Dream of Wild Health awarded grant for Teaching Kitchen
The Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee (MNSBHC) Legacy Fund has awarded Dream of Wild Health, a 10-acre organic farm in Hugo, a $50,000 grant to implement a Teaching Kitchen. The kitchen will allow the farm to offer new programs centered on reconnecting Native American youth and families with Indigenous plants’ culinary, spiritual and medicinal uses. Dream of Wild Health will offer training and certifications on sustainable, healthy food preparation and farming. The kitchen also supports its mission to address issues related to systemic poverty and disease and promote positive economic and self-sufficient food preparation and sourcing options for Native American families.
The grant is part of the Super Bowl Legacy Grant Program, which is made possible each year by a $1 million contribution courtesy of the NFL Foundation and is complemented by the Super Bowl Host Committee.
Dream of Wild Health is a Native-led nonprofit that has owned and operated the 10-acre organic farm since 2005, in addition to providing community-based educational programs in Minneapolis and St. Paul from the urban office.
MDA grants help increase healthy food access
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) awarded more than $165,000 in grants to ten food hub projects that will help Minnesotans gain access to locally grown and raised foods. The Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Food Hub Grants were awarded to food hubs and other alternative community-based food distribution businesses throughout the state of Minnesota.
Awardees will use AGRI Food Hub Grant funds to develop their business plans, conduct feasibility studies, or create marketing plans; other projects will use funds to purchase equipment, or make physical improvements to their businesses that will allow them to purchase, process and distribute more Minnesota agricultural products.
Two Native organizations that were awarded the AGRI Food Hub Grant funds include the Waite House Community Center in Minneapolis, and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Cass Lake. For more information about the MDA’s AGRI Program, see: www.mda.state.mn.us/grants/agri.aspx.
White Earth receives $100,000 Legacy funding for new skate park
The Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee Legacy Fund awarded the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council a $100,000 grant to build the reservation’s first skate park. The goal of the state park is to improve the long-term health of children and families on the reservation by providing a place for outdoor recreation in a community with few nearby parks and resources. The new skate park will be located next to Pine Point School’s playground.
Target donated 100 skateboards. Additional ones were purchased by the White Earth Boys and Girls Club and the White Earth Tribal Police Department.
The White Earth Reservation Tribal Council will collaborate with the local Boys and Girls Club and other project partners to teach kids proper skating, biking and blading techniques. The skate park will be designed with traditional Native American culture and art to reflect the local community’s Anishinaabeg heritage.
Blandin Foundation awards $4.4 million in grants
The Blandin Foundation trustees have awarded grants totaling nearly $4.4 million. Following is a list of Native American organizations that received grants:
- Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School, $500: Donation in support of youth activities at Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig school in rural Minnesota.
- Dakota Wicohan, $2,500: Project support for a master-apprentice art program as part of the Blandin Leadership Grants Program in rural Minnesota.
- Family Safety Network of Cass County Inc, $500: Donation for a symposium called “One Load at a Time” focusing on raising awareness and combating sex trafficking and sexual violence on the Leech Lake Reservation in rural Minnesota.
- White Earth Tribal Council, $25,000: Project support for the White Earth Broadband Initiative as part of the Broadband Program in rural Minnesota.
For more info on the Blandin Foundation, see: https://blandinfoundation.org.
