First Nations Development Institute (FNDI), a national nonprofit organization that works to improve Native American economies and communities, has received a grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation to strengthen Native control of local food systems in Minnesota. The two-year, $130,000 grant will support the production of local foods in Native communities and the development of new avenues of capital access for Native food-related businesses and entrepreneurs. Dubbed “Moving Forward Food as Economic Development in Native Communities in Minnesota,” the project will kick off with a convening of Minnesota-based tribes and Native nonprofits, during which participants will select three organizations to develop pilot models for increasing the capital available for Native food producers. (As of press time, this convening was scheduled for July 8-10 in Prior Lake, Minn.) At the conclusion of the grant period, FNDI will release a report summarizing the models’ findings and results.