A case study in local food sovereignty
The Yurok Agricultural Corporation recently purchased 26-acres of land that will be used to develop a culturally relevant food sovereignty program on the Yurok Reservation in Northern California. Previously owned by the Weitchpec Nursery, the property is an ideal location to build the much-needed food program, which will serve residents on and near the reservation.
“Weitchpec Nursery was the premier supplier of flower and vegetable starts in the Humboldt County region for many decades. When the owners retired, the community lost jobs and revenue from that business,” saids Toby Vanlandingham, president of the YAC. “The Yurok Agricultural Corporation has an opportunity to, once again, bring that business back into the community to stimulate economic growth, create decent paying jobs and assist residents with becoming self-sustaining by growing their own food.”
“COVID has heightened the importance in rural communities of micro-agriculture and food sovereignty,” says Madison Green, secretary of the board. “The purpose of the Yurok Agricultural Corporation is to develop agricultural economic resources and to maximize revenue derived from such resources on behalf of the Tribe and its members. This project falls directly in line with our core mission as a company and will benefit our people for decades to come.”
“The vision is to build a nursery dedicated to providing a quality choice for people looking for plant starts and garden supplies, as well as creating a farmers’ marketplace and an outlet to local area stores with quality vegetables at affordable prices,” said YAC Vice President Edward “Horse” Aubrey. “I’ve been a staunch supporter of Yurok people maintaining true sovereignty by growing their own medicine and food, so when Toby brought this idea to the table, it was a no-brainer — power to the people.”
The new program will also focus on educating and assisting Yurok Reservation residents in all aspects of food sovereignty. Since the entire Yurok Reservation was declared a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2017, a multitude of studies have been done on the area and a small number of grants have been awarded to build a healthy, sustainable and culturally-centered food system. In some areas off the reservation, there has been success, but on the Yurok Reservation, there has been no solid foundation laid to sustain a program into the future.
“We’re still in a food desert and have been since colonization, basically. I have been in agriculture my entire life — in order to really bring about change on the reservation, we need a program that is not grant funded and has the resources to keep the program going,” Vanlandingham said. “I was running the Kenek We-roy community garden up until I was elected to Tribal council, then life got busy. Now that I am the president of the Agricultural Corp., I have the ability to build a system that the community needs, based off of the community needs, and not worry about finding a grant for that.” He added, “Now, I am not saying we will stop pursuing grant dollars, but outside funds will not be the defining factor in the success of this program.”
With a tentative opening date of April 2021, the Yurok Agricultural Corporation will bring the dream of the community to reality and be the supplier of locally-sourced non-GMO, high quality vegetables and vegetable starts. The nursery will also offer organic seeds and a variety of potted fruit trees that are suited to the local climate. Weitchpec Nursery will serve both residential customers and area retail stores. There will also be a variety of garden accessories, such as potting soils, safe fertilizers and garden tools available. In combination with quality vegetables starts, healthy vegetables and supplies, gardening how-to’s and community workshops to further educate residents on the benefits of growing food will also be provided to the community.