Community Nutrition
United Indian Health Services believes that the health of the community is only as strong as the mind, body, and spirit of each individual within it.
In 1999, the Community Nutrition Program (CNP) and Potawot Community Food Garden were established within the Community Health and Wellness Division. The CNP consists of the Potawot Food Garden and CalFresh Supplemental Assistance Program outreach and application assistance. The Potawot Community Food Garden is a certified Farmers Market and works with the UIHS Clients who are participants in the CalFresh Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by accepting Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), Women Infant and Children (WIC) Program Senior Nutrition Program, and our Diabetes Program.
The garden has donated thousands of pounds of produce annually to local food banks, tribal youth events, tribal community events, and cultural activities. The CNP has 18 years of direct experience in weaving the local food web to combat food insecurity and promoting healthy nutrition for our UIHS tribal communities.
Community Nutrition Program
The UIHS Community Nutrition Program and its Potawot Community Food Garden provides a wide range of services to clients with priorities being:
- Increasing access of affordable, fresh, healthy produce through the Potawot Community Food Garden
- Nutrition Education,
- Education aimed at increasing food-related self-sufficiency.
The UIHS Community Nutrition Program is dedicated to creating organic and sustainable environments that foster healing of the mind, body, and spirit.
Potawot Community Food Garden
The three-acre Food Garden provides the UIHS community with a wide range of fresh, organically grown produce. From June through October the garden and greenhouses are filled with carrots, broccoli, pumpkins, greens, corn, strawberries, flowers, tomatoes, and peppers. The organic produce is distributed to the UIHS community through a bi-weekly produce stand as the clinic and through subscription to the Kay Woi basket membership program.
During the winter months, a large portion of the garden is covered with nitrogen-fixing legumes and grasses that rejuvenates the soil. The entire fence surrounding the garden is planted with edible berries, such as blueberries, blackberries, filberts, and a variety of other delicious berries.
The adjoining Potawot Herb Garden provides the UIHS community with both traditional American Indian and European culinary and medicinal herbs. The Potawot Community Food Garden offers educational opportunities through a series of workshops on nutrition, organic agriculture, and hands-on internships during the summer months. Contact the UIHS Nutrition office for more information about the food garden.
Volunteers
We would be nowhere without the countless volunteers who help us provide food for the United Indian Health Services community every day.
If you would like information about volunteer opportunities at the Potawot Community Food Garden, please contact Ed Mata or Christine Griffin at (707) 826-8476
Volunteer Hours:
Monday – Friday
9 am to 3 pm
Weekends are available to accommodate volunteer groups of 5 or more. To schedule a day for your group please contact Ed or Tee at (707) 826 – 8476 or email Jude Marshall at jude.marshall@crihb.org. Please keep in mind it will take 2 weeks to plan these activities.
The work that the Community Nutrition Staff do with children is what we are most proud of. Culturally relevant Nutrition and Physical Activity lessons are conducted monthly at a number of sites throughout the UIHS service area including Northern California Indian Development Council after-school program, Margaret Keating, Jack Norton and Weitchpec Schools and Klamath, Elk Valley, Howonquet, and Kepel Headstarts. Participation in UIHS Traditional Resources Youth Programs ensures that we reach an even greater number of kids of all ages.
Community Nutrition reaches the rest of the Native American population of Humboldt and Del Norte County by its participation in various community events such as the Salmon Festival, UIHS’ HAWC Walk, and the Spring Flings held in both Klamath and Weitchpec. A series of Nutrition classes for UIHS clients are held once a year at Potawot Health Village.
The three-acre on-site Potawot Community Food Garden serves as an amazing resource and education tool for Community Nutrition. At the bi-weekly Produce Stands, cooking demonstrations are conducted featuring a fruit or vegetable grown in the Garden and available that day. Samples, recipes, and nutrition information are distributed as well.
As a component of the Food is Good Medicine project, UIHS produced a garden guide known as Food is Good Medicine: A Practical Guide to Growing Food in Northwestern California and is available at the Potawot Health Village Administration Department.
For information on volunteer opportunities in the Potawot Community Food Garden call (707) 826 – 8476
Fruit Tree Orchard
Adjacent to the Potawot Community Food Garden is a fruit tree orchard featuring over sixty fruit varieties including apples, peaches, pears, cherries, Asian pears, plums, and figs. When the fruit is ripe it is made available to the community at the bi-weekly produce stand between the months of June and October. The orchards promote healthy eating and are delicious while taking a walk on the Ku’ wah-dah-wilth trails.
The orchards are managed without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. There are a number of legume (nitrogen fixing) plants growing in the understory of the orchards to contribute nitrogen to the trees. There are also a number of perennial plants around the orchard that attract beneficial insects that help control pests on the fruit trees.
Potawot Herb Garden
Located at the Potawot Community Food Garden, the Herb Garden features a combination of native and introduced culinary and medicinal herbs. Plants such as oregano, thyme, rosemary, calendula, lemon verbena, lavender, vine tea, lemon balm, peppermint, Oregon grape, mugwort, amongst many others are clustered throughout the garden paths that are in the shape of the UIHS logo.
Herbs from the garden are utilized to make salves and balms that are available at the UIHS Potawot Health Village Administration section. The herb garden is a place for garden therapy and reconnecting ourselves to natural healing methods.
