2026 State of Inclusive Excellence
We want to help build a more resilient food system that provides secure access to nourishing foods for all. That big picture goal requires our programs within Extension Family and Community Health to be flexible and to be attuned to the diverse ways that food is produced and enjoyed in different communities. Gather, Preserve, Store, Share is a program that allows for OSU Extension to be better partners with Native communities in Oregon to support their food sovereignty and food access goals. We are helping to build capacity within these communities to share knowledge about safe food preservation and storage, which is vital to many Native cultures.
Indigenous producers, gatherers, and preservers have unique and culturally specific relationships to the food, plants, land, and water of their regions historically not acknowledged or catered to by university or government programs.
Building on the work of the Indigenous People's Working Group within Extension, the GPSS project team sought to address these gaps, investing in relationships with Tribal governments and Native/Indigenous communities. Our goal was to better understand accessibility needs and food sovereignty goals.
In collaboration with Tribal authorities and Indigenous-serving nonprofit agencies, this project oversaw the development of a culturally responsive food preservation and safety curriculum to train and certify Native and Indigenous individuals as Community Educators.
From the beginning, the intent of GPSS was to shift the troubling dynamics of information flow that can too easily develop in partnerships between the University and the Tribes. We knew that we had to watch out for extractive research that would take traditional knowledge out of its original context and publicize it for others without permission. We also knew that we had to avoid instructional dynamics where Extension educators show up to instruct Native communities on the "right" way to handle their foods. The GPSS curriculum tries to level these dynamics by allowing for exchange of information and dialogues about food traditions.
We partnered closely with agencies in three pilot communities to recruit and to train community educators. Many of these participants work for Tribal governments or for Native-serving non-profits. Rather than seeking to recruit future OSU volunteers, as we do in more traditional Extension programming, we offer to build capacity within other agencies that they can use to further their food sovereignty goals.
The GPSS team was very intentional about setting up data sharing agreements to ensure that OSU would act as a good partner--refraining from recording TEK without permission, respecting data sovereignty, and allowing Tribes to determine the pace and development of the program.
Extension's food preservation programming has been a model of the Land Grant mission sense the early 20th century, supporting Oregonians' household food security especially The nature of that outreach, however, was historically aimed at serving rural Oregonians living off of small farms and homesteads growing crops introduced to the state. The unique foods and foodways of Native preservers has typically not featured prominently in Extension outreach, but the volume of requests for this information coming from Native communities has been undeniable in recent years. By retooling our educational approach, we are fulfilling the mission to reach all Oregonians with skills that will help them thrive.
This program centers the experience and foodways of the participants, respecting their traditions and knowledge while providing them with new tools to adapt and use as their own.
We co-developed this curriculum with partners in Tribal communities, holding intensive working sessions to decide on format, topics, evaluation methods, and content.
In Portland, Grand Ronde, and Warm Springs, OSU Extension staff delivered the full GPSS curriculum, representing approximately 40-hours of in-person education, including discussion groups, demonstrations, hands-on practice, and group assessments. 34 participants were recruited across all sites, with 29 participants completing the course.
In the final six months of the program, GPSS trainees took the lead teaching preservation topics of local interest. 18 public workshops were offered across all sites, reaching an additional 236 community members with food safety advice.
Pre/post surveys revealed that GPSS training increased participants’ confidence in home food preservation, promoted their adoption of safe practices, and supported the continuation of cultural traditions. All participants agreed they changed their home food preservation practices over the course of the program to adopt safe techniques. More than half of participants reported confidence in their ability to teach other community members how to safely dehydrate, freeze, pickle, and can foods at home. More than three-quarters of GPSS participants preserve foods in order to continue a cultural tradition, with the majority of participants eating home-preserved foods weekly or more frequently.
I see so many of the techniques we developed in GPSS transferring over into other areas of our food preservation outreach and education. Although the situation of Native communities is absolutely unique, the need that participants have to feel respected and valued as knowledge-holders is found in so many other communities. I am excited to work with other educators to transform how we support local food systems to lift up cultural and regional practices.
