The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina’s Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources supports the Tribe and its producers with establishing and growing agricultural businesses. The Tribe’s NAAF grant, Strengthening Native Producer Access Through a Tribally Governed Intertribal Food System, expands the Tribe and Department of Agriculture’s work by coordinating aggregation and distribution so producers can reach institutional, wholesale, and intertribal markets. The project invests in shared infrastructure, including a refrigerated delivery truck and mobile cold storage powered by dedicated generators, to cut post-harvest loss and lower the upfront costs that keep individual producers out of higher-value markets. It pairs this with digital tools that help producers build verifiable sales histories and a Roots to Revenue workshop series that strengthens financial literacy, business planning, and capital readiness. The Lumbee Tribe is reducing agricultural risk, stabilizing income, and preparing producers to meet lender and grant requirements, increasing their ability to access key resources to grow and sustain operations.
© Native American Agriculture Fund 2018 
About Company
The Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) provides grants to eligible organizations for business assistance, agricultural education, technical support, and advocacy services to support Native farmers and ranchers.
The charitable trust was created by the settlement of the landmark Keepseagle v. Vilsack class-action lawsuit. NAAF is the largest philanthropic organization devoted solely to serving the Native American farming and ranching community.