MONUMENT VALLEY, San Juan County — Two food banks are coming to the Navajo Nation to help combat food insecurity in the tribal community.
Utah Food Bank officials traveled to the area in southeast Utah on Wednesday to inaugurate the new facilities, meant to bolster the limited food options for those living in the Navajo Nation and the rest of San Juan County.
“We’re here to serve those in this area,” Ginette Bott, the Utah Food Bank president and chief executive officer, told KSL.com by phone from San Juan County.
The new 4,000-square-foot structures in San Juan County — one in Montezuma Creek, the other in Monument Valley — “will greatly enhance food resources in the area, reducing the remarkable distance that residents have had to go previously to access food,” the food bank said in a statement.
The food bank offered several dire statistics: 17% of San Juan County residents report “food insecurity” versus 10% statewide while childhood hunger measures 20% in the county — double Utah’s overall figure.
“The Navajo Nation is classified as a food desert, with average driving time to food resources taking up to several hours one-way. A known barrier to food security is long driving distances to food outlets like grocery stores and convenience stores,” the food bank said.
The Utah Food Bank completed a food distribution center and pantry last month in Blanding in San Juan County.
Utah Food Bank officials got positive feedback from Navajo Nation reps during Wednesday’s ceremonies. “I think they recognize that they need additional resources, and we’re here to help them,” Bott said.
The new facilities, to open later in March though they were inaugurated Wednesday, will have the feel of grocery stores. Clients will come in, register and “then they’ll walk up and down the aisles just like they would in a grocery store,” Bott said. The items will be free to eligible clients, and diapers and other hygienic goods will also be offered.
The San Juan County facilities, in the works for four years, are part of larger Utah Food Bank expansion efforts across Utah costing $42 million in all. The nonprofit organization also is building a new food pantry in Hurricane, in Washington County, and a new food warehouse in Springville and expanding warehouses in Salt Lake City and St. George. The money came from fundraising efforts, savings and federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds, with the broad aim of adjusting the food distribution network to needs now and in the years to come.
“We’ve been pretty darn busy,” Bott said. The Utah Food Bank will own and operate the Navajo Nation food pantries, a first for the organization.
Limited food accessibility isn’t the only hardship for many of the Native Americans in San Juan County. Many lack running water and electricity in their homes, according to the Utah Food Bank.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it had preliminarily earmarked $8 million to bring stand-alone solar energy units to 300 homes across the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Reservation that aren’t connected to the power grid. Portions of the Navajo Nation extend into Utah, Arizona and New Mexico where the three states meet, while the Hopi Reservation sits within the Navajo Nation boundaries in Arizona.