Community gardening coming to a town near you

By B.L. Azure

PABLO — Back in the day everybody had gardens but the convenience of the modern grocery store made it easier to buy food than grow it. As a result garden patches that once dotted the town landscapes of yore are composted memories. However, the escalation of fuel prices may change the new habits back to the old ones.

“The price of gas is affecting everything,” said Michael Pierre of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Department of Human Resources Development. “Food prices are going up for everyone but tribal elders, other senior citizens and low-income families on limited budgets are being impacted the most. Many of them can’t afford groceries anymore. What are they going to do about it? They have few if any options.”

One option they have is to become involved in the Field Home Community Garden Project.

“The main goal of the grant is to promote healthy eating habits and fitness,” Pierre said. “We also want this to be a community involvement effort and will be seeking volunteers in each community to help maintain the gardens.”

The project will have four community garden sites on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The community gardens are located at the Arlee home sites, the St. Ignatius commodity store, at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo and in Elmo. They will grow garden produce that will be distributed to people who are eligible to receive commodities through the Food Distribution Program and people served by other low-income programs such as WIC program (Women, Infants and Children).

The goals of the project are to: improve the quality of life for reservation low-income residents; promote lifetime physical activity; expand knowledge of health food choices; encourage long-term lifestyle changes that lead to decreases in heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity; promote healthy eating habits; build sustainable partnerships among community groups that support ongoing activities and similar future projects; recognize traditional and cultural practices of tribal people; and increase intergenerational links between elders and youth.

To reach the goals the staff will provide activities, educational opportunities, a promotional campaign, avenues for intergenerational interaction and outreach materials to help increase the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products by reservation residents. In addition, the project will provide services that raise the awareness of the benefits of daily physical activity.

The staff will be comprised of personnel from the SKC Farm to College Program, volunteers and grant funded activities coordinator and an assistant.

The grant project is currently soliciting recipes that will be a part of an 18-month calendar. It will contain the recipes, events and other nutritional information.

“We are particularly interested in recipes that use traditional foods, wild game and garden vegetables,” Pierre said.

The project is funded by a USDA Nutrition Education Grant Program to Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.

For more information, contact Michael Pierre at 675-2700, ext. 1063 or Patrick Murphy at 275-4941 or farm2college@skc.edu