All Posts

By: Denee Bex, MPH, RD, CDCES, LD Did you know that over 1 million American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) receive SNAP benefits, aka food stamps? That reflects about a quarter (25%) of all AI/AN households in the U.S. Just to give you some context, the national poverty rate for American Indians was 25.4% as of 2018, which is the highest poverty rate among all ethnic minority groups in the U.S. This state of reduced wealth was no accident. It is a result of federal po

Alaina K. Yazzie 11/18/2025 Crying, tantrums, frustration and a little bargaining. I have done all these things when engaging with a five-year-old opponent at mealtimes. My youngest is still at the table, very content with waiting me out, not whining or crying, but just waiting for me to crack. And I do, because I just want him to eat something. I have what is called a “mac and cheese” child. Or, in more broad terms, a picky eater or more technical, a selective eater. If you

October 30, 2025 By Alaina K. Yazzie The great pumpkin indeed, the original indigenous food that withstood the passage of time through the years, decades, no centuries. You get the point; she’s an old girl. The pumpkin/gourd/winter squash/technically a fruit and with its hard shell, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? No, not a turtle, but a central element in any fall decoration, dinner or celebration. The pumpkin can be traced back 9,000 years ago in Mesoamerica, making it the o

October 21, 2025 By Alaina K. Yazzie “What do you think about when you hear the term "nutritious food"?” Denee asked the group of participants in a recent cooking class presentation. Among the participants, responses varied from listing the barriers of acquiring nutritious foods such as affordability to the inexperience of preparing nutritious foods. Throughout the conversation, one common denominator was that accessibility to nutritious food was an issue. While sparkling wat