Source: UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA submitted to NRP
INCREASING ACCESSIBILITY OF FOOD SAFETY RESOURCES TO TRIBAL GROWERS IN ARIZONA TO ADVANCE RESILIENCE OF NATIVE NATIONS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1028707
Grant No.
2022-70020-37573
Cumulative Award Amt.
$205,000.00
Proposal No.
2022-01724
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jun 15, 2022
Project End Date
Jun 14, 2025
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[A4182]- Regional FSMA Center
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
888 N EUCLID AVE
TUCSON,AZ 85719-4824
Performing Department
Entomology
Non Technical Summary
This project is aligned with the goals and priorities of the Food Safety Outreach Program (FSOP). Our objectives are to: 1) identify specific food safety training priorities within tribal communities; 2) build the capacity of tribal growers and other stakeholders in Arizona to address food safety training priorities; 3) develop and implement culturally appropriate integrated food safety education and outreach programs to tribal communities in Arizona; and 4) advance food safety resilience of Native Nations and foster enduring relationships that will continue beyond the life of this project.This project will promote a new approach - connecting food safety with integrated pest management (IPM) - to increase food safety capacity in tribal communities, enhance the acceptance of food safety practices, strengthen and expand existing networks and develop/mentor new educators/scientists as future leaders in tribal communities. Our novel approach will improve food safety outcomes and respectfully enhance resilience within underserved communities, and serve as a model for future outreach to tribal communities. We will also foster enduring relationships expected to continue beyond the duration of this project.Expected outcomes/impacts include: 1) improved awareness and knowledge of food safety practices and solutions to protect public health and reduce food-borne illnesses; 2) cultivated positive attitude toward adopting food safety practices, and 3) improved engagement with underserved stakeholder audiences challenged by food safety issues. We anticipate that lessons learned in this project will also be shared with other tribes through the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety and other partner organizations, multiplying our impacts.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
71250103020100%
Knowledge Area
712 - Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins;

Subject Of Investigation
5010 - Food;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
This project will work over the course of two years to accomplish the following objectives:Identify specific food safety training priorities within tribal communities.Build the capacity of tribal growers and other tribal stakeholders in Arizona to address food safety training priorities within their communities.Develop and implement culturally appropriate integrated food safety education and outreach programs to tribal communities in Arizona.Advance food safety resilience of Native Nations and foster enduring relationships that will continue beyond the life of the grant.
Project Methods
Objective 1. Identify specific food safety training priorities within tribal communities.Procedure 1a. We will partner with 2 tribes in this project. We have identified the key contact person from these partner tribes and they have agreed to collaborate with the project team to ensure the project is successful. We will also invite additional local tribes to participate in the project, and will extend training invitations to tribal members from other states, including CA, UT & NM.Procedure 1b. The key contact persons from 2 partner tribes will work with the project team to host initial investigation/dialog meetings or "listening sessions" using participatory approaches to identify local food safety, pest management, and public health training priorities within each tribal community, including tribal stakeholders growing produce and pest managers and the communities they serve. This will inform the development of location and audience/tribe specific education and outreach plans.Objective 2. Build the capacity of tribal growers and other tribal stakeholders in Arizona to address food safety training priorities within their communities.Procedure 2a. To address the training priorities identified in Obj. 1, we will partner with tribal collaborators to reach a broad range of tribal growers and community members with the similar interests. For this broad audience in each tribal community, we will deploy a series of food safety and public health educational events/opportunities as needed in the form of in-person and/or hybrid workshops and field hands-on investigations tailored to addressing priority topics of concern identified in Obj. 1. As part of the hands-on training package, participants will be provided reference materials and access to culturally relevant resources on each topic covered. Topics will be determined based on the tribal stakeholder's identified needs and priories. We will use these educational events/opportunities as a mechanism to recruit tribal trainers and student mentors for Procedure 2b.Procedure 2b. We will work with the Produce Safety Alliance to conduct a minimum of 3 Produce Safety Rule grower trainings specifically targeting tribal members. We will include an additional session on ways that trainings can be improved to be more inclusive and culturally sensitive to tribal community needs. This initial cohort of trained tribal members will be project partners to helpencourage participation in the program amongst Arizona tribes and build capacity.Objective 3. Develop and implement culturally appropriate integrated food safety education and outreach programs to tribal communities in Arizona.Procedure 3a. We will develop and implement culturally appropriate audience-specific educational materials and information delivery systems that provide tribal stakeholders with timely information about effective food safety strategies, such as fact sheets, YouTube videos and Radio Scripts. We will work with our tribal stakeholders and collaborators to prepare the publications/materials targeting specific audiences as determined in Obj. 1. We will make information available online, on thumb drive, and/or in print as determined by local needs.Procedure 3b. Our tribal stakeholders/collaborators will disseminate information and promote food safety and public health solutions within their communities. For example, in the trainings under previous project, collaborators from the Navajo Nation Department of Health disseminated our teaching materials and information in either the Navajo language or English to their community members.Procedure 3c. We will invite our long-term collaborators to provide expert advice on our educational materials and information delivery systems and to review publications and other products. They will also disseminate and distribute the educational materials and information in their respective networks, which will multiply the outcomes of this project. We will work with the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative team in the event the national PSR tribal curriculum is published during our project (https://indigenousfoodandag.com/).Objective 4. Advance resilience of Native Nations and foster enduring relationships that will continue beyond the life of the grant.Procedure 4a.We will hire at least 3 tribal student employees each year from the University of Arizona SaferFoodCats program and Food Safety program, and will work with the identified student mentors (Procedure 2b) to train these students to grow into future Food Safety educators and leaders. Upon completion of the program, these students will receive a Certificate and present at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Conference, and also may present in their respective tribal communities.Procedure 4b.We will share our outputs and priority assessments with the UA newly launched Indigenous Resilience Center to address environmental challenges in ways that respect Native and Indigenous Sovereignty and knowledge. This effort will cement and expand on existing relationships with traditionally underserved communities as a model for delivering integrated food safety and public health content to tribal communities.Procedure 4c.We will engage with the Federally-Recognized Tribes Extension Program and tribal Extension agents to participate in our food safety and public health educational events, and provide them necessary materials or trainings to prepare them to educate the community members. They may attend the PSA Train-the-Trainer course and to be certified as a trainer to teach in the tribal communities they serve. We will foster ongoing working relationships between agents and tribal collaborators so we can continue to build capacity and expand upon the outcomes of this project.Procedure 4d.We will work closely with governmental departments and agencies who can provide resources, funding & information to stakeholders. We will actively leverage grants and resources from federal and state sources to continue and expand our efforts working with tribal communities. We will disseminate knowledge and awareness of the program through the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety and the Produce Safety Alliance.EffortsEfforts include development of culturally appropriate audience-specific educational materials and information, such as fact sheets, videos, and radio scripts;laboratory instruction or practicum experiences; internships;workshops; experiential learning opportunities; extension and outreach.MeasuresWe will document food safety and public health priorities of indigenous stakeholders (Obj. 1) as identified by tribal collaborators, and track the training materials developed to address these priorities (Obj. 2 & 3). We will evaluate changes in participant awareness, technical skills, and knowledge of food safety as well as attitude toward future adoption (Obj. 2 & 3). Data will be collected during training events in a set of pre/post questions. The questions will be reviewed by tribal member collaborators to ensure clarity and cultural sensitivity. The questions will be implemented during training events using either audience response technology, paper surveys, or both options, depending on what is expected to be most effective. Participants will self-assess their levels of knowledge on specific topics before and after training, and indicate their attitudes toward adoption of new practices. We will also collect voluntary demographic data from training participants, including tribal affiliations and profession. These data will be compared with our existing network of tribal stakeholders to measure our level of engagement with new audiences. We will also track increases in participation in our communication network, which is used to distribute electronic outputs and information (Obj. 4). Grants and resources that are secured from federal and state sources to leverage this effort will be documented.

Progress 06/15/23 to 06/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Target tribes: San Carlos Apache Tribe and Hualapai Tribe. We also invited additional local tribes to participate in the project. Target audiences: Small or very small tribal growers or ranchers, home gardeners, Tribal Extension agents, environmental health workers, community health workers/representatives, health care professionals, pest control advisors & other interested community members. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Targeted audiences were reached using the multi-media extension methods highlighted above (in-person program, publications, and other products). Through these activities, hundreds of individuals were educated in person and online. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results were disseminated using the multi-media methods listed above: conference papers and poster presentations, workshop and trainings, Extension publications, IPM Newsletters, fact sheets, videos, etc. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?None.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Improved engagement with underserved stakeholder audiences challenged by food safety and pest issues. New and improved working relationships with tribal community collaborators. Improved awareness and knowledge of the benefits of food safety practices among participants. Improved technical knowledge of food safety, pests, pesticide safety, and best practices for IPM and public health among participants. Cultivated positive attitude toward adopting food safety and public health best management practices among participants. For this reporting period (2023-2024), the project team and collaborators conducted two in-person and four virtual PSA Grower Training courses with 38 tribal growers/producers acquiring completion certificates. We taught eight in-person food safety related workshops on tribal lands and reached about 191 participants from at least 9 tribes. The average level of participants' knowledge increased by 34%, based on self-assessed pre- and post- evaluation, and 40% of participants reported adoption of new food safety or IPM practices.Additionally, we mentored one tribal student intern last summer, hired three tribal students for this summer, and supported one collaborator from the San Carlos Apache Tribe to become a certified PSA Trainer. We completed 10 project-related presentations/abstracts at the state, regional or national conferences and meetings. Highlights: All participants (100%) in our in-person workshops agreed or strongly agreed that the training increased their knowledge about IPM, common pests control and food safety practices. They will use information learned in the training to change their behaviors to prevent common pests, use IPM and food safety practices. The evaluation among 59 responses from tribal participants in 2024 who attended the course "IPM and Food Safety Workshop" indicated that the average level of knowledge increased 34% based on self-assessed pre- and post- evaluation. The average level of knowledge increased among different participant groups vary from 28% to 48% based on self-assessed pre- and post- evaluation. About 40% of participants reported adoption of new food safety or IPM practices.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S. and Dorame-Avalos, A. IPM Program Improves Public Health by Reducing Environmental and Human Health Risks. Poster presentation. Tribal/EPA Region 9 Annual Conference. Alpine, CA an online. October 24-26, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S., Alden, E., Brassill, N., Cooper, M., Sekaquaptewa, S., Arias, J., Alamban, A., Farrell, G., Carlisle, A., Kinlicheenie, K., Fournier, A.J., Blasini, D., Rock, C. and Teegerstrom, T. Education and Outreach to Improve Food Safety Outcomes in Tribal Communities. Poster presentation. University of Arizona Food Safety Poster Session. Tucson, AZ. October 26, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Li, S. Tribal Integrated Pest Management and Food Safety. Southwest Indian Agricultural Association (SWIAA) 36th Annual Conference. January 15-18, 2024. LINQ Hotel, Las Vegas, NV.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2024 Citation: Li, S. Connecting Insect Science with Food Safety and Public Health: An Integrated Approach to Teaching and Expanding What We Mean by ⿿IPM⿝. Abstract submitted to the ESA Program Symposium. March 15, 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Li, S., Gouge, D.H., Walker, K., Fournier, A.J., Ernst, K., Rock, C., Teegerstrom, T. and Ellsworth, P.C. 2024. An integrated approach to teaching and expanding what we mean by IPM - IPM program improves public health by reducing environmental and human health risks. Poster presentation. 2024 ALVSCE Research Poster Showcase. Tucson, AZ. April 2, 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Li, S., Brassill, N., Cooper, M., Rock, C., Fournier, A.J. and Teegerstrom, T. 2024. Increasing Accessibility of Food Safety Resources to Tribal Growers in Arizona to Advance Resilience of Native Nations. Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety Annual Meeting. Hilo, HI. April 30-May 2, 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S. Increasing Tribal Knowledge in IPM and Food Safety. All Regional IPM Centers meeting. 24 participants. Invited. July 17, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S., Alden, E., Brassill, N., Cooper, M., Sekaquaptewa, S., Arias, J., Alamban, A., Farrell, G., Carlisle, A., Kinlicheenie, K., Fournier, A.J., Blasini, D., Rock, C. and Teegerstrom, T. Education and Outreach to Improve Food Safety Outcomes in Tribal Communities. Poster presentation. 2023 University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Annual Conference. Tucson, AZ. August 2-4, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S., Hardy, J., Kinlicheenie, K., Brassill, N., Cooper, M., Rock, C. and Teegerstrom, T. Mentoring Students in Food Safety, Pest Management, and Public Health. Poster presentation. 2023 University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Annual Conference. Tucson, AZ. August 2-4, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Brassill, N., Li, S. Produce Safety Rule. InterTribal Agriculture Council Pacific Region Summit. Temecula, CA. September 11-12, 2023.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S. and Dorame-Avalos, A. IPM for Microorganism Pests. Video on Demand, Tribal/EPA Region 9 Annual Conference. Alpine, CA an online. October 24-26, 2023.


Progress 06/15/22 to 06/14/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Target tribes: San Carlos Apache Tribe and Hualapai Tribe. Wealso invited additional local tribes to participate in the project. Target audiences: Small or very small tribal growers or ranchers, home gardeners, Tribal Extension agents, environmental health workers, community health workers/representatives, health care professionals, pest control advisors & other interested community members. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Targeted audiences were reached using the multi-media extension methods highlighted above (in-person program, publications, and other products). Through these activities, hundreds of individuals were educated in person and online. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results were disseminated using the multi-media methods listed above: conference papers and poster presentations, workshop and trainings, Extension publications, IPM Newsletters, fact sheets, videos, etc. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Improved engagement with underserved stakeholder audiences challenged by food safety and pest issues. New and improved working relationships with tribal community collaborators. Improved awareness and knowledge of the benefits of food safety practices among participants. Improved technical knowledge of food safety, pests, pesticide safety, and best practices for IPM and public health among participants. Cultivated positive attitude toward adopting food safety and public health best management practices among participants. Highlights: All participants (100%) in our in-person workshops agreed or strongly agreed that the trainingincreased their knowledge about IPM, common pests control and food safety practices. They will use information learned in the training to change their behaviors to prevent common pests, use IPM and food safety practices. The evaluation among participants who attended the course"Food Safety and Microorganism Pests" at the 2022 National IPM Training for Tribal Communities indicated that 90% agreed that the training increased their knowledge about food safety and microorganism pests. Many of our tribal audiences are from community service organizations and they can help the community in a various way. We asked participants to provide an example of how they will use information learned from our trainings to benefit their community. Some examples are shared below: "Practicing proper handwashing techniques." "How to prevent cross contamination in our food, and what causes our food to get infections." "I will implement more consistent cleaning and prevention practices taught today." "Must follow all produce safety rule. Clean & sanitize kitchen area better." "I will inform on the radio station." "Use common resources such as 4 steps included in food safety IPM." "Using the techniques that was presented during the workshop." "To use what I learned today would have to be a garden. If I were start a garden the soil I would maintain such as keeping animals away from garden to keep produce good. Also if I was buying produce from the market most definitely wash my produce and fruits at home because some water can carry and spread human pathogens." "Use the information for future training." "I will definitely use some of the info from this training. Boarding up all holes around the house, keep the growth away from the house, and for sure start reading labels." "Very useful information about pest control in the home and garden."

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Cooper, M., Mydosh, J., Sainz, J., Ignat, S. and Li, S. 2022. SaferFoodCats as a tool to engage students in Food Safety and train interns for Tribal outreach in Food Safety. Poster presentation. 2022 University of Arizona Food Safety Conference. October 26-27, 2022. Tucson, AZ.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Rock, C., Brassill, N., Li, S. 2022. Produce Safety Risk Ranking Breakout Session. 2022 National Consortium for Produce Safety. December 14-16, Phoenix, AZ.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S. Increasing Accessibility of Food Safety and Integrated Pest Management Resources. Southwest Indian Agricultural Association 35th Annual Conference. January 16-19, 2023. Casino del Sol, Tucson, AZ.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S., Cooper, M. and Fournier, A.J. 2023. Mentoring Students in Pest Management, Food Safety and Public Health. Poster presentation. 2023 ALVSCE Research Poster Forum. March 30, 2023. Tucson, AZ.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S., Alden, E., Alamban, A., Arias, J., Farrell, G., Carlisle, A., Kinlicheenie, K., Sekaquaptewa, S., Fournier, A.J., Rock, C. and Teegerstrom, T. 2023. Extension Programs Collaborate to Improve Food Safety Outcomes in Tribal Communities. Poster presentation. 2023 ALVSCE Research Poster Forum. March 30, 2023. Tucson, AZ.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S. Pest Management and Food Safety Resources, Collaboration, Update. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Programs Professional Development Meeting. April 18-19, 2023. Flagstaff, AZ.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S., Cooper, M., Brassill, N., Rock, C., Fournier, A.J. and Teegerstrom, T. 2023. Increasing Accessibility of Food Safety Resources to Tribal Growers in Arizona to Advance Resilience of Native Nations. Poster presentation. Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety Annual Meeting. May 3-4, 2023. Prosser, WA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Li, S., Brassill, N., Cooper, M., Rock, C., Teegerstrom, T., Blasini, D., and Fournier, A.J. 2023. Increasing Accessibility of Food Safety Resources to Tribal Growers in Arizona to Advance Resilience of Native Nations. Food Safety Outreach Program National Project Director⿿s Meeting. May 31-June 1, 2023. Tampa, FL.