Indigenous Food Lab: Indigenous Culture Through Food

This project is supporting programming expansion in the Indigenous Food Lab, located in Minneapolis, which includes a professional Indigenous kitchen. In June the organization will open a demonstration and training studio, Spirit Kitchen, offering fresh food. It will also offer Indigenous market curated retail products from Indigenous producers. This program will design one meal kit per month (15 months), to distribute at two schools (30 families each), to families of Indigenous students, with an accompanying live demonstration and video on how families can prepare meals together. Educational materials will be provided on Indigenous language, traditional uses and nutritional benefits of key ingredients, coloring pages, and other activities for families to do and learn together. The lab will welcome student groups to learn about Indigenous food, food as medicine, and do hands-on projects, including designing their own herbal tea blends featuring Indigenous plants and herbs, while learning about traditional names and medicinal properties of each.