September 27, 2022
The leaders of the Native Farm Bill Coalition expressed their thanks for the inclusion of key priorities of importance for Native Americans in the Biden Administration’s national strategy to end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, and decrease diet-related chronic diseases disparities, which was released in advance of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health on September 28, 2022.
Native Farm Bill Coalition co-chairs Kari Jo Lawrence (executive director, Intertribal Agriculture Council) and Cole Miller (vice-chairman, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community) issued this statement:
“The White House has included provisions of critical importance to help Tribal governments advance good nutrition and improve dietary health within their communities. We are grateful that the Biden Administration solicited ideas from Indian Country itself and recognizes the essential principles of Tribal sovereignty and self-determination in its work to support the underserved and marginalized. Native peoples suffer from the worst health disparities of any group of Americans, and in most cases poor diets are a leading or contributing factor. The member-Tribes of the Native Farm Bill Coalition look forward to working with the Administration to further develop its national strategy and with the Congress on the 2023 Farm Bill to ensure that federal support for improving Native nutrition is designed in concert with Tribes and is sufficient to achieve their food sovereignty and good health.”