National Center for Frontier Communities

01/30/2026

It's Food and Farms Day at the New Mexico State Capitol!

Food & Farms Day offers a chance to showcase the connection between health, sustainable food systems, and the economic vitality of our New Mexican farms and ranches. It highlights the advantages of cooperation and coordination and the importance of informed policy-making.

We will be well-represented at the Roundhouse today.
Our Community Wellness Manager, Christina Johnson has a group of youth from Southwest New Mexico who have been learning about advocacy and the legislative processes. Also present is our Chief Operating Officer, Johannes Lencer who serves as Vice Chair for the Governance Committee of the NM Food & Agriculture Policy Council.

We are grateful for the opportunity to support programs that support farmers, ranchers, students, seniors, and many more through state funding! We are especially excited to support the NM Regional Farm to Food Bank Program, that has enabled our Frontier Food Hub to deliver nutritious foods to food pantries across Southwest New Mexico in the last 2 years.

11/24/2025

Rural communities across the country are grappling with food insecurity. Schoolchildren, seniors, grocers and even farmers face a food crisis compounded by government cuts and soaring costs.

We applaud Marquitrice Mangham and Gloria Dickerson for the work they're doing to keep their communities fed.

From grocery stores to food distribution services, Black women are leading efforts to feed their communities.

11/20/2025

Today, we’re excited to celebrate the Power of Rural on National Rural Health Day!

Since 2011, the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) has set aside the third Thursday of November to celebrate the "Power of Rural" on National Rural Health Day (NRHD).

This day is an opportunity to bring attention to and honor the incredible efforts of rural healthcare providers, communities, organizations, State Offices of Rural Health, and other stakeholders dedicated to addressing the unique healthcare needs of rural America.

Join us in recognizing the spirit of rural America and the efforts of healthcare providers and stakeholders addressing unique healthcare challenges.

You can learn more at powerofrural.org

11/19/2025

𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮. Rural America has over 1,300 Critical Access Hospitals, 900 other rural hospitals, 5,400 Rural Health Clinics, and over 6,000 Rural Health Centers. These facilities form the foundation of primary care for millions of people, keeping communities strong, healthy, and connected. National Rural Health Day is this Thursday! Join us in celebrating the power and resilience of rural communities and the providers who make care possible.

10/15/2025

"Nationwide, a new agricultural movement is taking root, but it’s not just about growing food. It’s about growing power, healing and community through radically collaborative models that challenge generations of injustice and land loss."

Nationwide, a new agricultural movement is taking root, but it’s not just about growing food. It’s about growing power, healing and community through

10/09/2025

“I just love serving people,” Dr. Edloe said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. “I believe in making life better for people.”

Dr. Edloe has been serving people as a minister for over twenty-five years, and as a pharmacist for over fifty.

“A pharmacist and a minister” may sound like the start of a bad joke, not necessarily an intuitive vocational pairing. But to Reverend Dr. Leonard Edloe,

09/23/2025

When we preserve language, we preserve culture. Today, approximately 167 indigenous languages are spoken in the US, and it’s estimated that only 20 of these languages will remain by 2050.
In Cherokee, North Carolina the New Kituwah Academy is a pre-K through 6th grade immersion school doing their part to preserve Cherokee.

At the entrance to the New Kituwah Academy in Cherokee, North Carolina, a big red sign reads ‘English Stops Here.’ The school, which teaches preschool

09/18/2025

Libraries are a gift in our rural and frontier areas because they house so much more than books. They can be a place to learn new skills, somewhere to seek resource help, safe places for rest and, in some places, they are providing an opportunity to check out medical supplies.

"Libraries with Heart, a new initiative by the American Heart Association aims to eliminate health disparities in rural Arkansas by adding blood pressure monitoring kits to offerings at Southeast Arkansas Regional Library System locations in Dermott, Dumas, Eudora, Hermitage, Lake Village, McGehee, Monticello, Star City and Warren."

MONTICELLO, Ark., Sept. 12, 2025 — Libraries with Heart, a new initiative by the American Heart Association, aims to eliminate health disparities in rural Arkansas by adding blood pressure monitoring kits to offerings at Southeast Arkansas Regional...

09/09/2025

North Carolina’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP)- a Medicaid-funded program offering services like food, housing, and transportation - boosted rural economies by turning a $75 million investment into $114 million in local business activity, creating nearly 900 full-time jobs and generating $36 million in income across an 18-county region, while also lowering healthcare costs by up to $1,020 per participant annually.

In addition to improving patient outcomes, the Healthy Opportunities Pilot data shows the program created jobs in low-income regions.

09/04/2025

“We have been able to bring in a cultural advisor, not only for our staff, but also for our community members who on their health journey want to work side by side with their primary care provider and also a knowledge keeper [or] traditional healer,” Church said. Oyate Health Center’s cultural advisor has helped plan a community garden and taught traditional food practices, like buffalo harvesting, to promote nutritious lifestyles rooted in tribal culture.

For decades, the Indian Health Service ran health care in Native American communities. Now, a growing number of tribes are reclaiming control of those

08/28/2025

NCFC CEO Ben Rasmussen recently joined Senator Ben Luján and other ag sector leaders for an intimate conversation on the recent reconciliation bill and priorities for a strong Farm Bill.

The Farm Bill is one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in our nation, shaping everything from food security to conservation to rural development. For frontier communities, farm bill programs provide infrastructure, programming and other poverty alleviation tools that cannot be accessed anywhere else. NCFC has leveraged these tools to strengthen regional food systems, expand markets, and importantly, develop innovative models that work for some of the most remote corners of the country.

As Congress begins its work, NCFC will continue to advocate for a Farm Bill that reflects the realities of rural and frontier America and invests in the resilience of communities too often overlooked.