FY24 congressional community project funding north american traditional indigenous food systems

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), through its Congressional Grants program (CFDA 59.059), awarded a $1,000,000 Project Grant to North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems, a non-profit organization focused on advancing food sovereignty, nutrition, and small business development within Indigenous communities. The grant, awarded in July 2024, will support the organization's efforts to create educational resources, training programs, and collaborative initiatives that promote traditional Indigenous food systems and preserve cultural practices through food-related programming. This includes developing workforce training for school nutrition professionals, creating how-to videos on wild food identification, populating the USDA Hall of Nations with Indigenous food displays, and providing expert advisement on federal procurement of tribal and Indigenous foods. The grant aims to enhance Indigenous food practices, entrepreneurship, and nutrition by supporting small business development and community economic development within the Indigenous food sector.