to long-term solutions to the problem of hunger for Indigenous peoples. How do we get to true food sovereignty? The answers lie within the communities themselves.
The Arizona Food Bank Network creates opportunities for neighbors to convene and leverage resources so that Indigenous communities can develop long-term, equitable food security.
Do you or someone you know need immediate support?
Here are some resources that can help:
Current Collaborative Work
Child Food Security Committees
Thanks to the generous support of No Kid Hungry, AzFBN was able to help start committees dedicated to ending hunger among children and families in the following regions:
- San Carlos Apache
- White Mountain Apache
- Hualapai
- Colorado River Indian Tribes
- Phoenix urban Indigenous communities
All of these groups are populated and led by community members dedicated to youth development, health, community agriculture, and more. They have collected surveys and feedback to do assess community food needs, hosted wild food harvesting events, founded food pantries, and started community gardening initiatives. These are just a few results of committee work, which is driven by each community’s perspective of what is best for their traditions and way of life.
Arizona Indigenous Food Sovereignty Newsletter
Every two months, together with the Partnership with Native Americans, the Arizona Food Systems Network, and Local First Arizona, AzFBN produces and sends out a newsletter about Indigenous food sovereignty. It includes information about grant opportunities, events, and news about food sovereignty efforts in Tribes around the state.
Additionally, each issue features work that strengthens food sovereignty from an Arizona Indigenous organization. The newsletter is also space for idea and resource sharing.
If you would like to receive these newsletters, email us at [email protected]!
Resources to Support Food Security in Your Community
Indian Health Services – Food and Nutrition Security
Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative – EATS Academy
National Congress of American Indians: Tribal Food Sovereignty Resource Directory
Model Tribal Food and Agriculture Code
Do you need tools and an established network to help your ideas become reality? Want to come up with ideas to provide food to more people in your area? We would love to talk to you! Together we can think of ways that AzFBN can support your work, and connect you to other people who might be able to help. If you’re interested, email us at [email protected], especially if you think a food security committee could benefit your community.
1. Sowerwine, J., Sarna-Wojcicki, D., Mucioki, M., Hillman, L., Lake, F. K, & Friedman, E. (2019). Enhancing Indigenous food sovereignty: A five-year collaborative tribal-university research and extension project in California and Oregon. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2019.09B.013
English 
Spanish