First Foods Program

First Foods Program (ERA): Education • Reciprocity • Action

Serving Indigenous Communities Across the US & US Territories

Grinding Stone Collective’s First Foods Program works directly with Native communities to restore ancestral foodways through free food justice educational programming, food reciprocity, and stewardship training, all culturally grounded and led by members of the community. From cooking and seed-saving to community harvests and hands-on learning, we are building a world where traditional foods, medicines, and teachings are accessible to all. With our Education, Reciprocity, and Action model (ERA):

We believe that Education is essential for preserving and promoting Indigenous foodways and traditional knowledge. Our commitment to Reciprocity emphasizes the importance of sharing and exchanging resources, knowledge, and skills, building relationships across communities, and supporting a more equitable food system. Through direct Action and intervention, we prioritize sustainable practices that promote the health and well-being of the environment and the communities that rely on it for their sustenance. Together, these core values underpin our mission and guide our work to create healthier and more sustainable food systems that honor the land and the cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples.

Every Steward we train, every garden we restore, every seed we plant strengthens Indigenous self-determination.

✨ Your donation today supports: • Our Intertribal Pantry providing free, culturally relevant foods • Steward and Steward Jr. training programs • Soil-building, perennial planting, and invasive management work • Community gardens and food forests across tribal homelands • Tools, materials, and land-access resources for Native families

We believe that food sovereignty is climate resilience, cultural preservation, and community healing.

Help us continue this work—rooted in reciprocity, guided by our ancestors, and grown for future generations.

Why We Do This Work

Many Native communities today face: • limited land access • disrupted intergenerational knowledge • food insecurity • loss of cultural foodways • displacement across states and islands • chronic underfunding of Indigenous programs

Our ERA model addresses this by bringing the community back to the center.

Why We Need Your Support

Your donation helps us: 

🌽 Rebuild tribal and urban community gardens 

🧺 Expand the Intertribal Pantry 

🔥 Host Indigenous cooking and cultural teaching workshops 

🌾 Support knowledge keepers, elders, and cultural chefs 

🌱 Provide seeds, soil, tools, and supplies to families 

🧒 Train the next generation of Indigenous land stewards 

🌈 Travel to support communities in the Northeast, Hawaiʻi, and Plains Nations

This work is unique. It is Indigenous-led. It is intertribal. It is Inter-generational.

When you support First Foods, you nourish entire Nations. Together, we are restoring the foods that restored us🌿 

Support the First Foods Program today.