Warm blue corn tortillas. Hearty soup with squash and black beans. Spiced pumpkin pie. What do these dishes have in common?
Each one is made with traditional Navajo foods. But those foods aren’t always available to the people who cherish them most.
Today much of the Navajo Nation is a food desert. That’s a place where healthy, affordable foods are difficult to get. Nearly 19 million people across the United States live in food deserts.
Hannah Lee and Nariyah Franklin, both 14, grew up going to STAR School, which sits on the edge of the Navajo reservation in Arizona. There, both girls—who are Navajo—learned how to combat food deserts: by growing their own food. STAR students get their hands dirty in the school’s gardens, which provide fresh produce for cafeteria meals and free food boxes for the community.
Last year, Hannah and Nariyah wanted to further spread the joy and power of growing food. So they helped 10 local families plant their own gardens. They also taught the families how to make traditional Navajo meals from their harvests.
Both Hannah and Nariyah say their work has helped them feel connected to their ancestors. For the Navajo people, Earth is sacred and farming is a way to honor the land.
As Nariyah will tell you, the land always gives back. “It’s free food!” she says with a smile.