3:00 minutes – Tashina grew up in a family that was right on the edge of poor. She did not qualify for free lunch, but she sometimes went without food. As a result, everything she does is to gain the stability she deserves. She wants to prove that your surroundings can empower you, not inhibit you.

3:43 minutes – Shiloh’s diet change has been challenging, but she says making healthy choices is one of the most rewarding gifts she can give herself. As she learned about her ancestors, Shiloh saw how government-issued commodity foods are related to chronic illnesses. She believes she has the power to break the cycle of chronic illness and replace it with a legacy of wellness.

3:06 minutes – Dan remembers a moment of appreciation that his family shared while eating a dinner made entirely from food they harvested. The Bad River Tribe has made efforts to transition from dependency to self-resilience. He has watched this resurgence in food production increase health and decrease common illnesses in the community.

4:01 minutes – As soon as Ginger realized she was carrying life, she knew she needed to change her eating habits. She became more cautious about what she put into her body to help ensure she had a healthy baby girl. These changes have lasted beyond her pregnancy because she recognizes that a family’s eating habits can start with one person. She wants to be that person in her little family.

3:59 minutes – Jeremy ignited a passionate fire within his soul when he began asking questions about the problems facing Native American communities and the divergence from traditional ways and practices. This started his journey to reconnect with his people’s traditional ways, and he has seen others doing the same. He feels we are now in the time of the seventh fire, as told by the prophecies of the Anishinaabe.

3:42 minutes – Nfamara comes from Gambia, where his mother is a farmer. His family has watched the country change from food self-sufficient and secure to a place where society undervalues farming and food sovereignty is threatened by global climate change. He is fighting against these challenges since he believes a society that does not grow its own food is an unhealthy society.

3:29 minutes – Connie is a fourth-generation farmer whose childhood seemed to revolve around the food her family grew or harvested. As an adult, she began buying food from stores instead of gardening, canning, and preserving food. However, the more she learned about food, the more she realized not all food is good. This motivated her to return to her homestead with good food in the center.

3:56 minutes – Deb lives in a food desert where food variety and fresh produce is hard to find and can be pricey. While she is thankful for any food that is provided to her, she wants real food that her grandma and her mother would recognize. As a result, she has started growing and harvesting some of her own produce. Not only is this food fresh and delicious, but it also helped her lose weight and pursue her goal to live a long, healthy life.

3:01 minutes – Grace is a vegetarian and believes a person's diet is part of their family's value system. She gave up the typical American diet of her youth when she realized it was negatively impacting her health. Her mother joined Grace as a vegetarian after being diagnosed with a health disorder that often leads to cancer. This helped put the disorder in check, and Grace’s mother says Grace saved her life by putting her nutrition on track.

6:04 minutes – The Community Transformation grant aimed to increase knowledge about healthy eating and active living while decreasing commercial tobacco consumption. Community members talk about growing vegetables, fruit, and sacred plants in their gardens and how gardening is being brought back to the community.

4:15 minutes – The Community Transformation grant introduced straw bale gardening to many people on the Mole Lake Reservation. Community members share their experiences with this form of gardening.

2:30 minutes – As Francis developed an interest in gardening, he also grew a dislike for weeding. He talks about his experiences with different types of gardens including a container garden and grant-funded self-watering raised bed garden.

2:43 minutes – Becky wants to live as long as she can by making good choices, especially about the food she eats. She has grown raised bed and straw bale gardens and involves her family in this process. Becky wants her grandchildren and other family members to also live long, healthy, active, and productive lives. She believes this can be accomplished by ensuring her family has access to fresh foods from their gardens and from gathering traditional foods.

2:57 minutes – For Marlene, gardening is like raising a family again since she plants it, nourishes it, and trains it to grow the way she would like it to grow before watching it take off. She can also see where she could have done things differently or better. Marlene assisted her Community Transformation group with providing elders with raised bed gardens. This allowed elders who were interested in gardening to get the satisfaction of raising another family — only of plants this time.