Native Food Sovereignty Grants

For questions about the program:
nafsi@firstnations.org

For questions about the online application system:
grantmaking@firstnations.org
303.774.7836

Native Food Sovereignty Grants provide funding for projects that lead to self-directed, well-resourced, community supported food systems in Native communities.

Priorities include:

• First foods and maternal health
  • Promoting cultural birthing practices
  • Supporting prenatal to postnatal nutrition
  • Expanding access to culturally congruent lactation practices, and first foods education for Native parents, caregivers, and children
  • Increasing traditional food access for infants and young children
  • Building organizational or program capacity to support maternal and infant health initiatives
• Native farm to school
  • Developing school programming centered on community, traditional foodways, traditional knowledge, traditional foods, language, and/or land stewardship
  • Incorporating local or traditional foods into the school system
  • Expanding students access to place and land management practices
  • Hosting a community event or workshop
  • Fostering youth mentorship with community foodways
  • Supporting curriculum development or educational materials design for K-12 students
• Emerging organizations and programs
  • Launching new or innovative projects, or emerging Native-led organizations, programs, or grassroots efforts to advance Native food sovereignty
  • Supporting new or innovative activities that strengthen Native food systems and reflect community-driven visions for food sovereignty
  • Fostering deep relationships with traditional foods, foodways, and food systems in support of cultural continuity and resurgence
  • Building community or organizational capacity through new or innovative approaches that sustain food systems work
  • Creating or strengthening partnerships across tribal sectors and community organizations to advance collaborative Native food systems
  • Implementing culturally based education, knowledge-sharing, or storytelling initiatives that elevate Native food narratives and lived experiences
  • Acquiring land, infrastructure, or key equipment to support new food sovereignty initiatives
• Governance of Native food systems
  • Tribal, inter-Tribal, or community governance policies that protect access to traditional foods and uphold harvesting, hunting, fishing, and gathering rights
  • Food safety, nutrition, and food program policies or administrative practices that reflect Native values, food preferences, and cultural lifeways
  • Policies, funding structures, or institutional rules that support food incentives, food assistance, mutual aid, and community-based food access systems
  • Education, youth, or school-based policies that integrate Native food knowledge, language, and cultural foodways into curriculum or programming
  • Governance frameworks for the stewardship and decision-making authority over land, water, seeds, animals, and other food system resources
  • Policy approaches that embed resilience, stewardship, and long-term food security into Native food systems governance
  • Inter-Tribal agreements, food policy councils, advisory bodies, or culturally grounded decision-making structures that guide food system governance

Eligible applicants include:

• Federal and state recognized Tribal governments and Tribal government programs
• Native-controlled 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations defined as organizations in which a majority of the Board of Directors and leadership team are Native American, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian
• Native-controlled community organizations with fiscal sponsorship
• Tribal 7871 Organizations

Award range: $10,000 - $40,000
Project period: 1 year

Links to application instructions and the online application portal are available on the program website.

Grantseeker Resources