Painted Desert Demonstration Project DBA The STAR School

This project will help support the ongoing food distribution with fresh vegetables and fruit along with tribal food boxes every first Friday at our school serving the surrounding community, mainly the Navajo Nation. It will also help distribute tribal food boxes to our students through the school bus system.

This project will increase opportunities for Navajo families in our communities to obtain healthy food including food grown locally by Native farmers. In addition it will create opportunities for youth in our community to be of service to elders by assisting in food bank deliveries.

COVID-19 Response

Native Giving Distribution

Native Giving Distribution

Native Giving Distribution

Native Giving Distribution

This project will retain Dine' language through daily 50% Dine' language immersion for 3 through 5 year old children and a 6 day Dine' language immersion camp for children in grades 1-8. It will also increase effective immersion instruction through ongoing mentorship of teachers by a Dine language immersion specialist.

Native Giving Distribution

Native Giving Distribution

Native Giving Distribution

Native Giving Distribution

Native Giving Distribution

Native Giving Distribution

Native Giving Distribution

Native Giving distribution

The ultimate purpose of this project is to: 1) Create the ability of upper elementary students to cook and serve healthy dinners from scratch to families from the community, and 2) Utilize the youth who often have to care for their younger brothers and sisters in providing healthier meals to Navajo families in our area. Further, by engaging youth in improving the nutrition of meals in the home, we are developing skills that these students will use in feeding their own families when they get older.

Native Giving distribution

Native Giving match

Native Giving match and distribution

The ultimate purpose is to 1) increase the access of our Navajo community families and elders to healthy,locally grown and traditional foods, 2) to increase the participation of our Navajo students in the growing, preparation, and serving of these foods to the community, and 3) to contribute to tribal economic development in our area by demonstrating to our local tribal farmers, families and students how to utilize the certified community kitchen on our school campus to generate value-added products made from locally-grown produce.

Native Giving Pass-Thru not previously tracked in GIFTS (2015 Q1&2)

The ultimate purpose is to 1) create an organized program to strengthen the traditional Navajo practice of K'e in which Navajo adult role models acknowledge their clan relationships to these young men and boys and build their trust and relationship through regular male bonding activities, and 2) leverage the existing adult Navajo men who are reaching out to these young men and boys now into a more coherent group so they can share resources and expertise that will be sustained after the culmination of this program.

The ultimate purpose of this project is to: 1) create a greenhouse that is certified and capable of growing vegetables throughout the cold weather months for the school lunch program; and 2) significantly increase the amount of locally and organically grown vegetables that are served to students in the school lunch program; and 3) create a manual that will show other reservation schools how to do something similar in their own schools. Finally, it is our goal to produce a documentary short film by students showing how students are involved in growing their won food throughout the winter.