‘A sanctuary’: how neglected Native American communities are organizing their own food hubs

The Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute in Arizona received a $250,000 grant from the US agriculture department to expand their food hub. Photograph: Courtesy Lilian Hill

On the Hopi reservation in the high desert of northern Arizona, construction is underway.

A dilapidated auto garage is being converted into a fully-equipped kitchen, food storage areas, dining room and an attached greenhouse. The new facilities will become the first-ever Hopi-region food hub, used to increase Indigenous access to fresh, healthy and affordable food through farm shares, farmer’s markets, agricultural workshops, seed sharing, cooking lessons and other programs.