The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Indian Health Service, has awarded $3.5 million to 14 Tribal and urban Indian communities to establish and implement community-driven produce prescription programs across Indian Country.
The funding, provided through the Indian Health Service’s Produce Prescription Pilot Program (P4), advances the initiative into Phase 2 and is intended to expand access to healthy foods while strengthening connections among health care, nutrition and local food systems.
The Phase 2 funding provides up to $250,000 to each of the 14 participating Tribes, Tribal organizations and urban Indian organizations. Recipients include the Chickasaw Nation, Coquille Indian Tribe, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Tunica Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, as well as four urban Indian organizations.
The program builds on the original P4 initiative established in 2023. In its first round, IHS awarded $2.5 million to five Tribal health organizations to develop produce prescription programs designed to reduce food insecurity and increase access to produce and traditional foods.
Focus on food access and traditional foods
The Phase 2 pilot will evaluate the impact of produce prescription programs on American Indian and Alaska Native people and their families.
According to IHS, the goals include reducing food insecurity; increasing access to and consumption of fruits, vegetables and traditional foods; improving nutrition and dietary patterns; expanding nutrition education; and promoting whole-person health and well-being.
“We are fighting chronic disease at its source by expanding access to real, nutrient-dense food,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“This investment gives Tribal and urban Indian communities the resources to build solutions around their own traditions, foods, and local knowledge. We are putting prevention first, strengthening food sovereignty, and tackling chronic disease before it takes hold.”
IHS Director Mark Cruz said the program is designed around the ability of Tribal communities to determine how best to address their own needs.
“Tribal communities know their needs best and the Produce Prescription Pilot Program has been wildly popular and successful,” Cruz said. “By investing in community-driven approaches, Phase Two of the P4 scales up what works and builds on successful strategies to improve access to healthy traditional first foods and support better health outcomes.”
Programs tailored to individual communities
The Phase 2 recipients will develop programs based on their individual community needs, available resources and cultural values and traditions.
The participating communities bring longstanding knowledge of traditional foods, agriculture, harvesting and community wellness to the effort. IHS says the programs are intended to connect that knowledge with health care and local food systems.
The 14 recipients are:
*Urban Indian Organization.
The program is administered through the IHS Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention, which provides program leadership, training and resources to participating sites and clinicians.
IHS announced the Phase 2 funding opportunity in May, with applications due June 22. The agency’s funding records list the Phase 2 Produce Prescription Pilot Program as a 2026 funding opportunity under the Demonstration Projects for Indian Health program.
The IHS Nutrition Division describes healthy eating as an important component of reducing the risk of chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, while also emphasizing the role of traditional foods in healthy diets.
The Phase 2 initiative is intended to demonstrate how produce prescription programs can improve food access and nutrition while supporting culturally grounded approaches to health in Tribal and urban Indian communities.
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