Sweet Grass Food has its roots in the Horizons project funded by the Northwest Area Community Foundation. Horizons is a community leadership program aimed at reducing poverty in small rural and reservation communities (populations of fewer than 5,000 with greater than 10% poverty rate) faced with economic decline and demographic change. The program’s goal is to help communities understand poverty, help them commit to action for improvements, and then bring about lasting change.
It was through the Horizons Program, that the need for a self-sustaining food system gained clarity. In the spring and summer of 2007, over sixty-five persons participated in the Horizons Study Groups and LeadershipPlenty where the need for creating a community garden was identified.
In September, 2007, a group of interested citizens with representation from all socio-economic groups within the community began an effort to work on the need for a healthy food supply and to discover how to become self-sustaining. The name Sweet GRass Food was chosen. The group decided to start with a Community Garden to serve the short-term goal of getting fresh produce into the pantries of local citizens and begin to raise awareness and support toward the long-term gaol of a food coop.