Our community is a food desert and diabetes and preventable diseases are at the highest rates in the country. In 2014 we conducted a Oglala Lakota Nation Food System Assessment to better understand what our community needs are around food. The assessment guided our work in creating a Food Sovereignty Initiative to work towards improving the following goals:
Improved food access on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Increased food system sovereignty.
Improved nutrition and public health.
Decreased economic burdens on low-come families and increased economic opportunities.
The Food Sovereignty Initiative includes:
The Small Demonstration Farm
Lakota Food Sovereignty Coalition
Community Gardens
Farmers Market
Free Range Egg Sales
We aim to create a local food system to increase access to healthy foods and increase economic opportunity through agriculture. Ultimately this will create a healthier community.