How the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe is Advancing Food Sovereignty Efforts and Fixing Food Desert
Photo from the UMUT website
Overview of UMUT advancing tribal sovereignty
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (UMUT) known as the Weenuche Band of The Ute Nation, based in Towaoc, Colorado, has over 2,000 tribal members and is planning to advance food sovereignty and entrepreneurship. The Weenuche Band’s chairman, Manuel Heart, told The Journal that the tribe is in a food desert. The people of Towaoc do not have easy access to healthy food options with the nearest grocery store being 15 miles away in a separate town.
The tribe is eager to help its people and have already started implementing creative and innovative plans for a UMUT market. The market project will support local business efforts and could use the tribes farm to supply some of the produce. The project has two phases and plans to eventually create a permanent full service market for tribal members to easily access everyday necessities and advance local job opportunities.
Rendering of the market. Credit to the UMUT Market Project Website
Phase one
Phase one of the plan includes a temporary food access point by setting up 10 to 12 shipping containers, said Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Planner, Bernadette Cuthair, to The Journal. The site will include the co-op grocery space, a vendor space, a workforce development space, and an artistic maker space according to the UMUT project website. It is located on a vacant lot owned by the tribe build north of the Ute Mountain Casino and the powwow grounds off U.S. Highway 491. The daily market will sell vegetables, meats, bakery goods, nonperishables, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, and other products for daily living. This project is expected to be completed by Spring 2025.
The tribe received funding from multiple sources to complete this project. The EDA granted the tribe $2.9 million for the project and will provide workforce job training and entrepreneurship support for food industry businesses.
The EDA investment is expected to create 22 jobs and generate $2 million in private investment,
according to estimates. The tribe also received funding from the Colorado Health Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, The Reinvestment Fund, Gates Family Foundation, First Nations Development Institute, Harris Block Foundation, and Blueprint to End Hunger.
Phase Two
Phase two of the market includes a permanent full-service market and workforce innovation center where tribal members can achieve economic, educational, social, and health equity. The estimate cost for the market is $20-25 million.
The project website states that fundraising is the biggest variable in the timeline for constructing the market. Future federal grant funding available for Phase Two of the market project is estimated between $5 million and $7 million.