# Neqkiuryaraq - The Art of Preparing Food

> **NIH NIH OT2** · YUKON-KUSKOKWIM HEALTH CORPORATION · 2024 · $374,748

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta of Alaska is home to 58 Alaska Native Tribes who experience
a life expectancy 10 years less than the U.S. average. Disparities in diet-related diseases, such
as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes contribute to this decreased life expectancy; structural
issues underlie these diet-related health disparities. Although the region is culturally tied to
healthy Native foods, a traditional lifestyle has become more difficult. Food retailers stock
unhealthy, shelf-stable food, while perishable foods, like produce, are scarce and unaffordable.
Food insecurity results in hunger, poor diet quality, and health disparities.
This project, Neqkiuryaraq or The Art of Preparing Food, is a food system structural intervention
for the YK Delta. Through multi-sectoral partnerships, community-engaged approaches, and
traditional knowledge, we will localize the food system and improve access to nutritious foods.
Structural interventions will promote the harvesting and distribution of traditional foods and
healthy market foods, like produce, to communities experiencing food insecurity.
Improved access to nutritious, culturally acceptable foods will bolster food security, reduce
hunger, and improve health. We will assess these effects by measuring participant food
security, diet quality, and clinical parameters such as blood pressure and blood sugar. Improved
nutrition will protect people against chronic health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and
cancer. Building a local food system that integrates traditional knowledge, promotes healthy and
culturally acceptable foods, and employs community members will move the YK Delta towards
food sovereignty and provide an exemplar for other rural communities facing food insecurity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11167932
- **Project number:** 3OT2OD035835-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** YUKON-KUSKOKWIM HEALTH CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** James W. Keck
- **Activity code:** OT2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $374,748
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2023-09-22 → 2028-09-21

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11167932

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11167932, Neqkiuryaraq - The Art of Preparing Food (3OT2OD035835-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11167932. Licensed CC0.

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