Reimagining our food, language and workforce

Children’s economic security is closely tied to their parents’ and caregivers’ connections to the labor force. In light of the ongoing attention to labor shortages and the so-called Great Resignation, our grantee, the Economic Opportunities Program at the Aspen Institute, penned an op-ed. It details the need to understand the many challenges workers faced over the last two years and what it will take to get them back into the workforce. 

WKKF grantee Hombre Sobre la Tierra was praised for more than 25 years of work in Mayan communities of Yucatán in the areas of food security and sovereignty, diversification of production, education and capacity-building. WKKF currently supports Hombre Sobre la Tierra’s efforts to improve children’s nutrition in Yaxcaba, Yucatán, through reinforcement of local and sustainable food production.

The Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab at the Kansas State University received a five-year, $12 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development to create and lead a Center of Excellence on Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation and Resilience. The center will foster education, training, research and growth to rethink food systems and strengthen Haitian agriculture. It will do so in collaboration with six Caribbean universities, one of which is a WKKF grantee, Quisqueya University’s School of Agriculture and Environmental Science in Haiti. 

Indigenous children in New Mexico are learning in their Native language, which they were forbidden to speak at school in the 1960s. Leaders are taking note of this significant cultural revitalization. The Keres Children’s Learning Center, a WKKF grantee, is offering a comprehensive cultural and academic curriculum that nurtures Keres-speaking, holistically healthy and community-minded students. Their focus on reclaiming Indigenous children’s education and language preservation respects sovereignty and honors children’s identity.