Federal Grant Award Summary

Riverside-San Bernardino County Indian Health, Inc. received a $727,711 Project Grant from the Administration for Native Americans (Native American Programs, CFDA 93.612) awarded on September 30, 2025, to implement the Rooted Relatives Program through September 29, 2028. The program addresses documented food insecurity within American Indian/Alaska Native communities in Southern California, where 50.8% of survey respondents reported experiencing food shortages. The organization will deliver a comprehensive, multi-faceted initiative that includes establishing healing gardens at clinical sites, hosting family feeds featuring traditional meals and cultural activities, and implementing youth gardening curriculum designed to increase access to and consumption of healthy, traditional foods.

The program targets 100 youth participants and 230 adults, with measurable objectives including 80% of youth participants achieving increased gardening knowledge and skills and 80% of adult family feed attendees demonstrating increased understanding of traditional plants and their health benefits, as measured by pre- and post-program assessments. Expected outcomes encompass both financial savings and improved health outcomes through sustainable food supply development, enhanced consumption of traditional plants and foods, and strengthened community food sovereignty across the nine tribal reservations served by the awardee organization.