Food Sustainability

Published: 2022
By Hillary Maxwell

Fort Belknap MSU Extension received an Innovation Mini Grant to advance food sustainability efforts on the Reservation. The project, entitled “Sustainable Food Forests: Local Development, Maintenance and Mentorship” is focused on advancing the impacts of Fort Belknap’s community and home gardens, building our capacity for food security, and leveraging partnerships, funding, and knowledge. Food forests exist around the world and are one of the oldest ways of food production, mimicking natural ecosystems by using multiple layers including trees, bushes and groundcovers. They offer a promising solution to produce healthy food, including fruits, vegetables, and herbs using environmentally sound, economically viable, and culturally acceptable methods. Through this project, 30 food forests were planned, maintained, and harvested in home gardens. Local mentors were trained to create internal capacity for a sustainable future of food production, by learning and teaching plant propagation methods. Mentors will work with interested community members in forwarding knowledge, techniques and skills in climate-sensitive plant care and propagation, thereby creating resource teams with advanced abilities to enhance the success of the project. Collaboration with and support by partnerships was strongly emphasized in this project. The project provided detailed strategies for implementation and replicability. Mentors and agents will continue to document all phases of the project to enhance application and utilization across other program areas and across Montana.