Community Nutrition Program
The Community Nutrition Program (CNP) consists of the Potawot Food Garden and CalFresh Supplemental Assistance Program, which provide outreach and application assistance to our clients. The Potawot Community Food Garden is a certified Farmers Market and works with the UIHS clients, community members, and participants in the CalFresh Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Woman, Infant, and Children (WIC) program.
Potawot Community Food Garden
The Potawot Food Garden has donated thousands of pounds of produce annually to local food banks, tribal youth events, tribal community events and cultural activities. Since 1999, the CNP has directly worked on weaving the local food web to combat food insecurity, promote food sovereignty, and promote wellness for our UIHS tribal communities.
The Potawot Community Food Garden and Farmers Market accept these as forms of ‘payment’
Garden Produce
The three-acre Food Garden provides the UIHS community with a wide range of organically grown produce. From June through December, the garden and greenhouses are filled with a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Some of our garden produce includes: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, summer squash, kohlrabi, sugar snap peas, greens, apples, strawberries, beets, raspberries, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, radishes, string beans, lemons, plums, cucumbers, flowers, tomatoes, pears, and peppers.
The produce is distributed to the UIHS community through a bi-weekly produce stand at the clinic and through subscription to the Kay Woi basket membership program.
Fruits
During the winter months, a large portion of the garden is covered with nitrogen-fixing legumes and cover crop grasses that rejuvenate the soil. The fence surrounding the entire garden is planted with edible berries such as blueberries, blackberries, filberts and a variety of other berries.
The fruit tree orchard features 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 in their producing months. You can see the orchard while taking a walk on the Ku’ wah-dah-wilth trails.
Culinary & Medicinal Herbs
The adjoining Potawot Herb Garden provides the UIHS community with both traditional American Indian and European 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.
UIHS offers educational opportunities through a series of workshops on nutrition, organic agriculture, and hands-on internships during the summer months. For information on volunteer opportunities in the Potawot Community Food Garden call or text (707) 825-5085.
