Food Access
On Navajo Nation, long-standing, historic and current events have made it difficult to access healthy and affordable food. To address this, COPE partners with local healthcare facilities, whole food retailers and producers to transform the food security landscape. We train doctors, nurses, Community Health Workers and Early Childhood Education Professionals to enroll participants in our innovative Navajo Fruit & Vegetable Prescription (FVRx) program. Participating families attend monthly health classes and are prescribed vouchers which can be redeemed at eligible farmer’s markets and at whole food retailers trained in COPE’s unique Healthy Navajo Store Initiative (HNSI). HNSI and the Grower’s Initiative provide technical assistance for FVRx voucher redemption and help to procure, stock and market fruits and vegetables and secure essential infrastructure for food retailers and producers. Together, these programs and people are restoring wellness by making healthy food accessible and affordable in more Navajo communities.
Navajo Fruit & Vegetable Prescription Program
The Navajo Fruit and Vegetable Prescription (FVRx) Program is a cross-sector initiative that partners with healthcare providers and local retailers on the Navajo Nation to improve health behaviors and outcomes, while increasing access to healthy foods. Here’s how it works: Health care providers identify families in local communities who meet current eligibility criteria and enroll them into the program. Enrolled families then participate in monthly nutrition education sessions with the health care provider to establish healthy behavior goals. Program vouchers are distributed to participating families to redeem at partnering retailers for fresh produce and traditional food items.
2,529 Individuals reached from over 500 FVRx participating families
22 Community health teams trained to enroll their participants in the FVRx program
53% of health facilities serving Navajo Nation have implemented FVRx
29 stores on Navajo Nation now provide healthy & nutritious food as part of the Healthy Navajo Store Initiative
38% of children who were initially obese or overweight met healthy weight criteria by FVRx program completion
Food vouchers have helped us extremely;
a lot of Vitamin C, they helped us to keep ourselves and our immune systems healthy."
Mother at Ramah PHC, 2020 Participant
For questions about the FVRx program, please contact fvrx@copeprogram.org
Providers: to access additional FVRx resources, click here
(Support for Navajo FVRx is provided by grants from Arizona First Things First, USDA Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, the Rx Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
Healthy Navajo Store Initiative
The Healthy Navajo Stores Initiative is working to harness the potential of small stores in Navajo Nation. These stores, ranging from convenience stores to trading posts, are often the most readily accessible source of food for community members on Navajo Nation. The Healthy Navajo Stores Initiative (HNSI) aims to increase the amounts of fruits, vegetables, and traditional Diné foods that are offered in small stores on Navajo Nation. By promoting produce and traditional Diné foods through stocking, display, and promotional changes, a Healthy Navajo Store can provide community members with healthier food options and become leaders in the effort to reclaim a healthier Navajo Nation. HNSI is facilitated by COPE and works closely with store and community partners to identify stocking and marketing changes, as well as community initiatives.
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The map shows sites for both the redemption and clinical sites for the Navajo Fruit & Vegetable Prescription Program (FVRx). In addition, the map indicates stores participating in the Healthy Navajo Stores Initiative Program.
FVRx redemption sites are places where FVRx participants can go to redeem their vouchers for fruits and vegetables at various grocery stores, trading posts, and convenience stores. These retailers are encouraged to offer more produce as well as Diné Traditional Foods and locally grown food. By doing so, COPE implemented the Healthy Navajo Stores Initiative (HNSI). COPE strives to help communities on Navajo Nation to have access to healthier foods by partnering with local retailers and on-boarding them to the HNSI program. HNSI participants receive technical, eduational, and promotional resources from COPE to make positive in-store changes.
For a more interactive map, click here.
Crownpoint/Eastern Agency
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Bashas (Crownpoint)
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Chaco Wash (Pueblo Pintado)
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Counselor Stop & Go
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Torreon Red Mesa Express
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Mickey's Save Way
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Pine Hill Market
Shiprock/Northern Agency
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Aneth Red Mesa Express
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City Market (Shiprock)
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Mexican Water Sinclair
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Montezuma Creek Red Mesa Express
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Sheep Springs Express
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Teec Nos Pos Trading Post
Chinle/Central Agency
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Bashas (Chinle)
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Bashas (Piñon)
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Rocky Ridge Gas & Market
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Totsoh Trading Post (Lukachukai)
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Tsaile Alon
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Wheatfiels Lakeside Store
Tuba City/Western Agency
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Goulding's Grocery Store
(Monument Valley) -
Kaibeto Market
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Simpson's Market
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Tonalea Sinclair
Fort Defiance Agency
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Bashas (Dilkon)
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Naschitti Red Mesa Express
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Keams Canyon Shopping Center
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Sawmill Red Mesa Express
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Steamboat Red Mesa Express
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T & R Market (Gallup)
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Bashas (Window Rock)
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Mora's Grocery (Ganado)
Videos
Update on our Healthy Navajo Stores Initiative
HNSI - Healthy Eats! Series
Program Coordinator, Robert Alsburg, demonstrates how to make a delicious smoothie with fruits and vegetables.
In this video we explore what squash is, how to distinguish, how to prepare squash and finally, provide a simple recipe that is easy to make.
