Background
From as early as the mid-1600’s, food shortage is a documented history of Native American populations in New Mexico. Voluntary and involuntary diet changes have been made by Native American tribes based on the availability of and the use of government commodity foods. Due to food insecurity, many health studies and sources link an increase in Native American tribes of normally preventable health conditions like diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and some cancer conditions. On a national scale, food insecurity trends for Native Americans is consistently on the rise. Despite policies intended to expand food assistance programs, Native Americans are still twice as likely to be food insecure compared to White persons.
Some reasons for food insecurity include:
Despite federally funded food programs, Native American families still experience food insecurity. In 2010, the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System reported that 17% of Native American women reported not having enough food to eat during their pregnancy and that 16% of women with WIC did not have enough food.
Some reasons for food insecurity include:
- The high cost of healthy, nutrition-dense foods coupled with limited availability and selection in low-income communities.
- The overwhelming complexity and ability to navigate access to food assistance programs.
Despite federally funded food programs, Native American families still experience food insecurity. In 2010, the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System reported that 17% of Native American women reported not having enough food to eat during their pregnancy and that 16% of women with WIC did not have enough food.
Three Sisters Native Farmers Collaboration
|
Changing Woman Initiative acknowledges that traditional food systems have long supported the health and well-being of our Native communities. In serving Native American and Indigenous families, CWI believes in community partnerships with Native American/Indigenous farms to create pathways for getting traditional grown foods to the tables of growing families, without the common barriers of federally funded food programs. We believe that re-introducing nutritional traditional foods to the next generation through pregnancy will have long term impact on decreasing preventable health conditions like diabetes and obesity. It also will strengthen the relationship between Native American mothers and the land, which is supporting the growth of their babies.
(l to r: Shayai Lucero, Former CWI Nutritional Program Director and current Board Member. Towana Yepa (Jemez Pueblo), woman farmer, Nicolle Gonzales, CWI Founder and Medical Director, and Kansas Begaye, Office Manager
|
Our Plan
The plan for the collaboration is always in progress for development and improvement. Due to COVID-19, CWI had to temporarily postpone 2020 plans/site visits for the late Spring/early Summer. We are still in connection with Indigenous farms and hopefully by harvest season, we can continue our collaborative work.
Our plans include:
Please email CWI for more information or if you are an Indigenous farmer in New Mexico.
Our plans include:
- CWI will collaborate with 5-6 Native Farms in NM to develop nutritional food baskets to be given to prenatal and post-partum families in our care.
- Traditional recipes known to support pregnancy, lactation, and postpartum changes in mothers will be created.
- Nutrition assessment for all prenatal and postpartum family.
- Nutrition classes for all CWI clients.
Please email CWI for more information or if you are an Indigenous farmer in New Mexico.
|
|
|
