Radio Show Builds Awareness about Food Insecurity

 

March 16, 2022

On the third Monday of each month from 6:30-7:00 p.m. on Yellowstone Public Radio, host Stella Fong shares her personal love of food and wine in a series called "Flavors Under the Big Sky." On February 21, one of her guests was Leslie "Josie" Cliff, Executive Director of Nakoda Aaniiih Economic Development Corporation (NAEDC).

In February's episode, "Flavors: Food Insecurity in Our Community Under the Big Sky," Cliff informed Fong's audience that Fort Belknap is located in a food desert. Food deserts are regions where people have limited access to a variety of healthful foods. This access is frequently owing to limited incomes or to the burden of having to travel excessive distances to obtain healthy and affordable food.

Cliff further explained that before the Red Paint Creek Trading Post and Pantry opened in Lodge Pole, a gas station convenience store near the northern end of the reservation provided the most accessible food for the community. "People had to travel 90 miles round trip just to buy groceries. They would travel to Harlem or Malta; some even went all the way to Havre, Great Falls, or Billings. So, that was the reality for years, having to take coolers and freezer bags."


Currently, the Pantry provides boxes of staples every two weeks, according to Cliff. However, she believes the facility-with its commercial kitchen-is being under-utilized. Cliff envisions that space being used not only for cooking classes but by food entrepreneurs creating indigenous products. She also envisions an expansion of their garden projects and a Farmer's Market.


In 2014, the Lodge Pole community garden bloomed into being. The project grew to what is now four community gardens. Cliff credits much of this growth to Food Sovereignty Coordinator, Randi Fetter: "She's amazing. She's the one who brings all the people together. Together, our organization, along with Fort Belknap MSU Extension and other tribal programs like Native Connections, we are gradually increasing food security in our communities."

Through a grant from the Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO), Cliff said that Fetter's salary is paid through a cost sharing system, an arrangement which enables Fetter to spend more time working one-on-one with people who want to get started with gardening, seed saving, or learning on a small scale about something like growing hemp.


Cliff reported that some of the people with AERO plan to visit the area in April to tour the gardens, orchards, and greenhouses. "They want to come out and see what we have in the way of projects and to assess our capacity to add other projects."

The mission of the NAEDC is "to promote a thriving cultural and sustainable economy of the Fort Belknap reservation." In order to achieve that, Cliff and her staff invest in and create innovative programs and models that strengthen the assets both on and off the Fort Belknap reservation. NAEDC also supports economic development in the communities on and adjacent to the Fort Belknap reservation.

Some of those projects to address food security involve increasing the home garden capacity with a tilling service, expanding the high tunnel growing systems, and adding bee colonies for pollination and flocks of chickens for insect/pest control.

"It was a long time coming as we got more buy-in from the youth and families in the community, but it is really exciting to see the interest in our programs like culinary classes and food preservation workshops. Even the students at Hays-Lodge Pole High School plan to get involved by establishing a greenhouse where they can grow flowers for a fundraiser and produce tomatoes, lettuce, and other vegetables in order to market locally grown food," Cliff, a true network weaver, stated.

In addition, the NAEDC strives to build networks with community grass roots volunteers, tribal programs, and non-profit organizations to improve the economic conditions in four key areas: Tourism, Language Revitalization, Native Food Sovereignty, and Community Based Entrepreneurship

With the radio program in February, Fong wanted to bring awareness to how not everyone can savor the foods that are available under the Big Sky. However, dedicated individuals like Cliff and the programs she directs with partner personnel are hoping to change that story.

"COVID really shifted people's mindsets to think more seriously about food security and growing gardens. The empty shelves in the grocery stores really helped in that shift. Change is a process that involves being patient and building on experience, but we're getting there," Cliff added.

 
 

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