First Nations Receives $100,000 Grant from Agua Fund to Help Improve Native Food Access

Longmont, Colorado, Jan. 04, 2018 -- First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) today announced it has received a one-year, $100,000 grant from the Agua Fund as renewed funding to assist Native American communities in South Dakota and on the Navajo Nation (Arizona, New Mexico and Utah). The funding allows First Nations to work with selected communities toward increasing control of their local food systems for improved health and well-being, as well as for asset-building and economic development purposes.

First Nations expects to issue a request for proposals for this grant program in the near future. Eligible entities will be Sioux or Navajo tribes, Sioux or Navajo-controlled nonprofit organizations, or Native community-based groups committed to increasing healthy food access in Sioux or Navajo communities.

First Nations will offer capacity-building training to the four selected participants, while two of these groups will receive direct grants of $30,000 each. The project will focus on tribal hunger, nutrition and healthy foods access, and will engage in activities such as conducting community food assessments and expanding initiatives for food-related business development. Participants will be selected based on their potential to serve as a positive model with replicable or adaptable components for other Native communities, as well as on their communities’ needs related to tribal hunger, food insecurity and healthy foods access.

About First Nations Development Institute

For more than 37 years, using a three-pronged strategy of educating grassroots practitioners, advocating for systemic change, and capitalizing Indian communities, First Nations has been working to restore Native American control and culturally-compatible stewardship of the assets they own – be they land, human potential, cultural heritage or natural resources – and to establish new assets for ensuring the long-term vitality of Native American communities. First Nations serves Native American communities throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.firstnations.org.

About Agua Fund

The Agua Fund is a private foundation based in Washington, D.C. The Fund's mission is to improve the quality of life through support of work to protect the natural environment and to help the poor, disadvantaged and underserved. For more information, visit www.aguafund.org.

PROGRAM CONTACT:
Raymond Foxworth, First Nations Vice President
[email protected] or (303) 774-7836 x207

MEDIA CONTACT:  
Randy Blauvelt, First Nations Senior Communications Officer 
[email protected] or (303) 774-7836 x213